Greater Harvester MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Horror
Released	2004-02-06
Set symbol
Set name	Darksteel
Set code	DST
Power	5
Toughness	6
Number	44
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Daren Bader

Key Takeaways

Greater Harvester can lead to card advantage by forcing opponent creature sacrifices.
Its upkeep trigger creates resource acceleration and strategic opponent disruption.
While powerful, the Harvester’s drawbacks include a steep mana cost and discard demands.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a permanent. Whenever Greater Harvester deals combat damage to a player, that player sacrifices two permanents.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Greater Harvester offers a potential for significant card advantage, as it forces your opponent to sacrifice a creature during each of your upkeeps. This recurring effect can steadily deplete your opponent’s resources while you maintain board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Although Greater Harvester itself does not directly accelerate resources, the constant pressure it puts on opponents can indirectly lead to a resource advantage. By compelling sacrifices, it can slow down your opponent’s development, providing you with the opportunity to pull ahead on the board and with mana availability.

Instant Speed: While Greater Harvester is a creature and not an instant, the threat it represents can influence opponents’ decisions at any time. This element of psychological impact can be as crucial as having an instant speed interaction. As opponents might be forced to play differently to prevent or prepare for its substantial upkeep trigger, your strategy can benefit from their altered—and possibly suboptimal—plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Greater Harvester demands regular sacrifices, forcing you to discard a creature each time it deals combat damage. For many players, continually losing board presence can set back their game strategy significantly, especially in decks that don’t utilize the graveyard.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a demanding double black in its mana cost, the Greater Harvester can be challenging to cast on curve, particularly in multicolored decks. This limits its integration outside of mono-black or heavily black-influenced builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Totalling five mana to summon, the Greater Harvester can be a burden on your mana resources, particularly considering that other creatures or spells at this cost might provide immediate impact without the detrimental downside of sacrificing your own creatures.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Greater Harvester offers a unique dynamic to any deck. Its capacity to fit into sacrifice and control strategies makes it an interesting choice for players who enjoy keeping their opponents off-balance. Its ability to forcibly sacrifice permanents at the upkeep can be part of a wider disruption tactic.

Combo Potential: This card has intrinsic synergies with decks that capitalize on sacrifice mechanisms. When combined with cards that mitigate its downside—such as ones that generate tokens or benefit from creatures dying—it becomes a powerhouse that can decimate an opponent’s board while bolstering your own position.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavy with creature-based strategies, Greater Harvester stands out as a formidable threat. With the right setup, it has the potential to disrupt opponents’ boards significantly, making it a valuable addition to collections tailored to tackle creature-dense environments or those looking to exploit sacrifice-related mechanics.

How to beat

The Greater Harvester is a card that presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to force a player to sacrifice a creature at the beginning of their upkeep can be quite intimidating. However, there are strategies to turn the tables on this fearsome card. One effective method is using instant-speed removal spells to eliminate it before the upkeep trigger, preventing the need to sacrifice your own creatures.

Another tactic is to include creatures in your deck that benefit from being sacrificed, transforming a potential loss into an advantageous situation. Also, enchantment-based removals like Pacifism or effects that can bypass its protection abilities can neutralize the Harvester without having to destroy it, effectively taking the wind out of its sails.

Additionally, employing flying creatures or those with unblockable abilities can help retain your forces against a ground-based threat like the Greater Harvester. By understanding its weakness and having the right answers at your disposal, you can confidently face and defeat this formidable adversary.

Cards like Greater Harvester

Greater Harvester stands as a unique creature within the MTG ecosystem, most notably for its sacrifice-triggered ability. This imposing force bears a resemblance to cards like Demon of Death’s Gate, which also demands sacrifices from creatures to play an impactful role on the battlefield. Unlike Demon of Death’s Gate, however, the Harvester requires an ongoing tribute each turn.

The Abyss is another card that echoes the Harvester’s mechanic of persistent sacrifice. The key difference lies in their influence — The Abyss indiscriminately affects all creatures, making it more of an equal threat, whereas Greater Harvester specifically targets the controlling player’s creatures. The Abyss’s board-wide impact and less stringent restriction can be seen as more advantageous in certain strategies.

As players evaluate these options, the Greater Harvester’s combination of a robust body and a consequential ability can drastically affect game dynamics. It’s a formidable tool in decks that can leverage or mitigate its potential downside, offering a blend of aggressive presence and strategic depth unmatched by similar MTG cards.

Demon of Death's Gate - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Greater Harvester by color, type and mana cost

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Wei Elite Companions - MTG Card versions

Phyrexian Plaguelord - MTG Card versions

Bloodlord of Vaasgoth - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Greater Harvester MTG card by a specific set like Darksteel, 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 Greater Harvester and other MTG cards: