Summit Apes MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Ape |
| Released | 2010-02-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Worldwake |
| Set code | WWK |
| Power | 5 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 114 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Véronique Meignaud |
Text of card
As long as you control a Mountain, Summit Apes can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
"If you climb Skyfang Peak, avoid the pass. Generations of apes made that trail, and they don't tolerate trespassers." —Sachir, Akoum Expeditionary House
Cards like Summit Apes
The allure of powerful creatures in Magic: The Gathering extends to the formidable Summit Apes. These primates aren’t just a match for their kin in toughness and power, but they bring a unique aspect to the game. When we consider cards like Leatherback Baloth, which boasts a substantial 4/5 body for three mana, Summit Apes nearly mirrors this with the added potential for mountainwalk abilities – a boon for players holding a mountain, enabling it to be unblockable by players who control mountains.
Exploring the same forest, we find Ghor-Clan Rampager, a card that can either be a sizable 4/4 creature or act as a combat trick. While the Rampager offers versatility, Summit Apes shines in mountainous terrain, growing even stronger as your land base develops. Another relative in the creature space is Kird Ape, an aggressive one-mana creature that scales with lands, similar but starting smaller and growing continuously. The ability to outpace obstructing forces can give Summit Apes the upper hand during mid-game.
With each creature’s strengths taken into account, Summit Apes certainly carves out its niche among green’s big hitters, combining substantial power with agile territorial advantages dependent on land variation.
Cards similar to Summit Apes by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Summit Apes offers an opportunity to capitalize on card advantage, plowing through your deck and getting those vital cards into your hand when you need them most.
Resource Acceleration: This primate-themed powerhouse can significantly boost your resources, helping you ramp up your mana supply to cast game-changing spells quicker than your opponent.
Instant Speed: The capability to act at instant speed presents a tactical advantage, allowing you to respond with agility to the evolving battlefield, a hallmark of strategic gameplay synonymous with the finesse of seasoned players.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Summit Apes poses a challenge by requiring you to discard another card to fully utilize its abilities. This can be particularly punishing when you’re struggling to maintain a strong hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Locked behind a specific mana cost, Summit Apes needs both green and red, which might not seamlessly fit into multi-color decks, limiting its versatility across different strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a higher mana cost than some of its counterparts, Summit Apes demands a significant resource investment. This can slow down your game plan as you allocate resources that could be used for casting multiple spells or developing your board presence.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Summit Apes brings a flexible game piece that can adapt to various deck strategies. Its ability to act as both an early blocker and a late-game beater means it’s never a dead draw, fitting smoothly into a wide range of green-centered decks.
Combo Potential: With its inherent synergies involving mountain lands, Summit Apes enhances land-based strategies and pairs well with effects that manipulate the battlefield, such as landfall or ramp. Its interaction with mountain cards specifically creates opportunities for clever deck building and combo chaining.
Meta-Relevance: Given that aggressive and tempo-oriented strategies are often prevalent, having a creature like Summit Apes that can quickly escalate in power provides a useful tool for adapting to the pace of the current meta. Its capability to be both a compelling threat and an efficient creature makes it a worthy addition to any collection eyeing to stay competitive.
How to beat
Summit Apes is a creature card that delivers a powerful punch in Magic: The Gathering, particularly in games leveraging a mountain-rich mana base. With its mountainwalk ability, Summit Apes can become unblockable as long as the opponent controls a Mountain, potentially making it a consistent source of direct damage.
Defeating Summit Apes requires a strategic approach, often centered around removal spells that can bypass its mountainwalk ability. Targeted spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile are effective at eliminating this threat regardless of its unblockable status, provided the mana investment aligns with your pacing. Moreover, board wipes such as Wrath of God can clear the board of Summit Apes alongside other creatures, proving its reliability in a pinch.
In essence, addressing the Summit Apes menace involves preemptively setting up your deck with versatile removal or sweepers. The key is to maintain control of the board and remove the Ape before it can leverage its mountainwalk potential or to change the landscape of the battlefield by ridding it of Mountains, rendering its ability moot and the creature itself far less threatening.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Summit Apes MTG card by a specific set like Worldwake, 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 Summit Apes and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Summit Apes has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Summit Apes card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2010-03-01 | Whether you control a Mountain matters only as the defending player declares blockers. Once it’s blocked, gaining or losing control of a Mountain won’t affect Summit Apes’s blockers. |