Scrapwork Rager MTG Card
2022-11-18 - Number 123
2022-11-18 - Number 18
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror |
| Abilities | Unearth |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
When Scrapwork Rager enters the battlefield, you draw a card and you lose 1 life. Unearth (: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
Cards like Scrapwork Rager
Scrapwork Rager finds its place in Magic: The Gathering as a creature that can morph the battlefield’s dynamics. Its closest relatives in functionality are other artifact creatures like the Foundry Inspector, which also reduces the cost of other artifacts. While Scrapwork Rager requires an artifact to be sacrificed to trigger its ability, it offers a fresh draw to replenish the hand, a subtle but significant advantage over the Inspector.
Parallel to this is the renowned Myr Retriever, another creature that interacts with artifacts. However, the Retriever brings back an artifact from the graveyard to your hand upon its demise, which provides a different kind of utility than the immediate draw that Scrapwork Rager gives upon its own sacrifice. Then there’s the Filigree Familiar, which presents a life gain and a draw upon death, balancing resources in a way that contrasts with the Rager’s more aggressive resource churn.
In sum, within the unique niche of artifact-centered creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Scrapwork Rager stands out for its combo potential and its ability to convert artifacts into direct card advantage, setting up strategic plays that could turn the tide of a game.
Cards similar to Scrapwork Rager by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Scrapwork Rager. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Orzhov Midrange | Historic | Other | MTGA Pauper: Historic Pauper Tournament (6 Jan '24) |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Scrapwork Rager seamlessly integrates into your card pool, drawing you into the action by allowing uncovering of the top card when it enters the battlefield. This nifty ability ensures you don’t lose momentum and keeps your hand flush with options, cementing its place in your strategy as a reliable source to maintain card flow.
Resource Acceleration: This feisty creature isn’t just about the brawl; it’s also a springboard for your resources. By potentially revealing a crucial non-land card, it can accelerate your gameplay, offering a dynamic approach to managing your assets on the field. This intrinsic merit of scrapwork efficiency positions it as a decisive gear in the machinery of your deck’s economy.
Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, the flexibility of Scrapwork Rager’s scrap heap origins allows for instantaneous reactions. Its ability, when coupled with instant-speed interactions present in your deck, culminates in a force to be reckoned with. This card offers a fighting chance to tactically alter the state of play, keeping your adversaries on their toes while you deftly navigate through the turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Scrapwork Rager demands that you part with another card from your hand, which can be detrimental when you’re trying to maintain card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: Casting this creature requires a precise combination of one energy from the Mountains and two of any type. This specificity means you can only integrate it seamlessly into decks that produce red mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of three mana, including one red, to summon the Scrapwork Rager to the field, players might find it burdensome compared to other options. Lower-cost cards might deliver similar or even greater impact on the game, challenging its inclusion in some strategies.
Reasons to Include Scrapwork Rager in Your Collection
Versatility: Scrapwork Rager offers flexibility for various deck builds with its artifact synergies and the ability to discard for an advantage, making it a universal fit for players looking to optimize their gameplay.
Combo Potential: Its inherent capability to interact with graveyard mechanics can activate numerous combos, further integrating it into strategies that rely on recycling resources from the discard pile.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame that appreciates quick maneuvers and the ability to pivot strategies, Scrapwork Rager’s cost-effective design and utility make it a strong contender against a variety of deck archetypes.
How to Beat
Scrapwork Rager presents an intriguing challenge on the battlefield with its ability to stir up chaos by discarding and drawing cards upon entry or when it attacks. To undermine its impact, a strategic approach is to limit its ability to trigger these effects altogether. Tactics such as removal spells like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can efficiently dispatch the Rager before its abilities cause any disruption. Control decks may lean on countering it directly with spells such as Counterspell or Neutralize to nip the problem in the bud.
Ensnaring the Rager with enchantments is another route to consider. Pacifism and similar effects can neutralize the creature without triggering any potential death-related abilities it might have. Remember, direct damage spells that avoid the graveyard, like Exile or Unsummon effects, are invaluable here, as they bypass any shenanigans that may arise from it hitting the graveyard. Managing the timing of these removals is key to ensure the Rager’s ability doesn’t provide the opponent with an advantage at a critical moment.
Today’s MTG landscape offers numerous ways to handle threats like Scrapwork Rager. By employing swift and certain removal or countering its presence outright, the disruption it’s designed to cause can be effectively thwarted, allowing for continued dominance over the game’s flow.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Scrapwork Rager // Scrapwork Rager MTG card by a specific set like The Brothers' War Art Series and The Brothers' War, 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 Scrapwork Rager // Scrapwork Rager and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
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- MTG Mint Card
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- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Scrapwork Rager // Scrapwork Rager Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2022-11-18 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by Michal Ivan.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Brothers' War Art Series | ABRO | 18 | 2015 | Art series | Borderless | Michal Ivan | ||
| 2 | 2022-11-18 | The Brothers' War | BRO | 123 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Michal Ivan |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Scrapwork Rager has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Scrapwork Rager card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-10-14 | Activating a card's unearth ability isn't the same as casting that card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Defabricate's second mode) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Scatter Ray) will not. |
| 2022-10-14 | At the beginning of the next end step, a permanent returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Defabricate that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the permanent will stay on the battlefield and the delayed triggered ability won't trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the permanent if it eventually leaves the battlefield. |
| 2022-10-14 | If a permanent returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it's exiled instead—unless the spell or ability that's causing the permanent to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If that spell or ability later returns the card to the battlefield (as Static Net might, for example), the permanent card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effects will no longer apply to it. |
| 2022-10-14 | If you activate a card's unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will do nothing as it resolves. |
| 2022-10-14 | Unearth grants haste to the permanent that's returned to the battlefield (even if it's not a creature card). However, neither of the "exile" abilities is granted to that permanent. If that permanent loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the next end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead. |