Lydari Elephant MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Elephant
Released	2001-06-28
Set symbol
Set name	Sega Dreamcast Cards
Set code	PSDG
Power	*
Toughness	*
Number	6
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	White
Illustred by	Heather Hudson

Key Takeaways

The Lydari Elephant excels by expanding your hand size, thus providing a strategic edge during play.
It accelerates resources, enabling advanced spells earlier, giving players a significant tempo boost.
Instant speed synergy allows for dynamic play, reacting deftly to opponents’ actions each turn.

Text of card

As Lydari Elephant enters the battlefield, choose two numbers from 3 to 7 at random. Lydari Elephant's power is equal to the first number chosen and its toughness equal to the second number chosen.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Lydari Elephant introduces significant value by potentially bulking up your hand with additional cards. Its ability to draw a card upon entering the battlefield is pivotal in keeping your options open and expanding your hand, directly impacting your tactical advantage in the match.

Resource Acceleration: This formidable creature also offers resource acceleration as it encourages ramp strategies. By allowing players to access additional mana sources upon fulfilling certain conditions, it can facilitate casting higher-cost spells earlier in the game, providing a substantial tempo boost.

Instant Speed: Although the Lydari Elephant itself is not an instant, it can synergize with cards designed to be played at instant speed. This seamless integration ensures that you can maximize your mana and card plays each turn, reacting to your opponent’s moves with the perfect timing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To unlock the full potential of the Lydari Elephant, players need to part with another card from their hand. This downside can be particularly impactful during the late game when each card’s value is at its peak. Those accommodating this elephant in their deck must prepare for the times when their hand might be unwillingly thinned.

Specific Mana Cost: As with many colored creatures in MTG, the Lydari Elephant comes with a stringent mana requirement. Ensuring you have the right type of mana clearly delineated for its summoning can be troublesome for duel or multicolor deck enthusiasts. This limitation constrains deck flexibility and can lead to missed opportunities to play this hefty creature on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When it comes to deploying creatures to the battlefield, efficiency is key. The substantial investment to cast Lydari Elephant may not always harmonize with your tempo, especially when considering other cards with similar or lower mana costs that potentially yield equal or higher value. Savvy players must weigh the cost against their deck strategy and decide if this pachyderm is worth the hefty mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Lydari Elephant offers flexibility in deck building, fitting seamlessly into a variety of green-based strategies. Its bulk can serve as both an effective blocker and an offensive threat, making it a practical choice for midrange decks.

Combo Potential: With abilities that often complement synergistic play, Lydari Elephant can work wonders in decks that capitalize on +1/+1 counters or creature-based strategies, amplifying the potential for powerful combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where creature-heavy decks prevail, having Lydari Elephant in your collection means you’re prepared to match the pace, providing a reliable and impactful board presence against the competition.

How to beat

The Lydari Elephant brings a significant presence to the battlefield in MTG with its substantial stats and the trample ability, allowing it to deal damage through blockers. This makes the Lydari Elephant a card to prepare for, especially when it marches alongside a green-focused strategy that can conveniently bolster its power.

To effectively manage the threat posed by the Lydari Elephant, removal spells are your best asset. Direct removal spells like Fatal Push, Path to Exile, or Doom Blade can swiftly dispatch the creature before it gets a chance to cause trouble. Cards that exile creatures, such as Swords to Plowshares, are also effective against the Lydari Elephant, preventing any potential recursion from the graveyard. It’s also strategic to hold onto your removal until your opponent commits the Elephant to the board, ensuring that your resources are spent at the most opportune moment, hence maximizing the impact on your opponent’s game plan.

Leveraging these strategies against the Lydari Elephant can tilt the scales in your favor, mitigating the risk it poses on the battlefield. Ultimately, the best countermeasure is understanding the timing and having the right response within your deck to maintain control of the game.

Cards like Lydari Elephant

The Lydari Elephant bursts onto the battlefield as a unique creature in Magic: The Gathering. It has commonalities with Loxodon Smiter, a creature that also can’t be countered and has a 4/4 stat line for the same converted mana cost (CMC). However, Lydari Elephant offers an additional flexibility with the trample ability, allowing extra damage to spill over to an opponent if it’s not fully blocked.

Another parallel can be drawn with Arborback Stomper, a creature with a higher CMC but provides a life gain benefit. While Lydari Elephant doesn’t impact life totals upon entry, its lower cost and trample feature make it a potentially earlier threat. Lastly, Dungrove Elder stands as a worthy comparison. Both creatures are Green and align with a creature-heavy strategy, but Dungrove Elder possesses hexproof and potential for greater power based on the number of forests controlled. Yet, Dungrove lacks the guaranteed trample, possibly making the Lydari Elephant a better choice for certain aggressive decks seeking to deal combat damage efficiently.

Evaluating these cards side by side, Lydari Elephant holds its ground with its balanced mix of cost, power, and the advantageous trample ability, making it a solid candidate for decks looking for a sturdy and uncounterable frontline creature.

Cards similar to Lydari Elephant by color, type and mana cost

Tel-Jilad Lifebreather - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lydari Elephant MTG card by a specific set like Sega Dreamcast Cards, 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 Lydari Elephant and other MTG cards: