Savage Conception MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Retrace
Released	2008-07-25
Set symbol
Set name	Eventide
Set code	EVE
Number	75
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	William O'Connor

Key Takeaways

Generates creatures and card advantage, improving board state and hand resources simultaneously.
Instant speed play offers tactical flexibility and can disrupt opponent strategies effectively.
Demands strategic card and mana resource management, making deck integration a calculated decision.

Text of card

Put a 3/3 green Beast creature token into play. Retrace (You may play this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)

Some beasts are born not of a mother, but of magic.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Savage Conception enables you to replenish your hand by populating—and if you’re reproducing big creatures, that just amplifies the value you’re getting. Pulling ahead in creature count while keeping your hand full is a fundamental strategy for victory.

Resource Acceleration: By putting a creature directly onto the battlefield, you are effectively skipping the mana cost associated with casting that creature. This acceleration can put you turns ahead of your opponent, making Savage Conception a potential game changer in terms of tempo.

Instant Speed: The flexibility this card offers is not to be underestimated. Playing at instant speed allows you strategic advantage by allowing you to wait until the most opportune moment to act, keeping your opponents guessing and potentially disrupting their plans.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Savage Conception, you need to discard a card to utilize its Retrace ability. This can force players to make tough decisions, potentially depleting their hand of valuable cards to get the most from Savage Conception.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for Savage Conception is quite exacting, requiring a combination of green and generic mana. This specific requirement can restrict its inclusion to decks heavily skewed towards green, potentially excluding more versatile or multicolor deck builds from leveraging this card effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While providing a way to create repeated creature tokens, the mana cost for Savage Conception is significant. Other cards in the game might offer similar benefits for less mana, granting players creature tokens, while also delivering additional benefits or requiring fewer resources, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the deck.

Reasons to Include Savage Conception in Your Collection

Versatility: Savage Conception is a dynamic card able to adapt to a multitude of situations. Whether you’re building a deck that thrives on creature generation or one that can capitalize on the Retrace mechanic for repeatable effects, this card provides substantial flexibility.

Combo Potential: With its ability to create multiple creature tokens, Savage Conception pairs well with strategies revolving around creatures entering the battlefield or benefits from effects that scale with the number of creatures you control.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where board presence is key, having a card like Savage Conception can tip the scales in your favor; it’s particularly effective against decks that struggle to manage a growing number of creatures or are ill-equipped to handle recurring threats.

How to Beat Savage Conception

Savage Conception brings a unique dynamic to creature-based strategies in the Magic: The Gathering landscape. At its core, the card allows players to create multiple creature tokens, bolstering their board presence in one fell swoop. Such an accumulation of creatures can quickly escalate into an overpowering force, making it imperative to understand tactics to effectively counteract this surge.

When it comes to mitigating the impact of Savage Conception, controlling the board is crucial. Board wipes like Wrath of God, which clears all creatures from the battlefield, can reset the advantage Savage Conception provides. Spot removal spells are less effective against it due to the multiple tokens created, making mass removal a more strategic approach. Additionally, countering the spell altogether with counterspells such as Counterspell negates the threat before it unfolds.

Lastly, leveraging graveyard manipulation by utilizing cards like Tormod’s Crypt can prevent the utilization of Savage Conception’s retrace ability, which allows it to be cast from the graveyard. By removing it from the game entirely, you deny your opponent the opportunity to use the card’s potent effect more than once. Addressing Savage Conception head-on with these strategies is key to maintaining dominance on the battlefield.

Cards like Savage Conception

In the realm of creature generation in Magic: The Gathering, Savage Conception brings an interesting dynamic to decks that thrive on summoning multiple creatures. It invites comparison to Growth Spasm, which also serves as a means of putting a creature onto the battlefield. While Growth Spasm fetches a land and provides an Eldrazi Spawn token, Savage Conception edges ahead by creating multiple 3/3 green Beast creature tokens with its rebound effect if cast from your hand.

Moving forward, we encounter Scatter the Seeds, another card that operates in a similar manner. Scatter the Seeds can instantly populate the board with three 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens thanks to its convoke ability, which could make it more flexible in a creature-heavy deck. However, the individual power of the creatures it creates falls short of the Beasts conjured by Savage Conception.

Ultimately, Savage Conception makes a noteworthy impact in the spectrum of green token-generating sorceries. It offers players a powerful tool for building creature presence on the board, particularly appealing to those who favor rebound mechanics and the substantial size of the Beast tokens it produces.

Cards similar to Savage Conception by color, type and mana cost

Overwhelming Stampede - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Savage Conception MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Savage Conception and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Savage Conception has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-08-01	A retrace card cast from your graveyard follows the normal timing rules for its card type.
2008-08-01	Casting a card by using its retrace ability works just like casting any other spell, with two exceptions: You’re casting it from your graveyard rather than your hand, and you must discard a land card in addition to any other costs.
2008-08-01	If the active player casts a spell that has retrace, that player may cast that card again after it resolves, before another player can remove the card from the graveyard. The active player has priority after the spell resolves, so they can immediately cast a new spell. Since casting a card with retrace from the graveyard moves that card onto the stack, no one else would have the chance to affect it while it’s still in the graveyard.
2008-08-01	When a retrace card you cast from your graveyard resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered, it’s put back into your graveyard. You may use the retrace ability to cast it again.