Dreadhorde Invasion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment
Abilities Amass

Key Takeaways

  1. Generates a token every turn, providing a steady board presence and synergizing with sacrifice mechanics.
  2. Works well in black or multicolor decks, though consistent life loss may be limiting.
  3. Its amass ability ensures an ever-growing threat, crucial against control-heavy opponents.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life and amass Zombies 1. (Put a +1/+1 counter on an Army you control. It's also a Zombie. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token first.) Whenever a Zombie token you control with power 6 or greater attacks, it gains lifelink until end of turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dreadhorde Invasion aids in maintaining card advantage by frequently generating token creatures, ensuring you always have board presence and fodder for various in-game strategies.

Resource Acceleration: By providing a consistent stream of creatures, this card synergizes well with sacrifice mechanics, effectively transforming your tokens into resources for drawing cards, generating mana, or powering up other creatures.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, the Amass ability it grants triggers at the beginning of your upkeep, enabling your strategy to adapt swiftly to the evolving game state as you prepare for your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Dreadhorde Invasion doesn’t involve a discard as part of casting, it demands a continuous sacrifice of life points, which can be detrimental if you’re unable to offset the life loss with additional means.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that requires one black mana, this card is tailored for black or multicolor decks, potentially limiting its versatility in decks that don’t run black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While two mana isn’t high on the surface, the incremental gain from the Amass mechanic coupled with the life loss could hinder its efficiency in fast-paced games where immediate board presence is crucial.


Reasons to Include Dreadhorde Invasion in Your Collection

Versatility: Dreadhorde Invasion offers consistent board presence as it creates a token every turn, making it a formidable addition to various decks, particularly ones that thrive on token generation and life point manipulation.

Combo Potential: The card pairs beautifully with sacrifice and amass strategies, enabling highly synergistic plays. Its ability to grow your army every turn can be the cornerstone of combos that capitalize on creature strength or number.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment flush with control decks or where a consistent threat is elementary to success, Dreadhorde Invasion stands out. As it assures a creature on board each turn, it helps maintain pressure on your opponents, keeping them on the defensive.


How to beat

Overcoming Dreadhorde Invasion can be a strategic milestone in MTG play. This enchantment quietly builds up an army of zombies, potentially overwhelming an unprepared opponent. One effective method to disrupt this invasion is via enchantment removal spells. Spells such as Disenchant, Naturalize, or Mortify can directly target and eliminate Dreadhorde Invasion from the battlefield, halting the zombie tide.

Another approach is to manage the life loss Dreadhorde Invasion causes its controller. With cards like Teyo, the Shieldmage or The Wanderer, players can prevent the damage that Dreadhorde Invasion inflicts each upkeep. Additionally, since the card revolves around amassing an army, bouncing the amassed zombie token back to hand with something like Unsummon resets their progress, making it more manageable to keep Dreadhorde Invasion in check.

Lastly, Dreadhorde Invasion relies on life total for its final punch—the bigger zombie when life is low. Strategies to maintain a higher life total, or even cards like Sorin’s Thirst, which can kill a smaller token and gain you life, can be crucial. Keeping these tactics in mind can ensure that Dreadhorde Invasion doesn’t take over the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the nuances of Dreadhorde Invasion in MTG can truly enhance your gameplay, whether you enjoy building around token strategies or find joy in complex combo plays. This enchantment’s steady creature production and synergy with sacrifice mechanics make it a valuable asset in many decks. Acknowledging its strengths and weaknesses is pivotal for any player aiming to make an impact on the battlefield. We invite you to further explore the strategic depths of Dreadhorde Invasion and integrate it into your repertoire. Join us at BurnMana to delve deeper, enhance your deck-building skills, and become an adept in the ever-evolving game of MTG.


Cards like Dreadhorde Invasion

Dreadhorde Invasion emerges as a dynamic force in the pantheon of repetitive army-building cards in Magic: The Gathering. It bears a resemblance to the infamous Bitterblossom for its ability to consistently churn out creature tokens. Where Bitterblossom generates 1/1 flying Faerie tokens at each upkeep, Dreadhorde Invasion focuses on creating and strengthening a singular Zombie Army token. One key difference is the life loss; Bitterblossom nibbles away one life each turn, while Dreadhorde Invasion’s life impact scales with the Zombie Army’s growth.

