Tattered Drake MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tattered Drake provides a sustainable advantage in longer games by being a recurring blocker once in the graveyard. Its Undying ability ensures that even after a trade-off or removal, it returns to the battlefield, effectively acting as two creatures in one.

Resource Acceleration: While Tattered Drake does not inherently accelerate resources, its presence can indirectly influence mana usage. By providing a resilient blocker, it aids in preserving life totals, allowing for a more flexible use of mana in upcoming turns for other strategic plays.

Instant Speed: Tattered Drake’s flying ability is advantageous as a defensive tool, offering airborne defense that can be particularly disruptive to an opponent’s strategy. The instant speed of spells or abilities that may return Tattered Drake from the graveyard to the battlefield adds an element of surprise, altering the pace of the game in your favor and forcing opponents to reconsider their attacks.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Tattered Drake’s unearth ability mandates you to discard another card, potentially depleting your hand and strategic options prematurely.

Specific Mana Cost: Tattered Drake’s casting requires both blue and generic mana, potentially restricting its integration in multicolor decks that may not always have the right mana available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost to cast and an additional cost to access its unearth ability, Tattered Drake’s total cost can be high in comparison to other creatures with similar or more impactful abilities.

Reasons to Include Tattered Drake in Your Collection

Versatility: Tattered Drake offers diverse gameplay options, being a flyer that can be a persistent threat in the air. Its ability to regenerate means it can survive situations that would normally destroy other creatures, making it a solid defensive option as well.

Combo Potential: This creature’s regeneration capability allows it to partner well with various sacrifice effects or combat tricks. By utilizing its ability to stay on the board, it can enable recurring combo setups or be a linchpin in strategies revolving around creature survivability.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where control decks reign and removal spells are frequent, Tattered Drake’s tenacity on the battlefield makes it relevant. It dodges common removal and demands an answer from the opponent, potentially giving you the upper hand in attrition wars. Considering the ebb and flow of the competitive scene, a tricky creature like Tattered Drake can be a wild card addition to your roster.

How to beat

Tattered Drake offers a compelling challenge on the battlefield. This blue-creature card, with flying and regeneration abilities, can be a real thorn in the side of your opponent. The key to outmaneuvering this pesky drake lies in strategic removal. Pinpoint removal spells that bypass regeneration, such as Path to Exile or Murderous Cut, will be your best friends in these situations. If you’re running red, utilizing cards that can deal with creatures in the air, like Lightning Bolt, can swing the tide in your favor before the drake becomes a recurring problem. On top of that, board wipes like Damnation or Supreme Verdict do not give Tattered Drake a chance to regenerate, providing a clean sweep. Considering Tattered Drake’s modest presence as a 2/2 flyer, you can also outclass it by playing bigger creatures with flying or reach to dominate aerial combat. In the end, while Tattered Drake can be elusive due to its abilities, a well-prepared deck with a mix of removals and superior creatures can clip its wings effectively.