Blood Researcher MTG Card


Blood Researcher - Strixhaven: School of Mages
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Vampire Druid
Abilities Menace
Released2021-04-23
Set symbol
Set nameStrixhaven: School of Mages
Set codeSTX
Power 2
Toughness 2
Number166
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byCristi Balanescu

Key Takeaways

  1. Adept at card advantage, Blood Researcher excels in cultivating board strength with each lifegain instance.
  2. Roles in mana ramp and aggressive strategies highlight its resource acceleration and combo potentials.
  3. Despite its mana specificity, Blood Researcher is adaptable, vital in a lifegain-prevalent metagame.

Text of card

Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Blood Researcher.

"Dean Valentin warns us not to consume the samples for our safety, but I think he's just being greedy."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Blood Researcher provides consistent card advantage by enabling the growth of +1/+1 counters, potentially drawing out powerful creatures or essential spells to maintain board presence.

Resource Acceleration: As part of the Magecraft archetype, Blood Researcher can play a pivotal role in ramping up your available resources. With each spell cast, not only do you build a stronger creature, but you also pave the way for playing higher-cost cards sooner.

Instant Speed: While Blood Researcher itself is not at instant speed, its ability synergizes well with instant-speed spells. Casting spells on your opponent’s turn accentuates Blood Researcher’s growth potential, making it a formidable threat that evolves rapidly and unpredictably.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To truly capitalize on Blood Researcher’s abilities, you may have to discard cards. This could hamper your game plan if you’re already struggling with card advantage or need to maintain specific cards in your hand for future strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Blood Researcher can be challenging for some decks because it requires at least one black and one green mana. This specific combination necessitates a solid base in both colors, potentially making it less versatile in multicolored or less focused mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Blood Researcher offers a specific benefit for decks built around +1/+1 counters, it does come at a higher cost compared to other three-mana creatures. Players may find that when optimizing their decks, there are other creatures or spells that provide similar or better functionality at a lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Blood Researcher in Your Collection

Versatility: Blood Researcher can be a dynamic player in different deck archetypes, serving well in both aggressive and midrange strategies. Its ability to grow over time makes it a threat that must be answered in any game.

Combo Potential: As a card that benefits from +1/+1 counters, it synergizes with mechanics like proliferate or cards that support the counters theme, unlocking potentially powerful combinations to overwhelm opponents.

Meta-Relevance: With the evolving game environment, where life gain strategies are prevalent, this card can be a significant addition. Its merit increases, particularly within a metagame that sees frequent use of life gain and counters mechanics.


How to beat

Blood Researcher has swiftly become a staple for counters and lifegain strategies in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to gain +1/+1 counters for each instance of lifegain can rapidly spiral out of control if left unchecked. One of the most efficient methods to combat this vampiric menace is through the use of removal spells that can handle creatures irrespective of their size. Instant-speed interaction is particularly potent as it allows you to respond to lifegain triggers before the Blood Researcher grows too large.

Moreover, players may consider using exile effects to ensure that Blood Researcher doesn’t return to the battlefield through various graveyard recursion methods. Board wipes are another comprehensive solution, clearing the board of Blood Researcher along with any other threats. Preventing lifegain is also a viable strategy; cards that disrupt or negate lifegain can halt the bloodlust of Blood Researcher before it begins to dominate the game. Lastly, always be active in maintaining board presence and apply pressure to force defensive plays, preventing the opponent from comfortably setting up their lifegain synergies.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’ve relished the depths of Magic: The Gathering, you know that every card has its virtues and vexes. The Blood Researcher beckons with its potential for consistent growth and combo exploitation, vital for strategies leveraging life gain. While it demands a specific mana synthesis and may present a high investment upfront, the tactical advantages it offers could tilt the scales in your favor. Your game can dramatically shift with the right synergies and matchup knowledge. Eager to integrate Blood Researcher into your winning strategy? Immerse yourself in further insights and tips to harness its full power and enhance your MTG collection.


Cards like Blood Researcher

The allure of Blood Researcher lies in its ability to grow stronger with each instance of life gain. In the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, this card echoes the mechanics of creatures like Ajani’s Pridemate, which also benefits from life-gaining events. Ajani’s Pridemate, commonly found in white-based life gain decks, can amass power at a steady rate. Despite their similarities, the Pridemate lacks the Menace attribute that Blood Researcher provides, which allows it to be less easily blocked.

Considering other counterparts, Scavenging Ooze stands out with its built-in life gain and graveyard disruption. It can pose a significant threat by exiling cards from graveyards, growing in power, and occasionally providing life boosts. Although the Ooze doesn’t trigger from every life gain event as directly as Blood Researcher, its versatility in handling graveyard-based strategies can be advantageous.

When evaluating Blood Researcher alongside its analogs, its inherent Menace and focus on life gain synergy make it a unique competitor, particularly in formats where steadily gaining life pairs well with an aggressive creature strategy.

Ajani's Pridemate - MTG Card versions
Scavenging Ooze - MTG Card versions
Ajani's Pridemate - MTG Card versions
Scavenging Ooze - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Blood Researcher MTG card by a specific set like Strixhaven: School of Mages, 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 Blood Researcher and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Blood Researcher has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-04-16 An ability that triggers “whenever you gain life” triggers just once for each life gain event, no matter how much life you gain.
2021-04-16 Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life gain event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, a “whenever you gain life” ability will trigger twice. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will trigger only once.
2021-04-16 If you gain an amount of life “for each” of something, that life is gained as one event and the ability will trigger only once.
2021-04-16 If you gain life at the same time Blood Researcher is dealt lethal damage, it dies before its ability can put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
See more decks