Savage Offensive MTG Card

Invasion (INV)
2000-10-02 - Number 162

Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
2005-08-22 - Number D18

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Kicker

Key Takeaways

Provides card advantage by boosting creatures and offering possible additional draws.
Enables resource acceleration by clearing paths for attacks, improving tempo.
Instant speed play grants flexible responses and surprise combat advantages.

Text of card

Kicker o G (You may pay an additional o G as you play this spell.) Creatures you control gain first strike until end of turn. If you paid the kicker cost, they get +1/+1 until end of turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When it comes to card efficacy, Savage Offensive allows players to simultaneously upgrade their board presence while potentially drawing into further action. It exemplifies card advantage by providing players with both a creature boost and a potential for strategical depth plaguing the opponent’s side.

Resource Acceleration: As a bonus to its primary function, Savage Offensive often results in a sort of resource acceleration by clearing the path for repeated attacks. This enables a significant tempo swing, setting up opportunities for upcoming turns and possibly crippling the opponent’s resource base.

Instant Speed: The power of playing at instant speed cannot be overstated, and Savage Offensive is no exception. This quality allows for surprising shifts in battle dynamics, catching adversaries off-guard right during combat. Instant speed spells offer strategic flexibility and the ability to react to an opponent’s moves, making them exceptional tools in any player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Savage Offensive is the necessity to discard another card from your hand to unleash its potential. This creates a situation where you might have to sacrifice valuable hand assets, ultimately reducing your strategic options and potentially putting you at a disadvantage, especially if your hand size is already compromised.

Specific Mana Cost: Savage Offensive is hinged on a specific color combination in its mana cost, which means it requires a dedicated deck structure to accommodate its casting. This specificity can be restrictive because it necessitates a certain mana base, which may not be compatible with all deck types, limiting its versatility across different strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Furthermore, the card comes with a higher mana cost relative to other options available in the game. Its mana expense might be burdensome when comparing it to other cards that could deliver a similar impact on the game. The cost-to-benefit ratio of Savage Offensive is a crucial consideration when players are building efficient decks and could tip the scales in favor of including alternative cards with lower mana requirements.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Savage Offensive can seamlessly become an asset in decks that aim for widespread creature enhancements or aggressive tactics. Its ability to boost and empower multiple creatures simultaneously makes it an asset across various play styles.

Combo Potential: With its knack for suddenly turning the tide of battle, it excel in combination with cards that profit from creatures dealing combat damage or those that trigger upon attacking. It can be a game-changer when aligned with cards that capitalize on such synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-based strategies prevail, Savage Offensive’s capacity to give your forces the upper hand can be crucial. Its presence in your collection ensures you have the right tool to face decks that rely on establishing board control through creature dominance.

How to beat

Savage Offensive is a notable card that can catch opponents off-guard and significantly shift the momentum of the game in your favor. Successfully navigating against such a card involves a deep understanding of timing and board presence. A crucial trick is to maintain a shield of creatures with relevant blocking abilities or instant-speed removal spells that can be cast in response to Savage Offensive. Having a variety of creatures capable of blocking multiple attackers or with adequate toughness to survive the potential onslaught can diminish the impact of the card.

Another effective strategy is to keep your life total higher, preparing for any unexpected burst of damage that a card like Savage Offensive could unleash. This involves making smarter trades on the battlefield and possibly incorporating life gain elements into your deck. Hand disruption can also play a significant role. If you can control the opponent’s hand and strip away key cards before they assemble their combo or powerful synergies, the threat of Savage Offensive becomes much more manageable.

Ultimately, mitigating the damage from such a card requires a combination of foresight, maintaining a solid defense, and aptly timing your removals. By doing so, you can control the flow of the game and diminish the capacity of Savage Offensive to tip the scale in your opponent’s favor.

Cards like Savage Offensive

Within the aggressive arsenal of MTG, Savage Offensive offers a unique twist on combat enhancement spells. It finds its kin in cards like Overrun, which grants creatures a significant boost in power and trample, thereby allowing for a sweeping strike on the opponent. Nevertheless, unlike Overrun, Savage Offensive hinges on the key mechanic of ‘kicker’ and enables not just a power surge but also taps potential blockers with its kicker cost fulfilled.

Kamahl’s Will stands as another comparison, being versatile in its approach by turning lands into creatures and providing indestructibility. While packing a different form of utility, what aligns it with Savage Offensive is the ability to influence combat. However, Savage Offensive’s kicker option for tactical advantage through tapping showcases a more focused strategy in combat manipulation.

Surveying the landscape of similar cards, Savage Offensive carves its niche in MTG with a blend of power augmentation and strategic tapping. This duality of aggression and control allows it to stand out among the enriching variety of combat spells for players looking to seize the win with a carefully planned onslaught.

Cards similar to Savage Offensive by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Savage Offensive MTG card by a specific set like Invasion and Salvat 2005, 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 Savage Offensive and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Savage Offensive Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2000-10-02 and 2005-08-22. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2000-10-02	Invasion	INV		162	1997	Normal	Black	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt
2	2005-08-22	Salvat 2005	PSAL		D18	2003	Normal	White	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Savage Offensive has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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