Hofri Ghostforge MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Dwarf Cleric
Power 4
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Generates card advantage by creating Spirit tokens with inherited abilities from non-token creatures.
  2. Indirectly accelerates resources, sustaining board pressure through powerful Spirit token synergies.
  3. Enables instant combat tricks, as Spirit creation activates immediately when a creature dies.

Text of card

Spirits you control get +1/+1 and have trample and haste. Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, exile it. If you do, create a token that's a copy of that creature, except it's a Spirit in addition to its other types and it has "When this creature leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner's graveyard."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hofri Ghostforge shines in the area of card advantage by transforming nontoken creatures that die into Spirit tokens. These spirits inherit the abilities of the original creature, effectively doubling your resources on the battlefield and in the graveyard. This ensures that your deck continues to apply pressure even after your creatures have been dealt with.

Resource Acceleration: While Hofri Ghostforge doesn’t directly ramp your mana like a traditional resource acceleration card might, the Spirit tokens it creates do carry over the power of your creatures. Consequently, you maintain a potent board presence which can lead to indirect resource advantages by pressuring your opponent to respond and by paving the way for powerful synergies.

Instant Speed: Although Hofri Ghostforge himself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the ability to create Spirit tokens happens instantly upon a nontoken creature’s demise. This allows for unexpected combat tricks and synergy plays. For example, if a creature with a key ability dies during combat, its Spirit double immediately steps in, potentially altering the course of the turn and the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hofri Ghostforge doesn’t directly require discarding cards, but to fully utilize the card you often need to have creatures to sacrifice or spells that self-discard, which can deplete your hand quickly.

Specific Mana Cost: This spirit cleric demands a precise mana alignment, requiring both red and white mana. This can potentially restrict deck-building options and is not as flexible for multicolored mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, including three generic and one each of red and white, Hofri Ghostforge comes at a pivotal turn where faster decks could be taking the lead or other more impactful five-cost spells could be played.


Reasons to Include Hofri Ghostforge Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Hofri Ghostforge stands out with its unique ability to immediately reanimate creatures that die as Spirit tokens, offering a recurring value in decks that are built around creature synergies or sacrifice mechanics.

Combo Potential: The card pairs exceptionally well with effects that trigger upon a creature’s death or ETB (enter the battlefield) effects, allowing imaginative players to craft game-winning combinations rooted in these interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where board wipes and removal are common, Hofri Ghostforge provides resilience against such setbacks, making it a formidable card against control archetypes that dominate the playing field.


How to beat

Hofri Ghostforge stands out in MTG as a formidable card, capable of turning the tide of the game by creating a spirit copy of a non-token creature every time one of your creatures dies. These spirit copies get trample and haste plus a +1/+1, which makes them a significant threat on the battlefield. Additionally, Hofri Ghostforge itself gives a second life to your creatures, as they return to your hand when they die, offering sustainability and endurance to your gameplay.

Countering this strategy requires an emphasis on exile and control effects to ensure Hofri Ghostforge’s ability does not trigger. Cards that can exile Hofri directly, like Path to Exile, or board wipe effects that don’t send creatures to the graveyard, such as Merciless Eviction, can effectively neutralize the advantage he offers. Moreover, preventing this creature from entering the battlefield in the first place with counterspells such as Dovin’s Veto or Essence Scatter can help you avoid dealing with the threat altogether, helping you maintain control of the game’s pace.

Understanding the inherent strength of Hofri Ghostforge’s abilities is crucial. Employing the right removal at the right time is the key to overcoming a deck built around this powerful spirit-smith card.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into the MTG universe, Hofri Ghostforge emerges as a card that rewards strategic play and creature-focused decks. Its unique ability to forge an afterlife for your non-token creatures heightens your board presence and keeps you in command, even when faced with adversity. If you’re thinking of integrating this intriguing spirit cleric into your strategy, consider its synergy with your existing cards and how it can galvanize your gameplay. Let your curiosity lead you – continue to explore and enhance your collection with Hofri’s spectral craftsmanship and ensure your deck not only survives the battlefield but thrives against the odds. Engage with us for more insights and elevate your MTG experience.


Cards like Hofri Ghostforge

Hofri Ghostforge stands out in MTG as a dynamic figure for Spirit and Dwarf decks. Exuding similarities to cards like Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle, Hofri has a niche in resurrecting creature cards, but with a unique twist: it creates Spirit copies of nontoken creatures that die, granting them trample and haste until end of turn. Teshar, on the other hand, brings back creatures with a lower converted mana cost from the graveyard to the battlefield directly when you cast a historic spell.

Diving into the Boros spectrum, we discover Luminous Broodmoth from Ikoria, which also offers a form of creature recursion. The Broodmoth returns dying non-Spirit creatures to the battlefield with a flying counter, whereas Hofri emphasizes immediate attack potential with the Spirit copies. Although Luminous Broodmoth provides a lasting effect on the battlefield, Hofri’s strategy is geared towards an aggressive, opportunistic playstyle.

When comparing Hofri Ghostforge to its counterparts, it’s clear that it offers a combination of aggression and resurrection that caters to players looking for an immediate impact on the game state. Its ability shapes gameplays, encourages swift offensive strategies, and embodies the resilience of the Spirit tribe in MTG.

Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - MTG Card versions
Luminous Broodmoth - MTG Card versions
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - Dominaria Promos (PDOM)
Luminous Broodmoth - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hofri Ghostforge MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and 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 Hofri Ghostforge and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Hofri Ghostforge Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-04-23 and 2021-04-24. Illustrated by Daarken.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 902782015normalblackDaarken
22021-04-23Strixhaven: School of MagesSTX 1922015normalblackDaarken
32021-04-23Strixhaven: School of MagesSTX 3442015normalblackDaarken
42021-04-24Strixhaven: School of Mages PromosPSTX 192s2015normalblackDaarken
52021-04-24Strixhaven: School of Mages PromosPSTX 192p2015normalblackDaarken

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hofri Ghostforge has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-04-16 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied creature will trigger when the token enters the battlefield. Any “As
-his creature] enters the battlefield” or “
-his creature] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the creature will also work.
2021-04-16 Each Spirit token you create refers only to the card you exile during the resolution of the ability that created that token. When it leaves the battlefield, you return only that card to your graveyard, not any other card exiled by Hofri.
2021-04-16 Hofri Ghostforge’s last ability is linked to the ability it grants the Spirit token. If a replacement effect causes you to create more than one Spirit token with this effect, they will all have that ability, and the exiled card will be returned to the graveyard if any of them leaves the battlefield.
2021-04-16 If another creature enters the battlefield as a copy of the Spirit token or another effect creates a copy of the Spirit token, it will have the triggered ability granted by Hofri, but will not be linked to Hofri’s ability and will not return the card to the graveyard when it leaves the battlefield.
2021-04-16 If the copied creature was copying something else, then the token enters the battlefield as whatever that creature copied.
2021-04-16 If you can’t exile the card, perhaps because another effect moved the card before the triggered ability started resolving, you won’t create a token.
2021-04-16 The copy uses the copiable values of the creature as it last existed on the battlefield before it died, not as it existed in the graveyard before it was exiled.
2021-04-16 The token copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing else (unless the creature was copying something else; see below). It doesn’t copy whether that creature was tapped or untapped, whether it had any counters on it or Auras or Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on.

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