Chainweb Aracnir MTG Card


Chainweb Aracnir - Theros Beyond Death
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Spider
Abilities Escape,Reach
Released2020-01-24
Set symbol
Set nameTheros Beyond Death
Set codeTHB
Power 1
Toughness 2
Number167
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred bySam Rowan

Key Takeaways

  1. Chainweb Aracnir’s escape mechanic grants recurring value, demanding opponents to continuously find answers.
  2. Its reach deters flyers, indirectly accelerating your offensive strategies by safeguarding your attacks.
  3. Instant speed of its escape ability can surprise opponents, enhancing defense or offensive capabilities.

Text of card

Reach When Chainweb Aracnir enters the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to target creature with flying an opponent controls. Escape—, Exile four other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.) Chainweb Aracnir escapes with three +1/+1 counters on it.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chainweb Aracnir comes out of the battlefield with the potential to disrupt your opponent’s game significantly. When it escapes with three +1/+1 counters from the graveyard, it can create card advantage by being a recurrent threat that demands answers. This spider keeps returning, offering you consistent value over multiple turns.

Resource Acceleration: Even though Chainweb Aracnir itself does not directly accelerate your resources, its mere presence can open the path for your other creatures to attack safely. Its reach ability can deter flying creatures, indirectly speeding up your game plan by removing potential blockers and threats, which allows you to commit more resources to the offensive.

Instant Speed: This card initially lacks instant speed capabilities, but its escape mechanic allows it to jump back into play during either player’s turn. Importantly, when timed well, this can unexpectedly strengthen your defense or renew an offensive threat at crucial moments, adding a dynamic layer to your strategic plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike some other creatures, Chainweb Aracnir does not necessitate a discard. However, cards with discard requirements often pose the dilemma of sacrificing a potential resource for an immediate benefit. This is a factor that could compete with Chainweb Aracnir’s escape mechanic when strategizing your graveyard management.

Specific Mana Cost: Chainweb Aracnir demands a precise mana combination to be played. It requires one green mana which means it is primarily dedicated to decks that are aligned with green mana resources or multi-color decks that include green. This can restrict the card’s flexibility across a wider range of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When utilizing escape—Chainweb Aracnir’s key feature—you must pay a considerably high mana cost and exile cards from your graveyard. This escape cost may compete with other demands for your graveyard resources which could otherwise be used for more impactful plays depending on your deck’s strategy and the game’s context.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Chainweb Aracnir is a flexible addition to many decks that may struggle against flyer-heavy strategies. Its ability to target creatures with flying both when it enters the battlefield and when it escapes makes it a recurring threat in multiple scenarios.

Combo Potential: Beyond its own abilities, this card can be an integral piece in strategies that leverage graveyard mechanics or benefit from creature recursion. Its synergies with self-mill decks amplify its value, turning a simple creature into a recurring tool for control.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment saturated with powerful flying creatures, having Chainweb Aracnir in your arsenal ensures that you have an effective, repeatable answer. The ability to escape with additional +1/+1 counters makes it increasingly robust in prolonged games, aligning well with current meta demands for resilience and adaptability.


How to beat

Chainweb Aracnir is a versatile card that’s found a home in many MTG decks, known for its ability to disrupt flying opponents and return from the graveyard, enhancing its longevity. To effectively counter this card, understanding its strengths and weaknesses is key. First, this spider excels in being a recurrent blocker due to its escape mechanic, but its impact can be lessened by employing removal spells that exile rather than destroy. This ensures that the Aracnir can’t return to the battlefield once it is dealt with. Cards like Scavenging Ooze also play a pivotal role in managing graveyard strategies, eating away at the potential escape fodder that Chainweb Aracnir relies on.

Moreover, as a creature with a reach feature, Chainweb Aracnir can snare those pesky flyers, so it’s wise to control the combat zone or remove the Aracnir before your flying threats enter the fray. Utilize spells that bypass the traditional combat route or sweep the field with global removal actions that reset the state of play. In a pinch, you can always turn to the extensive array of counterspells available in the MTG universe to prevent Chainweb Aracnir from hitting the board in the first place. With these tactics, keeping this persistent arachnid at bay becomes a feasible task.


BurnMana Recommendations

Chainweb Aracnir is a prime example of a green creature that can spin your MTG gameplay in fascinating new directions. With its capability to thwart flyers and its tenacity through the escape mechanic, it adds substantial resilience to green-centric or graveyard-synergistic decks. Understanding the intricacies of its strengths and how it matches up against the field can set your strategy apart. If you’re eager to harness this spider’s versatility or simply wish to bolster your collection with cards that offer strategic recurrence, dive into our comprehensive guide. Discover the deck-building possibilities and gain the upper hand in outmaneuvering your opponents with Chainweb Aracnir’s intricate web of tactics.


Cards like Chainweb Aracnir

Chainweb Aracnir is an intriguing creature spell, offering not only a decent battlefield presence but also utility that can frustrate graveyard strategies. In the vast array of creature spells within Magic: The Gathering, it bears similarities to cards like Scavenging Ooze. Scavenging Ooze also interacts with graveyards, allowing you to exile cards and, in turn, bolster its own power. Unlike the Aracnir, the Ooze’s ability is not limited by the escape mechanic, providing a more immediate effect on the game.

Satyr Wayfinder is another card with graveyard synergies in that it fills your own graveyard and helps shape your draws. However, it doesn’t offer the recurrent threat that Chainweb Aracnir does, nor the built-in resistance to removal via escape. Mire Triton also delves into similar territory with deathtouch and a mill effect upon entering the battlefield, but again lacks the sticking power and web of interactions Chainweb Aracnir weaves.

When looking at options for cards that interact with graveyards and provide iterative value, Chainweb Aracnir stands out not only for its ability to return from the graveyard but also for the utility it provides in dealing with an opponent’s graveyard resources. This multifaceted spider makes a resilient addition to decks leveraging the graveyard, contrasting with some of its counterparts that lean towards more singular or immediate effects.

Scavenging Ooze - MTG Card versions
Satyr Wayfinder - MTG Card versions
Mire Triton - MTG Card versions
Scavenging Ooze - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Satyr Wayfinder - Born of the Gods (BNG)
Mire Triton - Theros Beyond Death (THB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chainweb Aracnir MTG card by a specific set like Theros Beyond Death, 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 Chainweb Aracnir and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chainweb Aracnir has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-01-24 After an escaped spell resolves, it returns to its owner’s graveyard if it’s not a permanent spell. If it is a permanent spell, it enters the battlefield and will return to its owner’s graveyard if it dies later. Perhaps it will escape again—good underworld security is so hard to come by these days.
2020-01-24 Escape’s permission doesn’t change when you may cast the spell from your graveyard.
2020-01-24 If Chainweb Aracnir leaves the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, use its power as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how much damage it deals.
2020-01-24 If a card has multiple abilities giving you permission to cast it, such as two escape abilities or an escape ability and a flashback ability, you choose which one to apply. The others have no effect.
2020-01-24 If a card with escape is put into your graveyard during your turn, you’ll be able to cast it right away if it’s legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions.
2020-01-24 If you cast a spell with its escape permission, you can’t choose to apply any other alternative costs or to cast it without paying its mana cost. If it has any additional costs, you must pay those.
2020-01-24 Once you begin casting a spell with escape, it immediately moves to the stack. Players can’t take any other actions until you’re done casting the spell.
2020-01-24 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying (such as an escape cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was and no matter whether an alternative cost was paid.

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