Skitterbeam Battalion MTG Card

Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost9
RarityMythic
TypeArtifact Creature — Construct
Abilities Haste,Prototype,Trample
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Skitterbeam Battalion potentially creates card advantage by generating additional threats on the board.
  2. The card’s synergy with instant-speed spells provides flexibility and strategic depth in gameplay.
  3. Despite its powers, Skitterbeam Battalion requires careful mana and resource management for optimal use.

Text of card

Prototype — 2/2 (You may cast this spell with different mana cost, color, and size. It keeps its abilities and types.) Trample, haste When Skitterbeam Battalion enters the battlefield, if you cast it, create two tokens that are copies of it.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unlike other creatures that only present a singular threat, Skitterbeam Battalion has the potential to offer card advantage. When played effectively, this card can multiply its threat level by bringing additional creatures into play, thereby providing you with a greater presence on the board and increasing the pressure against your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: Skitterbeam Battalion can serve as a form of resource acceleration in decks that capitalize on creature synergies. By potentially adding more creatures to the battlefield, you’re not only developing a more formidable army but also setting the stage for powerful combos and interactions that could accelerate your game plan significantly.

Instant Speed: While Skitterbeam Battalion itself may not be an instant, its swarm-like nature can synergize well with instant-speed spells. It allows you to adapt your strategy on the fly, reacting to the board at critical moments or enabling surprise blocks. This flexibility can often lead to advantageous positions in the game, as well as more complex and unexpected lines of play for you to explore.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Skitterbeam Battalion comes with the stipulation that you must discard a card to activate certain abilities. This can be a strategic setback, especially when your hand is already running low on cards. Effectively, it puts pressure on your card economy and can hinder your long-term game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Skitterbeam Battalion requires a dedicated mana setup to cast, primarily asking for red mana. This requirement can potentially restrict the card’s inclusion to decks heavily skewed towards red or those that can reliably produce multiple colors of mana, thus limiting its deck-building versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a relatively hefty mana value to get Skitterbeam Battalion on the battlefield, it faces stiff competition from other creatures and spells within the same cost bracket. Players must consider whether its on-board presence and abilities justify the investment, especially when other options might provide a greater immediate impact or offer more value over time.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Skitterbeam Battalion can adapt to various playstyles. It thrives in decks focused on multiplying creatures or those utilizing the battalion mechanic, showcasing its broad utility across multiple deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: This card excels when paired with mechanics that grant additional combat phases or bolster creature numbers, enabling devastating attack phases that can quickly turn the tide of a game.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-based strategies commonly found in the current meta, Skitterbeam Battalion’s capability to amplify the effectiveness of such decks makes it a relevant addition for competitive play.

How to beat

Skitterbeam Battalion has emerged as a unit to watch in MTG matchups. The card is a force on the battlefield due to its formidable strength and the potential to create a substantial board presence. When considering strategies to outmaneuver this card, it’s essential to focus on its vulnerabilities. The Battalion’s dependency on the battalion mechanic can be its downfall if disrupted early. Denying your opponent the assembly of three or more creatures to activate its ability is key. This can be achieved by employing removal spells or sweepers to keep their creature count low.

Additionally, instant-speed removals like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can deal with Skitterbeam Battalion before their battalion ability triggers. Though it might require precise timing and resource management, controlling the game state and consequently the Battalion’s impact is crucial. Keep an eye on cards like Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God as they can clear the board regardless of the Battalion’s size and strength. In essence, maintaining a strategy that either starves your opponent of resources or reacts swiftly to their plays makes Skitterbeam Battalion less daunting. Always be prepared to adjust your strategy dynamically to contain such powerful cards on the battlefield.

BurnMana Recommendations

Embarking on the MTG journey means continually refining your collection with distinguishable cards like Skitterbeam Battalion. Using our insights on its pros and cons, enhance your deck with cards that have striking board presence or pinpoint precision tools to regulate your opponents’ creature advantages. Ensure your arsenal is equipped with apt responses to enemies deploying cards like Skitterbeam Battalion. If you’re looking to deepen your strategic play or integrate Skitterbeam Battalion into your deck, expand your MTG prowess and gather wisdom on pivotal plays. Tap into an array of strategies, tips, and card analysis with us and secure triumph in your next encounter at the table.

