Senate Griffin MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Griffin
Abilities	Flying,Scry
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	219
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lucas Graciano

Key Takeaways

Senate Griffin’s scry ability can shape your upcoming draws, optimizing card quality.
The flying trait adds defensive versatility, doubling as an effective blocker.
Discard requirements and specific mana costs may limit its deck compatibility.

Text of card

Flying When Senate Griffin enters the battlefield, scry 1.

"The Senate griffins overhead used to make people think of order and safety. Not anymore." —Lavinia

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Senate Griffin comes with a scry ability upon entering the battlefield, giving you the opportunity to filter the top card of your library. This can effectively provide card quality advantage by shaping your next draw.

Resource Acceleration: While Senate Griffin itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its presence can contribute to deterring opponents from attacking. This can indirectly preserve your life total and give you more turns to pull ahead with resources.

Instant Speed: Although Senate Griffin is a creature, its flying trait allows it to be an excellent blocker, making it a pseudo instant-speed interaction against opponents with airborne threats. This adds a level of flexibility and defense during your opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing the Senate Griffin necessitates discarding another card from your hand. This requirement can be particularly taxing when your hand size is already dwindling, placing you at a potential card advantage loss against opponents.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Senate Griffin, a specific combination of mana is needed, including blue and white. This can restrict the card’s inclusion to decks that can reliably produce both colors, potentially excluding it from more versatile or mono-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost being on the higher side for its stat line and effects, Senate Griffin may fall behind in efficiency compared to other creatures in the same cost range. This could lead to suboptimal board presence, especially in faster or more aggressively tuned matchups.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Senate Griffin can easily find a home in decks that benefit from flying creatures and those that seek to manipulate the top card of their library. Its scry ability upon entering the battlefield makes it a valuable addition for both control and mid-range decks looking to secure their draws.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to scry can set the stage for powerful card interactions. It pairs well with mechanics that care about the top card of your deck, such as “Miracle” or the “Play with the top card of your library revealed” mechanics, enabling more consistent and potent combos.

Meta-Relevance: With flying as a key evasion ability, Senate Griffin can be a strategic asset in an environment where ground blockers are prevalent. In addition, its scry ability holds relevance in any meta that demands efficient deck filtering to ensure access to essential spells and resources.

How to beat

The Senate Griffin is a creature card that often catches players’ interest in Magic: The Gathering for its flying ability and its potential to surveil upon entering the battlefield. This can provide a valuable edge by manipulating upcoming draws. To counter the Senate Griffin effectively, one strategy is to utilize removal spells that can target flying creatures. Cards such as Plummet, which is designed to bring down flying creatures directly, or more general removal like Murder, which can remove a creature regardless of its abilities, can prove quite efficient.

Another tactful approach to outmaneuver the Senate Griffin is through the deployment of reach or other flying creatures that can block and potentially eliminate the Griffin without much fuss. Adding creatures with a higher power to your battlefield ensures that the Griffin becomes less of a threat. It’s also wise to manage your deck with cards that disrupt your opponent’s library manipulation strategies, diluting the advantage that surveil provides them.

In essence, while the Senate Griffin can be a formidable card, various strategies and specific card choices can be incorporated into your game plan to nullify its advantages and maintain control of the board.

Cards like Senate Griffin

Sailing through the world of Magic: The Gathering, Senate Griffin has peers that soar across the battlefield with similar grace. A notable relative, Thunderclap Wyvern, also brings a flying ability to the table, but with an additional flash and other creatures you control with flying get +1/+1. Yet, Senate Griffin stands out for its scry ability, providing a tactical advantage in setting up your upcoming draws.

Leveraging on flying creatures, Jubilant Skybonder is another card worth comparing. While not sharing the same stat line or mana cost, Jubilant Skybonder aids your winged creatures by making them less susceptible to spells or abilities your opponents control. However, Senate Griffin’s scry ability adds a unique touch that Jubilant Skybonder doesn’t offer, securing its place in deck strategies that favor deck manipulation.

In the landscape of flying creatures within Magic: The Gathering, Senate Griffin carves out its niche with a balanced mix of offensive capability and strategic foresight through scrying. Such a blend is a commodity in MTG, as it combines immediate board presence with potential game-altering deck manipulation, making Senate Griffin a strategic pick for players looking to maintain aerial dominance.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Senate Griffin 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 Senate Griffin and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Senate Griffin has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal