Totem-Guide Hartebeest MTG Card

Totem-Guide Hartebeest - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
2010-04-23 - Number 50

Totem-Guide Hartebeest - Magic Origins (ORI)

Magic Origins (ORI)
2015-07-17 - Number 37

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Antelope
Power	2
Toughness	5

Key Takeaways

Provides card advantage by tutoring an Aura card directly into your hand when played.
Can indirectly accelerate resources if the fetched Auras have mana-generating abilities.
Its demand for specific mana and higher cost may limit deck-building flexibility and speed.

Text of card

When Totem-Guide Hartebeest enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an Aura card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.

The kor track hartebeests in hopes of finding magic to help fight the Eldrazi.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Totem-Guide Hartebeest enters the battlefield, it lets you search your library for an Aura card. This tutor effect essentially hands you a second card, padding your hand and giving you the options you need for upcoming turns.

Resource Acceleration: While Totem-Guide Hartebeest itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, the Auras it can fetch may. Many Auras have the potential to ramp up your mana production or allow additional resource benefits, effectively translating into indirect resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: Although Totem-Guide Hartebeest operates at sorcery speed, the Auras you search for can be cast at instant speed if their text allows. This enables strategic plays during your opponent’s turn, keeping your game plan flexible and responsive.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For this card, discarding isn’t a direct requirement, yet needing to find room for an aura card in your deck can lead to a similar disadvantage. Deck space is precious, and incorporating cards that hinge on drawing and playing Totem-Guide Hartebeest means that sometimes, you might find yourself making tough decisions about what to omit. This can feel akin to discarding a valuable card, especially if your deck is tightly tuned.

Specific Mana Cost: Totem-Guide Hartebeest demands a specific casting cost that requires white mana. Certainly, this isn’t a barrier in mono-white or two-color decks, but it can pose a significant limitation in multicolored or colorless decks. Availability of the right mana sources at the right time is crucial, and the need for white mana makes it less flexible and may influence the pacing and planning of your game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a cost of 5 mana, which includes two white, Totem-Guide Hartebeest’s ability to search for an aura card may come into play later than desired. While the effect can be useful, the investment may not match up favorably when compared to other creatures or spells with lower costs and similar or better effects, potentially slowing your tempo in fast-paced games.

Reasons to Include Totem-Guide Hartebeest in Your Collection

Versatility: Totem-Guide Hartebeest serves as a reliable tool in decks that seek specific enchantments. Its ability to tutor an enchantment upon entering the battlefield allows for consistency in executing your deck’s game plan.

Combo Potential: This creature can root out combo pieces or essential enchantments to set up winning conditions or fortify your board state. Ideal for the player who loves to build intricate combo-based decks.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right meta, where enchantments play a key role, having Totem-Guide Hartebeest can be instrumental. It’s especially useful in formats like Commander, where access to key enchantments is crucial for many strategies.

How to beat

Totem-Guide Hartebeest is a creature card that brings a tactical edge to MTG deck building, primarily serving as a reliable tutor for Aura cards. Upon entering the battlefield, it allows you to search your library for an Aura card and put it into your hand, enhancing your board state by prepping your next moves. Though quietly powerful, overcoming the Hartebeest’s strategic value is achievable.

To outplay someone utilizing Totem-Guide Hartebeest, consider implementing instant speed removal spells in response to the Hartebeest’s trigger. This minimizes the card advantage your opponent gains and can disrupt their game plan. Spot removals or sacrifice effects can be particularly effective. Moreover, cards like Grafdigger’s Cage can prevent cards from being searched from the library, thereby nullifying the Hartebeest’s tutoring ability.

Moreover, playing around the Hartebeest also involves understanding your opponent’s deck strategy. Knowing that they may have key Aura cards, it’s prudent to save counter spells or enchantment destruction for the more impactful Auras they retrieve. This way, Totem-Guide Hartebeest becomes less of a threat and more of a minor setback in your path to victory.

Cards like Totem-Guide Hartebeest

Totem-Guide Hartebeest adds strategic depth to the world of creature-based enchantment tutoring in Magic: The Gathering. It shares the battlefield with cards like Heliod’s Pilgrim, a creature with a similar function of fetching an aura card from your deck when it enters the field. The Hartebeest, though, boasts a larger body, providing a sturdier blocker at the cost of requiring more mana.

Auramancer is another card in the enchantment retrieval category, returning an enchantment from the graveyard to your hand. While it doesn’t grant the same consistency of fetching from the deck as the Hartebeest, it offers the utility of recycling resources and synergizes well with graveyard-based strategies. Then there’s Academy Researchers, offering a unique immediate value by allowing you to attach an aura from your hand onto it without paying the mana cost, which the Hartebeest cannot do.

Each card holds a niche in deck-building, with Totem-Guide Hartebeest standing out for those seeking robust board presence and reliable enchantment tutoring. Its blend of durability and utility marks it as a notable choice in enchantment-focused decks in Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Totem-Guide Hartebeest MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Magic Origins, 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 Totem-Guide Hartebeest and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Totem-Guide Hartebeest Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2015-07-17. Illustrated by John Avon.