Cards like Skitterbeam Battalion

Skitterbeam Battalion joins the fold of multicolored creatures in Magic: The Gathering, holding similarities to other cards that delight in battlefield presence. Take for instance, the renowned Loxodon Smiter. While both creatures boast significant stats for their cost, the Battalion demands a specific board state to capitalize on its full potential by requiring creatures on either side of it for added privilege. Loxodon Smiter, however, enters the fray unfettered by such conditions.

Another creature card worth comparing is Frontline Medic. The Medic not only provides a sturdy body for combat but also offers battalion abilities which bolster its strategic value. Unlike the Skitterbeam Battalion, the Medic doesn’t lean on adjacent creature positioning. Instead, it commands respect through its intrinsic battalion trait that affects combat dynamics by either making your creatures indestructible or disrupting your opponent’s capability to use counter spells effectively.

By considering how each card can make an impact on gameplay, Skitterbeam Battalion stands out with its unique positioning mechanics. Its ability to alter combat outcomes based on creature adjacency presents an intriguing tactical approach for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts, highlighting the diverse strategies available among battalion-inclined creatures.

Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Frontline Medic - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Frontline Medic - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skitterbeam Battalion MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and The Brothers' War Art Series, 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 Skitterbeam Battalion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Skitterbeam Battalion Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2022-11-18 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by Leon Tukker.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 1057482015PrototypeBlackLeon Tukker
22022-11-18The Brothers' War Art SeriesABRO 212015Art seriesBorderlessLeon Tukker
32022-11-18The Brothers' WarBRO 1652015PrototypeBlackLeon Tukker
42022-11-18The Brothers' WarBRO 3432015PrototypeBlackLeon Tukker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skitterbeam Battalion has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Skitterbeam Battalion 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 A prototype card is a colorless card in every zone except the stack or the battlefield, as well as while on the stack or the battlefield if not cast as a prototyped spell. Ignore its alternative characteristics in those cases. For example, while it's in your graveyard, Blitz Automaton is a colorless creature card with mana value 7. It can't be the target of Recommission, a spell that targets an artifact or creature card with mana value 3 or less in your graveyard.
2022-10-14 Casting a prototyped spell isn't the same as casting it for an alternative cost, and an alternative cost may be applied to a spell cast this way. For example, if an effect allows you to cast an artifact card without paying its mana cost, you could either cast Blitz Automaton normally, or as a prototyped spell.
2022-10-14 If an effect copies a prototyped spell, that copy (as well as the token it becomes on the battlefield) will have the same characteristics as the prototyped spell. Similarly, if an effect creates a token that's a copy of a prototyped permanent or causes another permanent to become a copy of it, the copy would have the same characteristics as the prototyped permanent.
2022-10-14 Regardless of how it was cast, a prototype card always has the same name, abilities, types, and so on. Only the mana cost, mana value, color, power, and toughness change depending on whether the card was cast as a prototyped spell.
2022-10-14 The copies will have the same mana cost, mana value, color, power, and toughness as Skitterbeam Battalion, which vary depending on whether it was cast as a prototyped spell.
2022-10-14 The prototype ability functions in any zone that the spell could be cast from. For example, if an effect allows you to cast artifact spells from your graveyard, you could cast a prototyped Blitz Automaton from your graveyard.
2022-10-14 When cast as a prototyped spell, that spell has the mana cost, power, and toughness characteristics shown in its colored, secondary text box rather than the normal values of those characteristics. Its color and mana value are determined by that mana cost. The permanent that spell becomes as it resolves has the same characteristics. If the spell leaves the stack in any other way, or the permanent it becomes leaves the battlefield, it immediately resumes using its normal characteristics.
2022-10-14 When casting a prototyped spell, use only its prototype characteristics to determine whether it's legal to cast it. For example, if Blitz Automaton is exiled with the last ability of Chandra, Dressed to Kill, you would be able to cast it for (because it's a red spell), even though you wouldn't be able to cast it as a colorless spell for its normal cost.