Duct Crawler MTG Card

Stronghold (STH)
1998-03-02 - Number 79

Tenth Edition (10E)
2007-07-13 - Number 198

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Insect
Power	1
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Duct Crawler excels by slipping past blockers and boosting hand strategies.
Offers early game presence and synergy with instant speed interactions.
Its evasion and low cost make it a tactical asset to MTG decks.

Text of card

o1oo R Target creature cannot block Duct Crawler this turn.

"The mountain's ducts will be like organ pipes, amplifying the glorious roar of the dying." —Stronghold architect, journal

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Duct Crawler excels in enabling strategic hand replenishment. Its ability to slip past blockers and potentially deal damage makes it an essential piece in your lineup to inch towards victory.

Resource Acceleration: Its low casting cost provides both an early board presence and leaves mana open, fostering the potential to cast more impactful spells earlier in the game, thus propelling your resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: The versatility of Duct Crawler shines when paired with cards that can interact at instant speed, allowing you to capitalize on unspent mana in more reactive and dynamic ways during your opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Duct Crawler’s ability could deplete your hand, making it a risky play when you’re struggling for card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Locked into a rigid red mana cost, Duct Crawler may not seamlessly fit into multicolored or non-red strategies, potentially hampering its effectiveness in diverse deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With other creatures and spells competing for a slot in your deck, the cost of running Duct Crawler might outweigh its benefits, especially when cheaper alternatives could fulfill a similar role with less investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Duct Crawler seamlessly adapts to a range of strategies, making it an asset in decks that exploit creature synergies or require an early presence on the board.

Combo Potential: With its ability to untap itself by playing another spell, Duct Crawler can be integral to chain spell casting or provide repeated benefits in decks centered around casting numerous spells per turn.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-evolving metagame, Duct Crawler can hold its ground by pressuring life totals early in the game and participating in surprise combos, adjusting well to aggressive and tempo-focused decks.

How to beat

Duct Crawler may seem like a minimal threat on the battlefield, but its potential to perpetually return to a player’s hand makes it a card to watch out for in Magic: The Gathering. The key to overcoming this pesky creature lies in understanding its mechanics. Unlike spells that target and potentially remove creatures for good, Duct Crawler cleverly evades this by bouncing back to the owner’s hand.

To effectively counter this card, one strategy would be to utilize control cards that limit a player’s ability to cast creatures or to deploy countermagic that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm. Cards with exile effects can also be particularly potent, as Duct Crawler’s return-to-hand ability does not trigger if it’s exiled instead of being sent to the graveyard. Additionally, leveraging spells or abilities that inflict restrictions on cards returning from the graveyard to hand can stifle Duct Crawler’s resilience.

Remember, Duct Crawler’s strength lies in its recurrence, and neutralizing that cycle is essential. A well-timed removal or a strategy to prevent its continuous replay from the hand can ensure that Duct Crawler’s advantages are minimized, bolstering your chances of an uninterrupted path to victory.

Cards like Duct Crawler

Duct Crawler is a quirky new creature card on the MTG scene, offering a unique blend of speed and evasion. It shares some characteristics with the likes of Slither Blade, another stealthy one-drop that’s hard to block due to having unblockable as an intrinsic trait. However, Duct Crawler brings its own twist to the table with an ability to dodge defenders as long as you control four or more artifacts.

Another comparable card is Gingerbrute, evoking a sense of nimbleness on the battlefield. Just like Duct Crawler, it can be a slippery target. Gingerbrute can become unblockable with its activated ability, though it requires a mana investment unlike Duct Crawler’s conditional but mana-free evasion. While Gingerbrute also self-synergizes with artifact-centric decks, Duct Crawler’s power activation threshold aligns it closely with artifact-heavy strategies.

Considering these parallels, Duct Crawler might not be solitary in its niche but it certainly offers a dynamic playstyle for artifact-laden decks. Its potential for evasion combined with a low mana cost could make Duct Crawler a preferred choice for players looking to swiftly chip away at their opponent’s life total whilst forging their artifact domain.

Cards similar to Duct Crawler by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Duct Crawler MTG card by a specific set like Stronghold and Tenth Edition, 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 Duct Crawler and other MTG cards: