Elvish Aberration MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Elf Mutant
Abilities Cycling,Forestcycling
Power 4
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Cycling allows Elvish Aberration to offer deck filtering and potential draw at crucial moments.
  2. Its ability to tap for three green mana provides significant mana ramp, enabling bigger plays early.
  3. Instant speed cycling lets players react and adapt during critical points in the game.

Text of card

: Add . Forestcycling (, Discard this card: Search your library for a Forest card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Elvish Aberration sports a highly utilitarian cycling ability that, for a small mana investment, not only filters through your deck but also has the potential to land you a critical draw when most needed, contributing positively to card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: The inherent ability of Elvish Aberration to tap for three green mana stands as a powerful form of resource acceleration. In the right deck, this can be a game changer, allowing for earlier plays of high-cost creatures and spells, effectively ramping your mana capabilities to formidable levels.

Instant Speed: While Elvish Aberration itself is a creature, its cycling ability can be activated at instant speed. This ensures that even if not a viable play on the board at the moment, it can still be used reactively to dig for an answer or a more suitable play during a crucial moment of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Elvish Aberration requires a clear strategy, as it has no inherent discard impacts to offer, potentially leaving players searching for synergies elsewhere to optimize gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: The magic bound in Elvish Aberration’s specific mana cost entails a commitment to green mana. This might limit deck versatility, especially in formats that favor multi-colored decks or where green mana can be scarce.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At six mana for a creature that offers transport through forested mana lands, the investment can be steep. Other creatures or spells in the same cost range may provide greater immediate impact or have lower mana requirements, offering a faster pace to your game plan.


Reasons to Include Elvish Aberration in Your Collection

Versatility: This sizable creature can serve multiple roles in a deck. As a robust 4/5, it can act as a formidable blocker or a threatening attacker. Beyond its stats, it also functions as a source of mana ramp, tapping for three green mana which is particularly useful for summoning high-cost creatures or activating demanding abilities.

Combo Potential: Elvish Aberration’s ability to tap for three green mana has synergy with cards that leverage untap mechanics, giving players a repeatable source of mana within a single turn. This allows for powerful plays and can be the backbone of game-winning combos in a variety of green-centric decks.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment that favors long-term strategies and big creatures, Elvish Aberration can be especially potent. Its capacity to escalate your mana resources rapidly means outpacing opponents in both creature play and resource availability, making it a critical addition to many green decks that want to stay competitive.


How to Beat Elvish Aberration

Elvish Aberration is a notable card in the world of Magic: The Gathering, known for its dual utility as both a mana accelerator and a formidable creature. Its special forestcycling ability allows players to fetch a forest card from their deck, ensuring land drops remain consistent. As a creature, it offers a significant board presence with its six points of toughness, potentially stalling smaller aggressive decks.

Overcoming the Elvish Aberration requires a thoughtful approach. Thanks to its size, direct damage spells like Shock or Lightning Bolt won’t be enough to bring it down. You might consider spells that bypass toughness entirely, such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade, to remove the aberration efficiently. Additionally, keeping the board clear of excessive forests with land destruction tactics can undercut its forestcycling ability, rendering it less effective as a ramp tool. Building a strategy around these methods will ensure the Elvish Aberration is less of a threat and more of a manageable element of your opponent’s gameplay.

When faced with this green behemoth, don’t let its size intimidate you. By deploying removal resources wisely and undercutting its land-fetching capabilities, you’ll find that Elvish Aberration can be beaten, maintaining the balance of the match in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Elvish Aberration may be a veritable force in your MTG deck, bridging the gap between a substantial creature and a formidable mana source. Understanding the potential of such cards can transform your gaming experience, adding layers of complexity and opportunity to each move. Whether fine-tuning your deck for competitive play or just enjoying a casual match, this card can prove to be a valuable wildcard in your arsenal. We encourage you to deepen your comprehension of Elvish Aberration’s capabilities, as well as similar cards, to enhance your MTG prowess. Interested in expanding your strategic horizons? Dive into the depths of deck-building with us and harness the full potential of your collection.


Cards like Elvish Aberration

Elvish Aberration is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering with an impressive ability to twist the mana game in your favor. It shares the forestcycling ability with the likes of Krosan Tusker, enabling players to delve into their library for an essential land card. Yet Elvish Aberration stands out by being a source of substantial mana itself, tapping for three green mana, giving it an edge in mana acceleration.

Parallel to this, we observe Wirewood Guardian, which also boasts forestcycling, but it doesn’t provide the same mana ramp capability. While Wirewood Guardian does help shape your hand by replacing itself with a forest card, it doesn’t have the dual functionality that makes Elvish Aberration a heavy hitter in longer games, especially in formats like Commander where ramping up your mana can be crucial.

Therefore, when dissecting the characteristics and comparing them to others in this niche, Elvish Aberration not only affords land retrieval but also aids in casting high-cost spells more swiftly. This duality cements its place as a valued asset in decks looking to exploit the advantage of mana ramping abilities.

Krosan Tusker - MTG Card versions
Wirewood Guardian - MTG Card versions
Krosan Tusker - Onslaught (ONS)
Wirewood Guardian - Scourge (SCG)

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Kodama of the East Tree - Commander Legends (CMR)
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Feral Throwback - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Brontotherium - Legions (LGN)
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Groffskithur - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Elvish Aberration MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Arena League 2003, 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 Elvish Aberration and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Elvish Aberration Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2003-01-01 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 362661997normalblackMatt Cavotta
22003-01-01Arena League 2003PAL03 71997normalblackMatt Cavotta
32003-05-26ScourgeSCG 1181997normalblackMatt Cavotta
42011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 1512003normalblackMatt Cavotta
52014-06-06ConspiracyCNS 1632003normalblackMatt Cavotta
62014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 2062015normalblackMatt Cavotta
72018-03-16Masters 25A25 1672015normalblackJohann Bodin
82020-08-07Double Masters2XM 1652015normalblackJohann Bodin
92023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 1562015normalblackJohann Bodin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Elvish Aberration has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2022-12-08 Any ability that triggers whenever a card is cycled will trigger if you activate a forestcycling ability.
2022-12-08 Forestcycling is a variant of the cycling ability. Unlike cycling (which allows you to draw a card), forestcycling allows you to search your library for a Forest card. The card you find can be a basic Forest or any land card with the Forest land type.

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