Silvar, Devourer of the Free MTG Card

Silvar, Devourer of the Free - Commander 2020

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Legendary Creature — Cat Nightmare
Abilities	Menace,Partner,Partner with
Released	2020-04-17
Set symbol
Set name	Commander 2020
Set code	C20
Power	4
Toughness	2
Number	15
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jesper Ejsing

Key Takeaways

Silvar can tip card balance significantly by absorbing creatures to grow stronger.
Demands precise mana colors, posing potential casting issues in diverse decks.
Its instant speed sacrificial ability enables unexpected combat advantages.

Text of card

Partner with Trynn, Champion of Freedom (When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put Trynn into their hand from their library, then shuffle.) Menace Sacrifice a Human: Put a +1/+1 counter on Silvar, Devourer of the Free. It gains indestructible until end of turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Silvar, Devourer of the Free encourages strategic sacrifice mechanics that can generate significant card advantage. By ingesting creatures you control, Silvar grows in power, often demanding an answer from your opponent. This may lead them to use up their cards in hand, giving you the upper hand in card economy.

Resource Acceleration: When partnered with commanders or cards that produce tokens, Silvar accelerates your resource availability. Each creature token becomes potential fuel for Silvar, effectively turning disposable assets into a potent offensive force without depleting cards from your hand.

Instant Speed: While Silvar itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its ability to devour creatures can be used at any time you could play an instant. This allows for surprise combat tricks during battle, potentially saving Silvar from removal or winning a combat engagement unexpectedly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When looking to deploy Silvar, Devourer of the Free, one must not overlook the need to sacrifice another creature to trigger its powerful ability. This requirement can lead to a deficit in your creature counts, potentially weakening your board presence and strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Deck builders must be cautious with Silvar’s casting requirements. Demanding a precise combination of red, black, and white mana, this card may be challenging to cast on time within multicolored decks, particularly in games where mana sources are not properly aligned.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing the mana cost against its potential impact is crucial. With a mana value of five, Silvar may enter the battlefield later than preferred. Given that faster, lower-cost cards could deliver significant effects sooner, this could put players at a competitive disadvantage.

Reasons to Include Silvar, Devourer of the Free in Your Collection

Versatility: Silvar, Devourer of the Free, stands out thanks to its ability to adapt to various gameplay styles. This creature card can serve as a formidable commander in a partner pairing or as a resilient threat in a deck built around sacrificing mechanics.

Combo Potential: This feline nightmare offers numerous combo possibilities, thriving in a strategy that revolves around creature tokens or recurring sacrifice for continuous buffs. Its fierce synergy with other cards that benefit from sacking creatures makes it a dynamic choice for inventive deck builders.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-based decks are prominent, Silvar’s indestructibility when devouring your own creatures makes it a persistent threat on the board. Its presence can shift the tide of battle in metas where resilience and pressure are key.

How to beat

Silvar, Devourer of the Free, emerges as a formidable adversary on the battlefield for any Magic: The Gathering player. This threatening card boasts an ability to grow in power through sacrifice, lending to its reputation as a tenacious survivor. Against Silvar, it’s critical to prevent it from becoming an unstoppable force. One effective strategy is to prioritize the removal of creature assets that could be fodder for Silvar’s sacrifice mechanic. Spot removal spells, like Path to Exile or Murderous Rider, can help manage the flow of potential sacrifices.

Additionally, using enchantments that restrict or negate abilities, such as Pacifism or Frogify, can be powerful tools in neutralizing Silvar. These enchantments work to either detain Silvar without needing to destroy it or transform it, effectively removing its threatening ability to grow. Without the capacity to consume creatures and accumulate power, Silvar’s impact is significantly diminished, leveling the playing field for opponents. Thus, focusing on preemptive control and strategic removal are the keys to triumphing over Silvar, Devourer of the Free in a duel.

Cards like Silvar, Devourer of the Free

Within the vast library of creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Silvar, Devourer of the Free strides into the battlefield as a formidable Voltron-style commander. Its closest counterpart may be the likes of Tymaret, the Murder King. Both share a sacrifice mechanic that strengthens them. However, Silvar’s power boost per sacrificed creature makes him particularly dangerous. Unlike Tymaret, Silvar offers indestructibility, ensuring its survival even when faced with overwhelming forces. This trait positions Silvar as a more aggressive and resilient option in Commander matches.

Another comparison can be drawn with Yahenni, Undying Partisan, who similarly gains strength from fallen creatures. Yahenni’s advantage lies in the immediate benefit of haste and a built-in protective mechanism by achieving indestructibility through sacrifice. While Yahenni excels in responsiveness and utility, Silvar’s allure is in its consistent power growth and the ability to pressure opponents as a voltron threat.

When analyzing these cards, it’s apparent that Silvar, Devourer of the Free has a unique niche. Its synergy with partner mechanics, combined with the potential for exponential growth, makes it a distinctive and powerful choice for players crafting decks around sacrifice strategies and combat advantages in Magic: The Gathering.

Tymaret, the Murder King - MTG Card versions

Yahenni, Undying Partisan - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Silvar, Devourer of the Free MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2020, 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 Silvar, Devourer of the Free and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Silvar, Devourer of the Free has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-04-17	A creature with a “partner with” ability can’t partner with any creature other than its designated partner. Losing a partner ability during the game doesn’t cause either to cease to be your commander.
2020-04-17	Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
2020-04-17	If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can only include cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities. If Haldan and Pako are your commanders, your deck may contain cards with blue, red, and/or green in their color identity, but not cards with white or black.
2020-04-17	Note that the target player searches their library (which may be affected by effects such as that of Stranglehold) and that the card they find is revealed, even though these words aren’t included in the ability’s reminder text.
2020-04-17	Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 damage from one of them, not from both of them combined. Command Beacon’s effect puts one into your hand from the command zone, not both.
2020-04-17	The second ability represented by the “partner with -ame]” keyword modifies the rules for deck construction in the Commander variant and has no function outside of that variant. If a legendary creature card with “partner with -ame]” is designated as your commander, the named legendary creature card can also be designated as your commander.
2020-04-17	The triggered ability of the “partner with” keyword still triggers in a Commander game. If your other commander has somehow ended up in your library, you can find it. You can also target another player who might have that card in their library.
2020-04-17	Trynn’s ability checks only whether you declared an attacking creature during the turn. It doesn’t trigger once for each such creature, and it doesn’t check whether any attacking creatures dealt damage.
2020-04-17	You can activate Silvar’s last ability even if it already has indestructible. It’ll still get a +1/+1 counter.
2020-04-17	“Partner with -ame]” represents two abilities. The first is a triggered ability: “When this permanent enters the battlefield, target player may search their library for a card named -ame], reveal it, put it into their hand, then shuffle their library.”