Devouring Tendrils MTG Card

Devouring Tendrils - Strixhaven: School of Mages

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2021-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Strixhaven: School of Mages
Set code	STX
Number	126
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Campbell White

Key Takeaways

It offers card advantage by drawing a card when a creature with greater power is controlled.
Despite its straightforward removal, Devouring Tendrils can be costly and color restrictive.
Effective against creature-heavy strategies, providing tactical life gains and board control.

Text of card

Target creature you control deals damage equal to its power to target creature or planeswalker you don't control. When the permanent you don't control dies this turn, you gain 2 life.

Witherbloom spells often take on the appearance—and personality—of their components.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When casting Devouring Tendrils, you benefit from its ability to effectively remove an opponent’s creature while simultaneously drawing a card if you control a creature with greater power. This dual action serves to tilt the card balance in your favor, offering a valuable swing in momentum.

Resource Acceleration: Although Devouring Tendrils doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, it does offer resource acceleration by potentially saving your mana. By dealing with a threat efficiently, you keep mana available for other spells or creatures, advancing your board state while disrupting theirs.

Instant Speed: The advantage of being an instant cannot be overstated. The flexibility to cast Devouring Tendrils on your opponent’s turn, or in response to their actions, allows for strategic depth and tactical plays. The instant speed ensures that you are always ready to interact on the stack, maintaining the pace of your game plan without missing a beat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Devouring Tendrils may require you to remove another card from your hand or gameplay, which could deplete essential resources or disrupt strategic plays that hinge on a full grip.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for Devouring Tendrils is locked into green. This can pose a challenge for multicolored decks that need to balance their mana base and could limit the card’s versatility overall.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At two green mana and two of any color, Devouring Tendrils might be considered costly for its effect. Other cards in the green spectrum may offer similar or better effects for lower or more adaptable mana costs, which could affect deckbuilding decisions.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Devouring Tendrils serves as a flexible option for any deck seeking creature removal while also providing a boost to your own creatures. It’s suitable for decks that aim to maintain board presence and for those that wish to capitalize on efficient removal spells.

Combo Potential: This card works great in synergy with high-power creatures, enhancing its damage potential. It also opens up combo plays in decks that benefit from life gain or those seeking to exploit spells that trigger upon dealing damage.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to target an opponent’s key creature while strengthening yours, Devouring Tendrils is beneficial in a meta teeming with creature-based strategies. Its relevance increases with the presence of creatures crucial to an opponent’s gameplay, making it a strategic addition to your arsenal.

How to beat

Devouring Tendrils may seem like an unassuming piece of removal in MTG, but underestimating it could be your downfall. This spell not only takes out a creature but also bolsters another creature you control with a life gain equal to the destroyed creature’s power. To effectively navigate against this dual-threat card, strategic measures must be taken.

A crafty approach involves maintaining a low-profile board. Creatures with hexproof or indestructible properties can slip through the tendrils’ grasp, keeping them safe and neutralizing the card’s impact. Moreover, instant-speed removals or sacrifice effects can disrupt the synergy by removing your own creature in response, preventing the life gain. Another angle is deploying counter spells that particularly target such creature-specific removals, giving you the upper hand.

Remember that Devouring Tendrils primarily thrives in a creature-dense environment. By tailoring your deck to minimize such conditions or by employing disruptive tactics, you can effectively mitigate the card’s advantages and keep your own strategy on a steady keel. Ensuring that you’re prepared can turn a potentially devastating encounter with Devouring Tendrils into an easily navigable challenge.

Cards like Devouring Tendrils

In MTG, Devouring Tendrils provides a unique approach to creature removal that rivals other spells of its kind. Like Devouring Tendrils, Rabid Bite offers a straightforward method for one creature to deal damage to another without being damaged in return. Yet, Rabid Bite doesn’t grant the controller life points equal to the amount of damage dealt, an edge that Devouring Tendrils offers, enhancing survival against aggressive strategies.

Comparatively, Ram Through also features a similar fighting mechanic while allowing for excess damage to spill over to the opposing player or planeswalker. This can create unexpected game-ending scenarios that Devouring Tendrils does not accommodate. Even though Devouring Tendrils might not offer this trample-like effect, its advantage lies in the life gain, making it valuable in different contexts.

Thus, in assessing creature-centric spells, Devouring Tendrils stands out among its counterparts for those valuing life total as a buffer. It serves as a crucial turning point against formidable creatures, all the while bolstering a player’s stamina in the game of MTG.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Devouring Tendrils 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 Devouring Tendrils and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Devouring Tendrils has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Commander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Devouring Tendrils 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	Devouring Tendrils creates a delayed triggered ability that triggers whenever the target creature or planeswalker you don’t control dies this turn, even if it didn’t die because of the damage dealt as Devouring Tendrils resolved.