Grasping Thrull MTG Card


Grasping Thrull - Ravnica Allegiance
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Thrull
Abilities Flying
Released2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set nameRavnica Allegiance
Set codeRNA
Power 3
Toughness 3
Number177
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred bySeb McKinnon

Key Takeaways

  1. Grasping Thrull offers both offensive and defensive advantage with its life-altering entrance ability.
  2. It’s a versatile card, fitting in various decks, especially those that capitalize on life total manipulation.
  3. Being part of the Orzhov Syndicate, it requires specific mana but creates significant mid-game impact.

Text of card

Flying When Grasping Thrull enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to each opponent and you gain 2 life.

"Debt due! Debt due!" The thrull's screeching makes children flinch and debtors quail. "Debt due!"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The arrival of Grasping Thrull on the battlefield is a pivotal moment in the game where you are not only deploying a threat but also swinging life totals with its enter the battlefield trigger. It effectively causes a four-point life swing, granting a subtle but significant card advantage as you drain your opponent while cushioning your own life total.

Resource Acceleration: While Grasping Thrull itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, the life gain it provides can be critical in decks that leverage life as a resource. It can indirectly lead to acceleration by enabling certain cards or strategies that benefit from high life totals, keeping you ahead in the race for board dominance.

Instant Speed: Though Grasping Thrull operates at sorcery speed, its impact is immediate and tangible upon hitting the field. In a setting where timing is everything, Grasping Thrull’s ability to affect life totals can put your opponent on a crucial backfoot, disrupting their pace and forcing them to respond on your terms during their own turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the hurdles while playing Grasping Thrull is that it doesn’t have a direct discard effect, yet its strategic value could compel a player into a position where discarding becomes an unintended consequence of trying to optimize its deployment. This can lead to potentially unfavorable exchanges, particularly in hand-tight situations.

Specific Mana Cost: Grasping Thrull requires a precise mana combination to play: one white, one black, and three other mana, making it a less flexible option for decks that are not tailored to Orzhov colors or a mana-intensive strategy. This specific cost can challenge deck-building freedom and mana-base consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Grasping Thrull may be seen as an investment that doesn’t immediately justify its cost, especially when stacked against other creatures in the same mana range. In a game where tempo can determine victory or defeat, investing five mana into a single card can be a significant cost.


Reasons to Include Grasping Thrull in Your Collection

Versatility: Grasping Thrull serves as a dual-purpose card offering both life gain and board presence. Its ability to impact life totals upon entry makes it a flexible addition to a variety of deck types, from aggressive strategies to more control-oriented builds.

Combo Potential: This Orzhov creature synergizes well with effects that capitalize on creatures entering or leaving the battlefield. Whether it’s triggering death effects or providing incremental life gain, the Thrull can be a key piece in an engine driving your game plan forward.

Meta-Relevance: As the game shifts to favor midrange decks and lifegain strategies, Grasping Thrull holds its ground by disrupting opponent’s tempo and providing stability to your life total, keeping you in the game against aggressive opponents.


How to beat

Grasping Thrull is an Orzhov Syndicate asset that can challenge opponents in MTG. This card emerges on the battlefield exerting pressure both through damage and life gain. It comes with a 5-mana cost and delivers a 3/3 body, capable of a swing that not only inflicts two points of damage but also brings you the same amount in healing. This dual ability makes it a valuable card in the mid to late game, especially within decks that gravitate towards life manipulation.

To counteract Grasping Thrull effectively, your strategy should involve removing it before its effect can trigger multiple times. Efficient removal spells that can deal with this threat include Fatal Push or Path to Exile. Additionally, considering Grasping Thrull’s cost, playing more aggressively with low-cost creatures can help you gain board control early on, minimizing the impact of its later arrival. If you’re playing control, ensure you have counterspells ready or use board wipes to reset the scene. Lastly, don’t overlook the power of graveyard hate – cards like Rest in Peace can prevent recurring threats, especially in formats where creatures can come back from the graveyard.


Cards like Grasping Thrull

Grasping Thrull serves as an intriguing piece within the array of life-modifying creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It bears resemblance to creatures like Basilica Screecher, which also has the ability to impact life totals. Yet Grasping Thrull is distinctive with its arrival on the battlefield triggering both life loss for the opponent and life gain for the controller. Basilica Screecher lacks this direct effect, relying on extort to slowly chip away at life totals.

Another similar card is Tithe Drinker, which shares the Orzhov guild’s theme of life drain. While Tithe Drinker can impact life totals with its lifelink and extort abilities, Grasping Thrull’s immediate effect when it enters the battlefield ensures a consistent life swing. Moreover, Falkenrath Noble offers a different approach, focusing on draining life whenever another creature dies. It lacks the one-time significant impact of Grasping Thrull, but potentially offers prolonged value in creature-heavy matchups.

Through an examination of similar cards and their mechanics, Grasping Thrull presents as a valuable asset for players seeking immediate and guaranteed alterations to life totals upon its casting, carving a unique niche among MTG’s life-modifying creatures.

Basilica Screecher - MTG Card versions
Tithe Drinker - MTG Card versions
Falkenrath Noble - MTG Card versions
Basilica Screecher - Gatecrash (GTC)
Tithe Drinker - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Falkenrath Noble - Innistrad (ISD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grasping Thrull MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Grasping Thrull and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grasping Thrull has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Grasping Thrull card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2019-01-25 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Grasping Thrull’s second ability causes the opposing team to lose 4 life and you gain 2 life.

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