Exploring further, Ophiomancer delivers creatures in a similar vein, doling out 1/1 black Snake tokens with deathtouch as long as you don’t have one. Although it operates on a different axis by providing deathtouch blockers, it lacks the aggressive scaling potential that Dreadhorde Invasion brings to the table. Another cousin in this category is Outpost Siege. While not token-centric, it extends the card advantage strategic line each upkeep, potentially leading to critical mass accumulation akin to the token benefit of Dreadhorde Invasion.

To encapsulate, Dreadhorde Invasion is a potent strategy for players seeking to cultivate a formidable presence on the battlefield over time. With its unique scalable token-generation, it offers a distinct and impactful playstyle among Magic: The Gathering’s enchantments that deliver consistent board presence.

Bitterblossom - MTG Card versions
Ophiomancer - MTG Card versions
Outpost Siege - MTG Card versions
Bitterblossom - Morningtide (MOR)
Ophiomancer - Commander 2013 (C13)
Outpost Siege - Fate Reforged (FRF)

Cards similar to Dreadhorde Invasion by color, type and mana cost

Bad Moon - MTG Card versions
Fear - MTG Card versions
Warp Artifact - MTG Card versions
Deathgrip - MTG Card versions
Blight - MTG Card versions
Animate Dead - MTG Card versions
Seizures - MTG Card versions
Leshrac's Sigil - MTG Card versions
Lim-Dûl's Hex - MTG Card versions
Dance of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Enfeeblement - MTG Card versions
Oath of Ghouls - MTG Card versions
Despondency - MTG Card versions
Insubordination - MTG Card versions
Chains of Mephistopheles - MTG Card versions
Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - MTG Card versions
Brain Maggot - MTG Card versions
Aphemia, the Cacophony - MTG Card versions
Oversold Cemetery - MTG Card versions
Lingering Death - MTG Card versions
Bad Moon - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Fear - Tenth Edition (10E)
Warp Artifact - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Deathgrip - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Blight - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Animate Dead - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Seizures - Ice Age (ICE)
Leshrac's Sigil - Ice Age (ICE)
Lim-Dûl's Hex - Ice Age (ICE)
Dance of the Dead - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Enfeeblement - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Oath of Ghouls - Exodus (EXO)
Despondency - Urza's Saga (USG)
Insubordination - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Chains of Mephistopheles - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Brain Maggot - Historic Anthology 2 (HA2)
Aphemia, the Cacophony - Theros Beyond Death Promos (PTHB)
Oversold Cemetery - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Lingering Death - Scourge (SCG)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dreadhorde Invasion MTG card by a specific set like War of the Spark and War of the Spark Promos, 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 Dreadhorde Invasion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dreadhorde Invasion Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2019-05-03 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Stanton Feng.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 862015normalblackStanton Feng
22019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 86p2015normalblackStanton Feng
32019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 86s2015normalblackStanton Feng
42021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 1142015normalblackStanton Feng
52023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 8662015normalblackStanton Feng

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dreadhorde Invasion has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-05-03 Army is a new creature type. It's possible to control a nontoken Army (perhaps a creature with the changeling ability) and, through combinations of other cards, it's possible to control multiple Army tokens. When instructed to amass, you may put +1/+1 counters on any of your Army creatures, and you may choose a different one each time.
2019-05-03 If the token's power changes later in the turn after it has attacked, including while Dreadhorde Invasion's second ability is on the stack, it won't cause the token to gain or lose lifelink.
2019-05-03 If you don't control an Army, the Zombie Army token that you create enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature. Any abilities that trigger when a creature with a certain power enters the battlefield, such as that of Mentor of the Meek, will see the token enter as a 0/0 creature before it gets +1/+1 counters.
2019-05-03 Some cards that cause you to amass also provide bonuses to “Zombie tokens.” These affect any token that happens to be a Zombie, not just a Zombie Army you've amassed.
2019-05-03 The power of the Zombie token is checked only immediately after it attacks. Any other abilities that trigger when creatures you control attack won't have resolved yet.

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