Minion of the Wastes MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Minion
Abilities	Trample
Released	1997-10-14
Set symbol
Set name	Tempest
Set code	TMP
Power	*
Toughness	*
Number	146
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Scott Kirschner

Key Takeaways

The card provides a substantial threat level, prompting resource-heavy reactions from opponents to combat it effectively.
Leveraging life as a resource, it becomes a flexible tool in the right deck, enabling strategic advantage when played wisely.
Despite its potential, the life-based power mechanic can risk the player’s stability, demanding cautious play and deck synergy.

Text of card

Trample When you play Minion of the Wastes, pay any amount of life. Minion of the Wastes has power and toughness each equal to that amount.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the key strengths of Minion of the Wastes is its potential to create significant card advantage. As a creature, it poses a substantial threat, forcing opponents to deal with it, often at the cost of two-for-one trades in your favor. Deploying it strategically can keep you ahead in the card economy, overwhelming opponents with difficult decisions.

Resource Acceleration: Although Minion of the Wastes itself doesn’t directly offer resource acceleration, it can be a pivotal piece in decks that capitalize on life as a resource. Players adept at managing their life total can leverage it as a powerful force on the board, often able to convert health into pressure and card quality more effectively.

Instant Speed: While Minion of the Wastes does not operate at instant speed, the flexibility to pay any amount of life gives you the ability to adapt your strategy dynamically in response to the game’s state. This type of payment scales with the game, allowing for more aggressive or conservative plays based on the instantaneous demands of the match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the main drawbacks of Minion of the Wastes is its reliance on the player’s life total to determine its power and toughness. Each point of toughness and power costs 1 life, making it a risky card to play, especially when health resources are low or in matches where life is a precarious resource.

Specific Mana Cost: Minion of the Wastes demands a specific mana composition of three black mana and three generic mana. This can be quite restrictive, only fitting seamlessly into mono-black or heavy black-influence deck builds, limiting its versatility in a diverse metagame.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Priced at a total of six mana to cast, Minion of the Wastes can be considered on the higher end of the mana spectrum. For this cost, there may be alternative creatures or spells that offer fixed, guaranteed power or additional abilities without the life payment downside, possibly rendering this card a less efficient choice in competitive play.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Minion of the Wastes stands out due to its flexible power and toughness, determined by the life points paid upon casting. This trait allows it to adapt to various board states and makes it a significant threat at any stage of the game.

Combo Potential: Its dynamic nature creates synergies with life-gain strategies or cards that exploit high-power creatures. It could potentially turn the tide in your favor by harnessing ample life resources to establish a dominant presence on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a game climate where combat tricks and surprise swings are decisive, Minion of the Wastes offers a viable choice for players looking to exploit their life total for aggressive tactics and to catch their opponents off guard.

How to beat

The Minion of the Wastes card introduces a tantalizing risk-versus-reward dynamic into Magic: The Gathering gameplay. Its power—and indeed, its life cost—can scale to formidable heights, adapting to your available life total. Overcoming such an adaptable threat necessitates strategic foresight. Cards that can dictate combat terms, such as Pacifism, effectively neutralize the Minion without requiring a life investment. Similarly, effects that prevent damage or those that reduce its power can diminish its impact on the game, making your encounters with it more manageable.

Exile effects present a clean solution, bypassing the Minion’s potentially high toughness. Consider utilizing cards like Path to Exile to remove the Minion from play without fuss. It’s also essential to control the timing of interactions; instant-speed removal allows you to react effectively to the Minion’s summoning and protect your life total from a perilous plummet. Board wipes can also serve as an equalizer, sidestepping the need to deal with Minion of the Wastes on a one-on-one basis, and resetting the stage for your strategic advances.

Ultimately, while the Minion of the Wastes brings heavy-hitting potential to the battlefield, its dependence on your life total for effectiveness can be a double-edged sword. With the right countermeasures, you can mitigate its threats and turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Cards like Minion of the Wastes

Minion of the Wastes stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a creature card that offers a blend of risk and reward. It draws a comparison to Arrogant Wurm, a card which allows a player to potentially deploy a sizable creature for less mana via madness. Though, unlike Minion of the Wastes, Arrogant Wurm doesn’t pose a risk to its controller’s life total.

The risk factor is reminiscent of Death’s Shadow, which grows stronger as a player’s life total dwindles. Yet, Death’s Shadow doesn’t directly cost life – it benefits from the player’s life loss through other means. Phyrexian Negator also comes to mind, bringing a substantial power to the board early in the game, but with a drawback that could cost valuable resources upon taking damage.

Evaluating these cards alongside Minion of the Wastes, MTG players are presented with different variations of high-risk, high-reward gameplay. Each of these creatures has the potential to change the battlefield’s dynamics significantly, but Minion of the Wastes asks for the steepest immediate price in terms of life total investment.

Cards similar to Minion of the Wastes by color, type and mana cost

Chittering Harvester - MTG Card versions

Crossway Troublemakers - MTG Card versions

Geth, Lord of the Vault - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Minion of the Wastes MTG card by a specific set like Tempest, 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 Minion of the Wastes and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Minion of the Wastes has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2011-01-25	The life is paid as Minion of the Wastes enters the battlefield. If Minion of the Wastes is countered, you don’t get the opportunity to pay any life.