Tenement Crasher MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Beast
Abilities	Haste
Released	2012-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Return to Ravnica
Set code	RTR
Power	5
Toughness	4
Number	108
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Warren Mahy

Key Takeaways

Tenement Crasher applies pressure, making opponents use multiple cards, potentially flipping the card advantage in your favor.
Its significant board presence accelerates your game plan, necessitating quick answers from rivals.
Despite its high cost, its sturdy body and versatility make it a valuable pick for aggressive MTG strategies.

Text of card

Haste

Nothing was going to stop it—not the narrow alleys, not the Boros garrison, and certainly not the four-story Orzhov cathedral.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Despite not directly offering card drawing abilities, Tenement Crasher provides consistent pressure on the battlefield, often demanding multiple resources from your opponent to handle it. This can indirectly lead to a card advantage as the opponent might need to use more than one card to deal with this single threat.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature with a solid 5/4 body, Tenement Crasher can significantly accelerate your board presence. Although it lacks mana acceleration, its substantial presence requires an immediate answer from opponents, letting your other strategies unfold with less interference.

Instant Speed: While Tenement Crasher itself does not operate at instant speed, its mere inclusion in your deck requires opponents to play cautiously, conserving resources to answer this threat. This adjustment in their gameplay can create openings to cast other spells at instant speed, taking advantage of the opponent’s diverted attention and reserved mana.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Tenement Crasher might not directly ask for a card to be discarded, but any card with a single purpose like this one indirectly pressures your hand, especially if you’re trying to maintain card advantage against control decks.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card comes with a specific red mana requirement, which can be limiting for decks that are not heavily invested in red mana sources, potentially straining the mana base in multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a six mana total cost, comprising one red mana and five generic mana, Tenement Crasher asks for significant investment before it hits the board. This can be quite steep, considering there are cards with similar or even lower mana costs that could provide more immediate impact or versatility in a match.

Reasons to Include Tenement Crasher in Your Collection

Versatility: Tenement Crasher is a robust creature card that can easily find a place in a variety of aggressive decks. Its sheer size for its mana cost makes it a formidable threat in limited formats like Draft or Sealed.

Combo Potential: With its ability to deal significant damage, Tenement Crasher can synergize with cards that leverage creature damage. It can be a critical piece in decks looking to win through combat damage or abilities that trigger upon attacking.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment that favors creature-based strategies or where players rely on building up their board presence, Tenement Crasher serves as an impactful and uncumbersome inclusion that can swiftly turn the tide of a game in your favor.

How to beat

Tenement Crasher is a sizable creature that can prove to be a formidable force on the battlefield. It’s known for its ability to cause significant damage with its 5/4 stats, but it isn’t invulnerable. To effectively handle this threat, controlling the board with removal spells is key. Spells like Murder or Path to Exile can dispatch this creature before it has the chance to wreak havoc. It’s also worth noting that since Tenement Crasher doesn’t have any form of evasion, creatures with reach or flying can block it reliably, giving you a defensive edge.

Moreover, if you can’t remove it outright, imposing smaller creatures as chump blockers can lessen the blow, buying you critical turns. Enchantment-based solutions, such as Pacifism, can also neutralize the Crasher without needing to remove it. This can sometimes be a more resource-efficient way of dealing with such threats. Finally, countering it before it hits the field with a spell like Cancel keeps your opponent from gaining momentum, preserving your life total and board state for a more strategic play.

Adopting an anticipative playstyle and keeping your arsenal ready with the right kind of responses will assure that Tenement Crasher’s potential impact is minimized, and your path to victory remains clear.

Cards like Tenement Crasher

Tenement Crasher is an intimidating creature card in Magic: The Gathering, striking a parallel with other hefty hitters in the game. It resonates with creatures like Rumbling Baloth, a beast which also boasts a formidable 4/4 stature. The Tenement Crasher’s Haste ability enables it to swing immediately, offering a strategic edge over the Baloth which lacks this swift aggression. Unlike Tenement Crasher, Rumbling Baloth offers no immediate board impact on the turn it’s played.

Looking elsewhere, Ember Beast is another card that shares Tenement Crasher’s aggression with a comparable 3/4 body but it comes with a caveat, unable to attack alone. The autonomy of Tenement Crasher becomes its advantage, unrestricted by such conditions. Then we have Rubblebelt Raiders, a creature that grows with each attack. While Tenement Crasher doesn’t share this progressive increase, its immediate assault capability makes it a clear choice for a strategy emphasizing haste.

When assessing the attributes of similar creature cards, Tenement Crasher earns its place in decks keen on delivering quick and heavy blows. Its independence and the ability to contribute to the battlefield right away underscore its value among red creature cards in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Tenement Crasher by color, type and mana cost

Ryusei, the Falling Star - MTG Card versions

Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tenement Crasher MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica, 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 Tenement Crasher and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tenement Crasher has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal