Hagra Sharpshooter MTG Card

Hagra Sharpshooter - Battle for Zendikar

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Assassin Ally
Released	2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Battle for Zendikar
Set code	BFZ
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	113
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Josu Hernaiz

Key Takeaways

Provides selective removal for maintaining board advantage, crucial for controlling the game pace.
Mana Sink ability maximizes resource use, beneficial in later game stages for strategic plays.
Instant speed activation disrupts opponents’ strategies, offering tactical flexibility during matches.

Text of card

: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.

"It's hard to find their weak points, but I very much enjoy the discovery process."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Hagra Sharpshooter provides an essential benefit in any MTG deck by enabling selective removal of creatures. This feature allows players to eliminate threats while maintaining their own board presence, which can be a significant swing in card advantage over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: While the card itself does not directly accelerate resources, its Mana Sink ability lets players utilize any unspent mana efficiently. This can be especially useful later in the game when you’re looking to maximize every resource at your disposal.

Instant Speed: One of the key advantages of Hagra Sharpshooter lies in its activated ability which can be used at instant speed. This allows players to respond to opponents’ moves on-the-fly, potentially saving critical cards or disrupting the opponent’s strategy at pivotal moments.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hagra Sharpshooter’s ability necessitates discarding a card, which can be problematic when your hand is nearly empty or if every card is crucial to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Its mana cost is distinctly black, demanding a dedicated black mana source, potentially limiting its inclusion to mono-black or dual-color decks that can reliably produce black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost of three mana and an activation cost for its ability, there are alternative creatures or removal spells that can operate more efficiently or at a lower overall mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include Hagra Sharpshooter in Your Collection

Versatility: The Hagra Sharpshooter can seamlessly adapt to a variety of black-based control or removal-heavy decks. Its ability to pick off smaller creatures makes it a flexible choice for maintaining board presence.

Combo Potential: In decks with effects that untap creatures, Hagra Sharpshooter can become an efficient removal engine, potentially clearing multiple threats in a single turn cycle.

Meta-Relevance: With aggressive strategies often populating the game, possessing a dependable removal option like Hagra Sharpshooter can be critical for disrupting your opponent’s tempo and ensuring your survival into the later stages of play.

How to beat

Hagra Sharpshooter offers a unique ability to pick off smaller creatures in MTG, providing a strategic advantage in board control. As a creature card with an activatable ability, it requires a careful approach to outmaneuver. When facing Hagra Sharpshooter, it’s essential to minimize the targets for its ability; this means avoiding playing creatures with one toughness unless you can protect them or they provide immediate value upon entering the battlefield.

Maintaining a higher life total can also reduce the impact of Hagra Sharpshooter’s ability, as the cost for activation is not just mana but also life. Cards that can remove or neutralize creatures without triggering death-related abilities, such as exile effects or bounce spells, work well to counteract Hagra Sharpshooter. Additionally, keeping up instant-speed removal allows you to respond effectively before the Sharpshooter can cause too much havoc on your side of the field.

In summary, while Hagra Sharpshooter can be a persistent threat in MTG, understanding its mechanics and having the right responses in your deck can help you effectively nullify its advantages and maintain board superiority.

Cards like Hagra Sharpshooter

Hagra Sharpshooter stands out in the realm of removal spells within Magic: The Gathering. It can be likened to cards like Murder, which offers an uncomplicated solution to creature threats by outright destroying any creature at the cost of three mana. Yet, Hagra Sharpshooter provides a repeatable option, albeit with a mana-intensive activation cost to pick off creatures with smaller toughness.

Another card worth mentioning is Royal Assassin, which also operates at the more strategic pace of Hagra Sharpshooter. While Royal Assassin demands the target to be tapped, it eliminates the need for additional mana investment after it’s been played. This can make the assassin a more economical choice in decks that can reliably tap opponents’ creatures.

However, if we consider cards such as Nekrataal, there’s a visible trade-off. Nekrataal performs on entry, immediately removing a nonartifact, nonblack creature, but this is a one-time effect with no repeatable utility compared to the ongoing threat presented by Hagra Sharpshooter. For players valuing long-term control, the Sharpshooter can be a persistent nuisance on the board, shaping the battlefield turn by turn.

Cards similar to Hagra Sharpshooter by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hagra Sharpshooter MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Hagra Sharpshooter and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hagra Sharpshooter has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2015-08-25	An effect that gives a creature -1/-1 is different from putting a -1/-1 counter on that creature. Notably, if the target of Hagra Sharpshooter’s ability has any +1/+1 counters on it, those counters will remain.