Keldon Berserker MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Soldier Berserker
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	93
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Paolo Parente

Key Takeaways

Keldon Berserker’s aggressive nature helps players seize early game advantage and dictate the board’s pace.
Not just a bruiser, Keldon Berserker can force opponents to react, shifting resource management in your favor.
With inherent limitations, this card’s full potential is realized within specific deck builds that complement its strengths.

Text of card

Whenever Keldon Berserker attacks, if you control no untapped lands, it gets +3/+0 until end of turn.

They fight beyond thought, beyond fear, and beyond mercy.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Keldon Berserker’s robust aggressive capabilities can pressure opponents, potentially forcing them to block and allowing you to thin out their defenses. This could lead to gaining an advantage on the board as the game progresses.

Resource Acceleration: With its lower casting cost, this creature provides early board presence, giving you momentum and potentially leading to faster resource accumulation by dealing combat damage to your opponent sooner than slower, higher-cost cards.

Instant Speed: Although the Keldon Berserker itself is not an instant, its mere presence can influence the tempo of the game. It can push opponents to spend resources at instant speed prematurely out of concern for its attack capacity, thus subtly giving you an edge in resource management.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Keldon Berserker demands a discard from your hand to activate certain abilities. This can substantially decrease your in-hand options, and if your hand is already depleted, it may stall your gameplay or force unfavourable decisions.

Specific Mana Cost: Keldon Berserker has a mana cost that includes red mana. For players not running a deck heavily laden with red sources, it could be challenging to cast consistently, thereby restricting its inclusion to specific mono-red or red-friendly archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that’s on the steep side for its statline and effects, Keldon Berserker might not always represent the best use of resources. Some players may find other creatures or spells that offer more value or synergy for the same, or fewer, mana investment.

Reasons to Include Keldon Berserker in Your Collection

Versatility: Keldon Berserker’s aggressive cost-to-damage ratio makes it an excellent fit for any red-based aggressive deck looking to deal damage fast. It can quickly become a threat that the opponent must answer.

Combo Potential: This card works well with strategies that encourage attacking each turn. Paired with cards that grant additional combat phases or ways to untap creatures, Keldon Berserker can become an instrumental part of a devastating combo.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where the gameplay pace is swift, and players need to assert early board presence, Keldon Berserker shines as a reliable early-game play. Its impact in the current meta can give players a critical edge in the race to victory.

How to beat

Keldon Berserker is a card that operates under aggressive game tactics in MTG. While it doesn’t have the resilience of other creatures, it compensates with its ability to hit hard and fast. A key method to outmaneuver this card is through strategic control and removal spells. This can nip the threat in the bud before it accumulates any significant damage.

Implementing early game countermeasures, such as low-cost removal or bounce spells, can effectively deal with the Berserker before its power becomes overwhelming. Creatures with higher toughness can also serve as robust blockers, neutralizing the Berserker’s attacks and preventing it from leveraging its haste ability. Moreover, making use of instant-speed interactions during your opponent’s turn can keep the Berserker at bay, ensuring your strategy remains uninterrupted.

In essence, being proactive and maintaining readiness to respond to threats quickly are crucial against Keldon Berserker. Successful management of this card often pivots on anticipation and timely execution of control tactics guaranteed to keep its fiery onslaught in check.

Understanding Keldon Berserker

In the diverse world of red creatures within Magic: The Gathering, Keldon Berserker holds a specific role. As a creature card, it brings its own unique spin to gameplay, not unlike other aggressive red cards that swiftly bring pressure onto an opponent. Keldon Berserker’s ability to cause incremental damage every time a spell is played resembles the effects of prowess, a mechanic that increases a creature’s power and toughness until end of turn whenever you cast a noncreature spell.

Cards like Keldon Berserker

Keldon Berserker can be compared to cards like Monastery Swiftspear, another formidable creature that benefits from each noncreature spell cast, leveraging the prowess ability. Monastery Swiftspear, however, has the immediate impact of increasing its combat stats, potentially offering more immediate board presence. On the other hand, Kiln Fiend offers an even greater potential for damage, amplifying its power by +3 for each instant or sorcery spell cast in a turn, which can lead to devastating turns in a spell-heavy deck.

Guttersnipe is another relative, delivering direct damage to each opponent whenever an instant or sorcery is cast. Although Guttersnipe doesn’t boost its own stats, the consistent damage to opponents regardless of combat makes it a valuable asset in decks built around casting numerous spells.

In context, Keldon Berserker fits snugly into a strategy focusing on casting multiple spells to trigger repeatable damage, marking its territory as a solid inclusion in Magic: The Gathering decks that prioritize constant pressure and incremental damage on opponents.

Monastery Swiftspear - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Keldon Berserker by color, type and mana cost

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Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Keldon Berserker MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Keldon Berserker and other MTG cards: