Qasali Ambusher MTG Card


Qasali Ambusher - Shards of Alara
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Cat Warrior
Abilities Reach
Released2008-10-03
Set symbol
Set nameShards of Alara
Set codeALA
Power 2
Toughness 3
Number184
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byKev Walker

Key Takeaways

  1. Sets a trap for opponents with its no-cost in-game appearance under precise conditions.
  2. Enables strategic deployment of resources, offering a surprise element in matches.
  3. Requires specific mana types, limiting its usage to certain deck strategies.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Reach If a creature is attacking you and you control a Forest and a Plains, you may play Qasali Ambusher without paying its mana cost and as though it had flash.

The surprise of a battle cry can be as deadly as a blade.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Qasali Ambusher can be put onto the battlefield without being cast under certain conditions, effectively giving you an extra creature without spending a card from your hand. This adds strategic depth to your plays and gives you an upper hand without diminishing your hand resources.

Resource Acceleration: The Ambusher doesn’t require mana if its alternate casting condition is met. This not only saves you mana that you can use for other spells and abilities but can also surprise your opponent by bringing more presence on the board without previous investment, thus speeding up your board state development.

Instant Speed: The ability to deploy Qasali Ambusher at instant speed when an opponent’s creature attacks and you control a forest and a plains is a significant asset. It allows you to adjust your strategy reactively, potentially thwarting an opponent’s attack or simply providing a blocker when needed, all while leaving your mana untapped for other interactions on your opponent’s turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Qasali Ambusher prompts a strategic discard by requiring an opponent’s creature to attack you if you want to cast it without paying its mana cost. While this can be a benefit in decks that play defensively, it commits you to a reactive playstyle and potentially leaves you at a disadvantage if opponents withhold their creatures or employ alternate strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost includes a specific combination of green and white. This restricts the card’s inclusion to decks that can comfortably generate both types of mana, possibly excluding the Ambusher from a wider variety of deck builds that don’t align with its Selesnya color identity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When not able to fulfill its alternate casting condition, the Ambusher has a regular casting cost of two green and one white mana for a 2/3 creature. Although it boasts a ‘reach’ ability, in a landscape where efficiency is key, the Ambusher may be overshadowed by other creatures that offer greater stats or more versatile abilities for the same or lower cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Qasali Ambusher provides both defensive and offensive capabilities without requiring any mana investment, making it a flexible addition to any deck running green and white colors.

Combo Potential: Its ability to be cast for free under certain conditions works well with strategies aimed at surprising opponents and synergizes with bounce or blink effects, enabling multiple uses in a single game.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where aggressive decks are prevalent, the Qasali Ambusher serves as an efficient tool to thwart early threats, potentially swinging the momentum in your favor.


How to beat

Qasali Ambusher presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to drop onto the field at no cost under the right conditions. This card can catch opponents off guard due to its ambush mechanic, allowing players to cast it for free when a creature is attacking them and they control a Forest and a Plains. It’s an excellent defensive maneuver, as it bolsters your line of defense without tapping your mana resources.

To effectively counter Qasali Ambusher, it’s essential to anticipate its appearance and adapt your strategy. Foregoing attacks until you can deal with the card without triggering its free cast ability is one approach. Utilize removal spells that can bypass the Ambusher’s instant speed deployment. Spells that can exile, such as Path to Exile, or ones that force a sacrifice, like Diabolic Edict, can be particularly effective since they don’t rely on entering combat to address the threat.

Finally, a powerful tool against Qasali Ambusher’s free casting is control magic and counterspells. Keeping up mana for a strategic Negate or Essence Scatter ensures you can intervene before the Ambusher hits the battlefield, thereby maintaining your battlefield presence and momentum.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re seeking to improve your MTG gameplay with dynamic defensive options, Qasali Ambusher is a versatile card to consider adding to your collection. It’s especially useful in patches where surprise tactics and mana efficiency can turn the tides of battle. While it shines brightest in specific decks tailored to its strengths, this card’s ability to appear at instant speed provides a unique strategic advantage. Balancing the pros and cons, understanding potential counters, and exploring cards with similar effects can all enhance your deck-building skills and gameplay wisdom. Ready to spice up your MTG strategy and explore the full potential of Qasali Ambusher? Let us guide you through the intricacies of mastering this compelling card.


