Spikeshot Elder MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spikeshot Elder offers strategic flexibility in your gameplay, allowing for potential card advantage as you can repeatedly deal damage to creatures or players. This can force your opponent to use their resources inefficiently or lose valuable creatures.

Resource Acceleration: While Spikeshot Elder itself doesn’t provide direct resource acceleration, its ability could eliminate creatures that are hindering your resource progression, such as mana dorks or tax pieces, effectively speeding up your own game plan.

Instant Speed: The real power of Spikeshot Elder lies in its activated ability, which operates at instant speed. This gives you the upper hand, offering the freedom to react on your opponent’s turn and maximizing your mana use across different phases of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When harnessing the power of Spikeshot Elder, one must be mindful of the absence of a discard requirement. While not having to part with cards from your hand can be advantageous, this characteristic denies synergy in strategies that capitalize on discarding for value, potentially limiting strategic diversity within certain deck builds.

Specific Mana Cost: Spikeshot Elder presents a specific mana cost constraint, requiring red mana exclusively for both its casting and activated abilities. This characteristic deeply roots it in red-focused decks and might not mesh well with multicolored strategies where mana flexibility is paramount.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The activated ability of Spikeshot Elder demands a relatively high investment of three mana. In contrast, other cards with similar damage-dealing abilities may offer more cost-effective solutions. For players seeking efficient mana usage, especially in the early stages of the game, the Elder’s activated ability might not always represent the optimal play.

Reasons to Include Spikeshot Elder in Your Collection

Versatility: Spikeshot Elder has the ability to become a repeatable source of damage with just a simple boost in power. This flexibility makes it a solid choice in many red-based decks, particularly those that can easily increase creature statistics.

Combo Potential: This card can be a linchpin in combos, especially when paired with ways to augment its power. Equipment, auras, and instant spells that bump its power can turn it into a formidable damage dealer, capable of picking off key creatures or closing out a game.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where utility creatures hold sway, Spikeshot Elder stands out as a creature capable of removing problematic opponents’ creatures while also posing a threat to your opponent’s life total, making it a relevant choice for many game scenarios.

How to beat

Spikeshot Elder is a formidable red creature from Magic: The Gathering that can become a thorn in the side of any opponent, especially in the late game when pumped with additional power. To counter this threat effectively, it’s essential to neutralize the Elder before it can be buffed. Utilize instant-speed removal spells that can eliminate it no matter the size it grows to, such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push. Moreover, keeping creatures with higher toughness on the battlefield makes it more challenging for the Spikeshot Elder to pick them off one by one.

Another strategy is to limit the Elder’s enhancement opportunities. Enchantments like Pacifism can prevent it from attacking or even using its ability, while cards like Pithing Needle can shut down its activated abilities altogether. Lastly, remember to stay vigilant and remove the Elder swiftly because as long as it remains on the board, it poses a constant threat. A mix of control, timing, and the right spells will ensure that this pesky goblin doesn’t shoot down your chances of victory.