Hollowborn Barghest MTG Card


Hollowborn Barghest - Shadowmoor
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Demon Dog
Released2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set nameShadowmoor
Set codeSHM
Power 7
Toughness 6
Number68
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byEric Fortune

Key Takeaways

  1. Hollowborn Barghest provides substantial card draw, ensuring a steady flow of options during play.
  2. Graveyard optimization and instant speed actions with this card can turn games in your favor.
  3. Despite its power, careful deckbuilding is required to mitigate the card’s high mana costs.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have no cards in hand, each opponent loses 2 life. At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has no cards in hand, he or she loses 2 life.

It leaves a trail of crumpled trees and dashed dreams.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Hollowborn Barghest Mtg Card can prove to be a real game-changer when it comes to card advantage. This card allows players to potentially draw multiple cards, providing fuel for future plays and ensuring you’re never falling behind in resources.

Resource Acceleration: With its formidable abilities, the Hollowborn Barghest can enable resource acceleration by streamlining your graveyard optimization, thus setting the stage for a powerful late-game presence and possibly even turning the tide by overwhelming opponents with a sudden surge of options.

Instant Speed: Acting at instant speed gives you the upper hand, offering strategic flexibility that can catch an opponent off-guard. You can adapt to the evolving board state without revealing your strategies too early, and the Hollowborn Barghest caters to this need by interacting with the game at critical junctures, ensuring you’re maximising your opportunities for victory.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hollowborn Barghest demands that you have no cards in hand at the beginning of your upkeep to avoid losing half your life total. This stringent requirement can compel players to empty their hands prematurely, leaving them vulnerable to opponents’ strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that requires four black mana, this card can be challenging to play in multicolored decks, potentially limiting its versatility and requiring a heavily skewed mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a total cost of seven mana, Hollowborn Barghest is on the high end of the mana curve. Considering its powerful abilities, the initial investment might be too steep, especially when faster-paced games favor lower-cost creatures.


Reasons to Include Hollowborn Barghest in Your Collection

Versatility: Hollowborn Barghest offers a unique set of abilities that enable it to adapt to multiple deck strategies. Its ability to force opponents to discard cards while growing in power whenever you have no cards in hand makes it a flexible choice for decks that emphasize discard or reanimation tactics.

Combo Potential: The Barghest can work as a key piece in combos, particularly in decks that revolve around Hellbent mechanics or graveyard synergies. Its capacity to be both an offensive and defensive asset allows it to fit seamlessly into intricate game plans.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where attrition tactics reign supreme, Hollowborn Barghest excels. The sheer pressure it puts on opponents by threat of significant damage or loss of resources can turn the tide of the game, especially in matches that drag on and hand sizes diminish.


How to beat Hollowborn Barghest

Hollowborn Barghest presents a unique challenge on the battlefield. This imposing creature can debilitate opponents by forcing them to discard cards when its power is high. However, reducing the power of Hollowborn Barghest is key in diminishing its impact. Strategies to weaken its power include using cards that decrease creature strength, such as Humility, which overwrite its abilities and reduce it to a less threatening state.

Spot removal spells like Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can bypass Barghest’s intimidating power, removing it from play before it can cause havoc. Cards that impose restrictions on card types, particularly creatures, like Linvala, Keeper of Silence, prevent Hollowborn Barghest from utilizing its discard ability, effectively silencing it.

For those wielding control decks, countering Hollowborn Barghest upon its casting is an ideal tactic. Utilizing counterspells such as Counterspell or Negate ensures that Hollowborn Barghest never touches the board, nullifying the potential for disruption. Thus, while Hollowborn Barghest may initially seem formidable, a combination of power reduction, targeted removal, and counter strategies offer effective countermeasures against this challenging adversary.


Cards like Hollowborn Barghest

Hollowborn Barghest offers an interesting dichotomy within the realm of MTG creature cards. Positioned as a fearsome late-game finisher, it stands alongside cards like Dread Presence and Gray Merchant of Asphodel for their ability to deal damage to opponents. However, the Barghest diverges with a condition that hinges on having no cards in hand, activating its ability to cause significant life loss each turn.

Comparatively, the Barghest can be likened to Dismissive Pyromancer, sharing the gameplay mechanic of utilizing an empty hand for added value. Although the Pyromancer operates at a lower mana cost and offers card filtering, it lacks the massive board impact that Hollowborn Barghest can assert when unshackled by hand size. The Barghest’s seven-power stat line towers over Dismissive Pyromancer, positioning itself as a potential game-ender under the right conditions.

Assessing the strategic value and impact of Hollowborn Barghest in MTG, players might find it a compelling choice for decks that accelerate towards an empty hand and thrive on pressuring the opponent with powerful, relentless threats.

Dread Presence - MTG Card versions
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - MTG Card versions
Dismissive Pyromancer - MTG Card versions
Dread Presence - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Theros (THS)
Dismissive Pyromancer - Core Set 2019 Promos (PM19)

Cards similar to Hollowborn Barghest by color, type and mana cost

Lord of the Pit - MTG Card versions
Minion of Tevesh Szat - MTG Card versions
Minion of Leshrac - MTG Card versions
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Abhorrent Overlord - MTG Card versions
Fell Shepherd - MTG Card versions
Butcher of Malakir - MTG Card versions
Eater of Hope - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Nel Toth - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Pit - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Minion of Tevesh Szat - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Minion of Leshrac - Ice Age (ICE)
Cateran Overlord - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Deathbringer Regent - Commander 2021 (C21)
Black Dragon - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)
Reaper of Night // Harvest Fear - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Zombie Brute - Legions (LGN)
Tresserhorn Skyknight - Coldsnap (CSP)
Lim-Dûl the Necromancer - Time Spiral (TSP)
Phage the Untouchable - Conspiracy (CNS)
Ebon Dragon - From the Vault: Dragons (DRB)
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet - Zendikar (ZEN)
Sheoldred, Whispering One - Multiverse Legends (MUL)
Sutured Ghoul - Magic 2012 (M12)
Abhorrent Overlord - Theros Promos (PTHS)
Fell Shepherd - Commander 2013 (C13)
Butcher of Malakir - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Eater of Hope - Midnight Hunt Commander (MIC)
Scourge of Nel Toth - Commander 2015 (C15)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hollowborn Barghest MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Hollowborn Barghest and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hollowborn Barghest has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-05-01 The first ability checks whether you have no cards in hand both when it triggers and when it resolves. If you have any cards in your hand at the beginning of your upkeep, it won’t trigger at all. If you have any cards in your hand when the ability resolves, it does nothing.
2008-05-01 The second ability behaves the same way, except that it’s checking your opponent instead of you.

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