Book Devourer MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Beast |
| Abilities | Trample |
| Released | 2018-10-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Guilds of Ravnica |
| Set code | GRN |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 5 |
| Number | 93 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Kev Walker |
Key Takeaways
- Enhances card advantage by refreshing your hand upon dealing combat damage, pivotal for strategy adaptation.
- Accelerates resource access by cycling through your deck which can increase odds of drawing essential spells.
- Synergizes with instant speed spells, allowing for more responsive play and unexpected moves.
Text of card
Trample Whenever Book Devourer deals combat damage to a player, you may discard all the cards in your hand. If you do, draw that many cards.
"Not my first edition of *The Advokist and the Urchin*!"
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Given its unique ability to allow a player to draw a new hand when dealing combat damage, Book Devourer offers a tangible edge in drawing into more answers or threats. This is particularly helpful for maintaining card advantage over your opponent and keeps your hand refreshed with new options.
Resource Acceleration: While Book Devourer itself doesn’t generate resources directly, the consistent cycling of your hand can lead to drawing into more lands or ramp spells. This can indirectly accelerate your resources, ensuring you have the means to play the more powerful spells in your deck faster.
Instant Speed: Though the Book Devourer doesn’t operate at instant speed, it synergizes well with spells that do. The ability to churn through your deck at a faster rate increases the likelihood of drawing into instant speed answers or tricks, allowing you to respond to your opponents’ moves more effectively and keeping them guessing about what you might have in hand.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To fully utilize Book Devourer’s ability, a player must discard their entire hand at the beginning of the next end step, which could be highly disadvantageous if the discarded cards are essential or if the player is unable to refill their hand efficiently.
Specific Mana Cost: Book Devourer demands a precise mana investment of four colorless and two red mana to cast. This cost can be challenging for decks that are not heavily based on red mana, possibly restricting its inclusion only to certain types of decks that can reliably generate the required mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a six-mana cost, Book Devourer competes with other high-impact creatures and spells in the same mana range. Given this cost, players might find it less appealing when considering the rate of return on investment compared to other cards that provide immediate impact or more versatile abilities for the same or lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include Book Devourer in Your Collection
Versatility: Book Devourer offers a unique advantage for decks focused on rapidly cycling through cards. Its ability to allow a player to discard their hand and draw new cards can be particularly useful in reanimation strategies or decks looking to benefit from high card turnover.
Combo Potential: The discard and draw mechanism of Book Devourer can be a key component in combo setups, especially those that capitalize on having certain cards in the graveyard. It’s a natural fit in decks that harness graveyard synergies or require specific cards to be cycled for combo execution.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where drawing and discarding cards can lead to significant advantages, Book Devourer stands out. It challenges traditional control decks by keeping your hand refreshed and can create unexpected openings against slower, less interactive decks.
How to beat
Book Devourer is a unique creature in Magic: The Gathering, presenting an interesting challenge to overcome. At six mana for a 4/5 body, this creature trades blows with the best of them all while offering the intriguing ability to discard your hand and draw new cards equal to its power. So how do you handle this bibliophagic beast?
The key to beating Book Devourer lies in its mana cost and its combat-triggered ability. Since it’s on the heavier side of the mana curve, countering it or removing it before it hits the battlefield or before it attacks can be quite effective. Cards that force an opponent to sacrifice a creature can sidestep the discard and draw ability, shutting down the advantage your adversary seeks. Alternatively, utilizing cheaper removal spells, like Fatal Push or Path to Exile, or even bounce spells like Unsummon, can manage the Book Devourer threat at a lower cost and keep your opponent’s handsize in check.
Ultimately, recognizing the tempo loss your opponent incurs when casting a high-cost creature like Book Devourer can be turned to your favor. By leveraging your removal spells efficiently and keeping up the pressure, you can ensure that the Devourer’s presence in the game is as fleeting as the pages of a consumed tome.
Cards like Book Devourer
Book Devourer is an intriguing creature card in MTG that captures the essence of red’s impulsive power by allowing players to rummage through their deck. This mechanic is somewhat reminiscent of the card Faithless Looting, which permits drawing and discarding to refine your hand. Unlike Faithless Looting, Book Devourer presents a heftier body on the battlefield and lets you repeatedly utilize its ability, albeit at a slower pace as it requires the creature to deal combat damage first.
Analogous to Mad Prophet, another creature with a rummaging ability, Book Devourer offers a sturdier presence and the potential for a larger one-time discard and draw effect. However, the Prophet’s ability to rummage at will can be more reliable despite being limited to one card per activation. Lastly, Avaricious Dragon deserves a mention for its formidable stats and continuous card draw effect, but it comes with the drawback of discarding your hand each turn, making it a riskier bet compared to the controlled rummage that Book Devourer offers.
When considering cards that facilitate cycling through your deck, Book Devourer provides an interesting balance between board impact and card advantage capabilities for players in MTG, branding its unique spot in this particular niche.
Cards similar to Book Devourer by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Book Devourer MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica, 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 Book Devourer and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Book Devourer has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
