Bonehoard MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeArtifact — Equipment
Abilities Equip,Living weapon

Key Takeaways

  1. Bonehoard maximizes card efficiency by offering both equipment and a creature upon entry, enhancing board strength.
  2. It grows in power with graveyards, providing late-game potential without further mana costs, aiding substantial threats.
  3. Flexibility to equip at instant speed allows Bonehoard to adapt to combat surprises and strategic removal.

Text of card

Living weapon (When this Equipment enters the battlefield, put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield, then attach this to it.) Equipped creature gets +X/+X, where X is the number of creature cards in all graveyards. Equip


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bonehoard, as a living weapon, excels in maximizing card efficiency. On entering the battlefield, it comes with a creature token attached, essentially providing two cards in one – the equipment and a creature. Over time, it has the potential to transform any creature you control into a significant threat by utilizing the graveyard, making it a source of recurring card advantage as more creature cards pile up in graveyards.

Resource Acceleration: While Bonehoard doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration through mana or tokens, it accelerates your board presence by continually growing stronger as games progress. The power and toughness boosts it gives a creature are correlated with the number of creature cards in all graveyards, turning late-game topdecks into substantial threats without additional mana investment.

Instant Speed: Although Bonehoard itself is not an instant, it offers a level of flexibility often found in instant-speed cards. You can equip it at instant speed thanks to its static ability, allowing for surprise enhancements during combat or in response to removal, which can be crucial for maintaining momentum and outmaneuvering opponents in a dynamic game state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Bonehoard equips creatures with a power boost relative to the graveyard, its power level significantly drops when facing graveyard hate strategies or when the graveyard doesn’t have ample creature cards to exploit.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring specifically generic mana means Bonehoard demands flexibility in your mana base, which could strain decks that run many color-specific spells, potentially causing delays or mismatches in your mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four and an equip cost that could match that depending on the board state, Bonehoard can be somewhat mana-intensive compared to other equipment cards. This might lead to inefficiencies and delayed play dynamics, especially in fast-paced games where resource allocation to high-cost cards can be punishing.


Reasons to Include Bonehoard in Your Collection

Versatility: Bonehoard is an equipment card that gains power and toughness for each creature card in all graveyards. This allows it to be a key player in decks that manipulate graveyard contents, making it a dynamic inclusion that adapts to various board states.

Combo Potential: With the ability to grow larger as the game progresses, Bonehoard works well with self-mill strategies or decks that facilitate frequent creature turnover. It can quickly become a formidable threat when paired with cards that sacrifice creatures for a greater cause.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based decks are prevalent, Bonehoard excels by capitalizing on the natural course of the game. It thrives in matchups where death triggers are common and graveyards are consistently stocked, proving its worth as more than just a casual play tool.


How to beat

Bonehoard is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering, primarily known for its ability to grow stronger as more creatures hit the graveyard. This Living Weapon card attaches itself to a 0/0 Germ creature token that has the potential to become a colossal threat if unchecked. Tackling this artifact requires strategic removal of the Germ token or the Bonehoard itself before the creature’s power and toughness spiral out of control.

To effectively counter Bonehoard, you can rely on exile effects, minimizing the number of creatures in graveyards and thus limiting Bonehoard’s strength. Cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt ensure graveyards stay empty, making Bonehoard’s growth stagnant. On the other hand, if Bonehoard has already equipped to a creature, targeted removal or shatter effects, such as Disenchant or Naturalize, can disassemble this perilous weapon. Artifact-centric decks should always be prepared with sideboard answers for persistent threats like Bonehoard. Prioritizing the disarming of the Bonehoard can safeguard against overwhelming creature tokens and ensure an uninterrupted path to victory.

Remember, quick response is key in these scenarios, so make sure your deck is tuned with the right answers to challenge cards like Bonehoard that thrive on the fallen.


BurnMana Recommendations

With Bonehoard’s capacity to leverage the graveyard’s natural accumulation of creatures, it’s a game-changer in decks that honor the cycle of life and death on the battlefield. Its versatility is evident as matches progress, transforming even the smallest of creatures into formidable threats. If your strategy includes graveyard synergies, or if you’re looking to thwart creature-centric adversaries, considering Bonehoard for your collection is a wise move. It not only emboldens your board presence but can tip the scales in your favor during the late game. Curious about integrating Bonehoard into your arsenal or seeking clever ways to outplay it? Dive deeper with us, where MTG strategy meets creativity, and ensure your deck’s resilience against the ever-changing tides of play.


