Tel-Jilad Outrider MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tel-Jilad Outrider’s unique ability can give you the upper hand by allowing you to potentially bypass an opponent’s creature through its forestwalk ability. This capacity to slide past defenses can maintain pressure without trading your resources, therefore creating an indirect card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While the Tel-Jilad Outrider itself does not accelerate resources directly, its moderate casting cost allows you to efficiently allocate mana. This ensures that you can deploy other resource acceleration mechanisms in your deck alongside this sturdy creature.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, the Outrider synergizes with instant speed spells in your arsenal. The ability to attack unblocked prompts an urgent response from your opponent, often causing them to tap out and become more vulnerable to your instant speed interactions during their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For a deck to optimize Tel-Jilad Outrider’s abilities, it sometimes mandates players to discard other valuable cards. This trade-off can be particularly costly in game scenarios where hand size and card options are pivotal to maintaining an advantage over opponents.

Specific Mana Cost: Tel-Jilad Outrider’s casting cost includes green mana, necessitating a color-focused or multi-color mana base. This specificity can make it challenging to seamlessly incorporate into a deck without sufficient support for green mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that may be viewed as steep for its stat line and abilities, players often debate the tactical merit of including Tel-Jilad Outrider in their decks. Alternatives may provide similar or greater board presence or utility at a lower mana investment, making the outrider a less attractive choice in competitive play.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tel-Jilad Outrider is well-suited for decks focusing on artifact synergies or those that need robust defensive options. Its artifact creature type allows it to slide easily into strategies that exploit this trait, such as affinity or modular builds.

Combo Potential: With its ability to potentially be untapped during each player’s turn, it pairs well with cards that capitalize on untapping creatures. It works synergistically with effects that require or reward untapping to create advantageous board states.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment heavy with aggro decks, Tel-Jilad Outrider serves as a formidable blocker. Its resilience and potential for defensive maneuvers can make it a smart addition, potentially thwarting widespread aggressive strategies.

How to beat

The Tel-Jilad Outrider serves as an efficient ground force in many MTG green-themed decks. Its prowess in battle comes from having protection from artifacts, making it a resilient adversary against decks that rely heavily on artifact creatures. But to successfully navigate around this sturdy creature, there are strategies one can employ. Prioritizing the use of non-artifact sources of removal is key. Opt for spells like Doom Blade or Path to Exile, which can unceremoniously remove it from combat without the hindrance of its protective ability. It’s also beneficial to control the board with sweepers like Wrath of God that don’t discriminate by protection.

Moreover, combating the Outrider through indirect means can be effective. Reducing the Outrider’s relevance by enhancing your creatures’ strength or leveraging evasion tactics, such as flying or unblockability, will help circumvent the direct confrontation. Ultimately, beating the Tel-Jilad Outrider boils down to making it obsolete in the face of your evolving strategy.