Redtooth Genealogist MTG Card


Redtooth Genealogist excels in generating card advantage and filling graveyards to empower specific gameplans. The activated ability at instant speed offers tactical flexibility, adapting to various in-game situations. Drawbacks include its discard requirement and restrictive mana cost, potentially hindering its immediate impact.
Redtooth Genealogist - Wilds of Eldraine
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Elf Advisor
Abilities Role token
Released2023-09-08
Set symbol
Set nameWilds of Eldraine
Set codeWOE
Power 2
Toughness 3
Number179
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byGaboleps

Text of card

When Redtooth Genealogist enters the battlefield, create a Royal Role token attached to another target creature you control. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward .)

Some family trees are thornier than others.


Cards like Redtooth Genealogist

Redtooth Genealogist is an intriguing card, bringing unique abilities to the MTG metagame. It finds kinship with cards such as Grim Haruspex and Midnight Reaper, all of which provide value from creature death. Redtooth Genealogist’s ability to mill cards and then potentially return a creature card to a player’s hand sets it apart. While both Grim Haruspex and Midnight Reaper offer a draw on non-token creature deaths, they do not interact with the graveyard as directly as the Genealogist.

Morbid Opportunist is another card that shares the concept of gaining advantage from creatures dying, though it limits its benefit to once per turn. The Genealogist, however, has the potential to trigger multiple times within a single turn, providing a possible surge in card advantage. Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, also thrives in a similar space, rewarding you for discarding cards, which can synergize well with Redtooth Genealogist’s milling effects.

When it comes to leveraging creature deaths, Redtooth Genealogist affords MTG players a distinctive mix of milling and reanimation potential, making it a formidable card against those that merely provide card draw.

Grim Haruspex - MTG Card versions
Midnight Reaper - MTG Card versions
Morbid Opportunist - MTG Card versions
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - MTG Card versions
Grim Haruspex - MTG Card versions
Midnight Reaper - MTG Card versions
Morbid Opportunist - MTG Card versions
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - MTG Card versions

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Redtooth Genealogist can be a pivotal addition to a deck when looking to bolster card advantage. Its ability to reliably dig through the deck and pull out key creature cards can tip the scales in your favor, ensuring you consistently have access to your most vital pieces.

Resource Acceleration: By enabling you to fill your graveyard, Redtooth Genealogist accelerates your resource access, potentially powering up graveyard-based strategies or enabling cards with graveyard synergies to reach their full potential. This can lead to a more streamlined and effective game plan.

Instant Speed: Its activated ability at instant speed gives you the flexibility to adapt to the current board state without committing resources prematurely. Use it to outmaneuver an opponent’s strategy, maintaining the upper hand and making strategic moves on the fly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Redtooth Genealogist requires discarding a card to activate its ability. This can deplete your hand, especially if you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting this card demands a precise combination of mana types, including red, which might not synergize well with multi-color decks that have a different focus.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring a solid investment of four mana might be steep for its ability when considering other options in the same mana range might provide more immediate impact on the game state.


Reasons to Include Redtooth Genealogist in Your Collection

Versatility: Redtooth Genealogist is a flexible addition to several deck archetypes, as it can effectively sift through your deck, offering both card advantage and graveyard filling capabilities which are essential for various strategies.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to mill specific creature cards can be a key component in setting up powerful graveyard-based combos or enabling reanimator tactics, harmonizing with strategies that capitalize on creature cards in the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of graveyard synergy in competitive play, Redtooth Genealogist’s potential to manipulate the graveyard contents can position your deck favorably against current meta trends.


How to beat

Confronting the Redtooth Genealogist in a game requires strategic forethought, as the card’s unique capabilities can be an asset for your opponent. This creature not only activates a card draw with its formidable substitute ability but it also has the potential to revive creatures from the graveyard, disrupting your carefully laid plans. To triumph over the Redtooth Genealogist’s advantage, you ought to employ removal spells swiftly, as hesitance could give your adversary the upper hand by filling their graveyard with potent creatures.

To mitigate this threat, cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void are invaluable, preventing graveyards from becoming a resource pool. Moreover, instant-speed removal such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can be essential to disposing of the Genealogist before it can execute its ability. In a different approach, countering it outright with a spell like Counterspell or Essence Scatter could nip the problem in the bud. Timing and proactive measures are crucial; if the Redtooth Genealogist is allowed to flourish, you could find yourself overwhelmed by the unearthed threats from your opponent’s graveyard.

In essence, with the right cards and an anticipatory strategy, you can quelch the potential menace posed by the Redtooth Genealogist and maintain control of the game’s rhythm and resources.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Redtooth Genealogist MTG card by a specific set like Wilds of Eldraine, 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 Redtooth Genealogist and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Redtooth Genealogist has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2023-09-01 A permanent can have multiple Roles attached to it if each one is controlled by a different player.
2023-09-01 Cards in the Wilds of Eldraine main set create six different Role tokens: Cursed, Monster, Royal, Sorcerer, Wicked, and Young Hero. A seventh Role token, Virtuous, is created by Ellivere of the Wild Court, the commander of the “Virtue and Valor” Commander Deck.
2023-09-01 Hexproof and shroud won’t prevent a Role from becoming attached to a permanent if the ability creating that Role attached to that permanent doesn’t target it.
2023-09-01 If a permanent has more than one Role attached to it controlled by the same player, each of those Roles except the one with the most recent timestamp is put into its owner’s graveyard. This is a state-based action.
2023-09-01 If two or more Roles controlled by the same player become attached to a permanent at the same time (perhaps due to an effect such as that of Doubling Season), that player chooses which one to keep and which are put into their owners’ graveyards.
2023-09-01 In rare cases, a spell or ability might attempt to create a Role token enchanting a permanent that it can’t legally enchant (because of an ability like protection from enchantments). In such cases, the Role token isn’t created.
2023-09-01 Roles are colorless enchantment tokens. Each one has the Aura and Role subtypes and the enchant creature ability.
2023-09-01 Some spells and abilities that create Role tokens require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won’t resolve. The Role token won’t be created.