Cards like Bonehoard

Bonehoard finds its niche within the family of artifact equipment cards in MTG that add a layer of strategy and power to creatures on the battlefield. When evaluating Bonehoard, Mortarpod immediately springs to mind as it similarly takes advantage of creature deaths to enhance its effectiveness. Mortarpod offers the utility of direct damage, but Bonehoard surpasses it in scaling power over time as the graveyard fills up.

Skullclamp stands out as another comparable card, which allows for quick card draw at the expense of weaker creatures. While Skullclamp directly converts creatures into card advantage, Bonehoard continuously grows stronger, reflecting the ever-increasing creature count in the graveyard. Then we encounter Lashwrithe, which, like Bonehoard, draws strength from a very particular game aspect – in this case, the number of Swamps you control. While Lashwrithe benefits from an immediate power boost in a dedicated black mana deck, Bonehoard gains power across any deck type and game stage as long as creatures are put to rest in the graveyard.

To sum up, Bonehoard positions itself as a dynamic and adaptable equipment card. It shines in protracted games teeming with creature interactions, gifted with the potential to turn any creature into a substantial threat.

Mortarpod - MTG Card versions
Skullclamp - MTG Card versions
Lashwrithe - MTG Card versions
Mortarpod - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Skullclamp - Darksteel (DST)
Lashwrithe - New Phyrexia (NPH)

Cards similar to Bonehoard by color, type and mana cost

Jayemdae Tome - MTG Card versions
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Dancing Scimitar - MTG Card versions
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Aetherworks Marvel - MTG Card versions
Jayemdae Tome - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Juggernaut - Collectors' Edition (CED)
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Grinning Totem - Mirage (MIR)
Phyrexian Processor - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Patagia Golem - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Lodestone Myr - Mirrodin (MRD)
Krark-Clan Ironworks - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Ur-Golem's Eye - Commander 2014 (C14)
Jester's Cap - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Bottled Cloister - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Rod of Ruin - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Gnarled Effigy - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Scrapbasket - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Magnetic Mine - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Icy Manipulator - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Eye of Doom - Commander 2013 (C13)
Well of Lost Dreams - The List (PLST)
Coercive Portal - Conspiracy (CNS)
Aetherworks Marvel - Kaladesh Promos (PKLD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bonehoard MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin Besieged and Commander 2014, 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 Bonehoard and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bonehoard Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2011-02-04 and 2022-02-18. Illustrated by Chippy.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-02-04Mirrodin BesiegedMBS 1002003normalblackChippy
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 2292015normalblackChippy
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 2452015normalblackChippy
42016-11-11Commander 2016C16 2452015normalblackChippy
52017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 2112015normalblackChippy
62020-09-25Zendikar Rising CommanderZNC 1082015normalblackChippy
72020-09-26The ListPLST CMA-2112015normalblackChippy
82022-02-18Neon Dynasty CommanderNEC 1472015normalblackChippy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bonehoard has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-06-01 Although creature tokens go to the graveyard before ceasing to exist, they never count as creature cards and won't increase the bonus granted by Bonehoard, however briefly.
2011-06-01 If lethal damage is dealt simultaneously to the equipped creature and another creature, both creatures are put into the graveyard at the same time. The equipped creature won't get an additional bonus from the other creature.
2011-06-01 If there are no creature cards in any graveyard when Bonehoard's living weapon ability resolves, the Germ will be 0/0 and put into its owner's graveyard.
2011-06-01 The value of X is calculated continuously as the number of creature cards in graveyards changes.
2020-08-07 If the Germ token is destroyed, the Equipment remains on the battlefield as with any other Equipment.
2020-08-07 If the living weapon trigger causes two Germs to be created (due to an effect such as that of Doubling Season), the Equipment becomes attached to one of them. The other will be put into your graveyard and subsequently cease to exist, unless another effect raises its toughness above 0.
2020-08-07 Like other Equipment, each Equipment with living weapon has an equip cost. You can pay this cost to attach an Equipment to another creature you control. Once the Germ token is no longer equipped, it will be put into your graveyard and subsequently cease to exist, unless another effect raises its toughness above 0.
2020-08-07 The Germ token enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature and the Equipment becomes attached to it before state-based actions would cause the token to die. Abilities that trigger as the token enters the battlefield see that a 0/0 creature entered the battlefield.

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