Cards like Qasali Ambusher

Qasali Ambusher carves out a unique space within creature cards in MTG. It finds its closest parallels in cards like Loxodon Smiter and Woolly Thoctar, both sharing a blend of green and white mana in their cost and a firm presence on the battlefield with their respectable power and toughness. What distinguishes Qasali Ambusher is its no-cost casting ability under specific conditions, offering surprise defensive value without tapping into your mana reserves.

Examining another comparison, we encounter Leonin Arbiter, which also thrives within the game’s strategic nuances. Like Qasali Ambusher, the Leonin Arbiter manipulates regular play rules, impacting your opponent’s ability to search their library. Although not a direct gameplay analog to the Ambusher’s ambush mechanic, it presents a unique tactical wrinkle in its own right. Lastly, there’s the stalwart Wilt-Leaf Liege, granting a static buff to other creatures rather than providing a reactive play option.

Especially considering the surprise element, strategic depth, and aligned mana colors, Qasali Ambusher holds a distinctive place among its peers, offering both immediate board impact and potential to turn the tide of a game without expenditure of resources.

Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Woolly Thoctar - MTG Card versions
Leonin Arbiter - MTG Card versions
Wilt-Leaf Liege - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Woolly Thoctar - MTG Card versions
Leonin Arbiter - MTG Card versions
Wilt-Leaf Liege - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Qasali Ambusher by color, type and mana cost

Beast Walkers - MTG Card versions
Radiant Essence - MTG Card versions
Ranger en-Vec - MTG Card versions
Noble Panther - MTG Card versions
Benalish Emissary - MTG Card versions
Hedge Troll - MTG Card versions
Anurid Brushhopper - MTG Card versions
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers - MTG Card versions
Oracle of Nectars - MTG Card versions
Kitchen Finks - MTG Card versions
Knight of the Reliquary - MTG Card versions
Centaur Healer - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Chronicler of Heroes - MTG Card versions
Selvala, Explorer Returned - MTG Card versions
Veteran Warleader - MTG Card versions
Joraga Auxiliary - MTG Card versions
Renegade Rallier - MTG Card versions
Wayfaring Temple - MTG Card versions
Pride Sovereign - MTG Card versions
Beast Walkers - MTG Card versions
Radiant Essence - MTG Card versions
Ranger en-Vec - MTG Card versions
Noble Panther - MTG Card versions
Benalish Emissary - MTG Card versions
Hedge Troll - MTG Card versions
Anurid Brushhopper - MTG Card versions
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers - MTG Card versions
Oracle of Nectars - MTG Card versions
Kitchen Finks - MTG Card versions
Knight of the Reliquary - MTG Card versions
Centaur Healer - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Chronicler of Heroes - MTG Card versions
Selvala, Explorer Returned - MTG Card versions
Veteran Warleader - MTG Card versions
Joraga Auxiliary - MTG Card versions
Renegade Rallier - MTG Card versions
Wayfaring Temple - MTG Card versions
Pride Sovereign - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Qasali Ambusher MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara, 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 Qasali Ambusher and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Qasali Ambusher has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2008-10-01 Casting Qasali Ambusher as described in its second ability still uses the stack. The spell can be countered.
2008-10-01 For you to cast Qasali Ambusher as described in its second ability, a creature has to be attacking *you*. If creatures are attacking only planeswalkers, you won’t be able to cast Qasali Ambusher this way.
2008-10-01 If you want to cast Qasali Ambusher by using its second ability, you don’t necessarily have to do it during the declare attackers step. You can do it later in combat (including all the way up through the end of combat step) as long as there’s still a creature attacking you. Of course, if you cast Qasali Ambusher later than the declare attackers step, it won’t be able to block.
2008-10-01 Qasali Ambusher’s second ability is looking for lands with the subtypes Forest and Plains. Those lands don’t need to be named Forest and Plains. It’s okay if both subtypes are from the same land (such as Savannah or Temple Garden).
2018-04-27 If you’re playing a Two-Headed Giant game and a creature is attacking your teammate, you won’t be able to cast Qasali Ambusher this way.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
See more decks