Loxodon Restorer MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Elephant Cleric |
| Abilities | Convoke |
| Released | 2018-10-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Guilds of Ravnica |
| Set code | GRN |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 20 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Svetlin Velinov |
Key Takeaways
- Loxodon Restorer enhances longevity by gaining life, aiding in preserving valuable card advantage.
- Its convoke ability leverages unused creatures, offering tactical flexibility during play.
- While strong, it requires considerable mana investment and a good hand to truly shine.
Text of card
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for or one mana of that creature's color.) When Loxodon Restorer enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Loxodon Restorer is a solid addition to any deck that aims to go the distance in prolonged matches. It shines by gaining life, which indirectly contributes to maintaining card advantage by bolstering your defenses and keeping you in the game longer. While it doesn’t draw cards outright, preserving life can be just as valuable in attritional battles where each card and life point counts.
Resource Acceleration: Although the Loxodon Restorer itself doesn’t directly provide mana, it’s an excellent blocker due to its considerable toughness. This defensive capability can help protect your more sensitive mana accelerants or other resources generators on the board, thereby indirectly contributing to the acceleration of your resources.
Instant Speed: While the Loxodon Restorer is a creature card and not cast at instant speed, its convoke mechanic allows you to tap creatures as part of the cost to summon it. This flexibility can lead to situations where you deploy the Restorer using creatures that are effectively out of action, such as those with summoning sickness or those that would be otherwise unable to attack that turn, enabling a more efficient use of your turn and resources.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Loxodon Restorer can bolster your life total and field presence, its main downside comes with its casting conditions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t simply slide into play; you must have a suitable selection of cards in hand, ready for investment. If your hand is running empty, bringing this formidable creature to the battlefield can be more of a dream than an imminent reality.
Specific Mana Cost: Its mana cost is not to be taken lightly either. Loxodon Restorer demands a precise concoction of mana, including two white sources. In the diverse landscape of MTG, this can pose a constraint, potentially slowing down decks that are not heavily invested in white mana or those that strive for a more color-flexible mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that leans on the higher end of the spectrum, Loxodon Restorer competes with other potent cards for a spot in your mana curve. Though it brings a decent body and a beneficial effect to the field, seasoned players might find other creatures or spells that provide more bang for their mana buck, making the Restorer a less attractive option in tightly tuned decks.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Loxodon Restorer has the flexibility to serve multiple roles on the battlefield. This card can be an integral part of your deck, from providing a decent body that can effectively block many common attackers to offering a life gain that could be critical in stabilizing your position in the game.
Combo Potential: With its ability to gain you life, Loxodon Restorer works well with strategies that capitalize on life total changes. It could be used to empower cards that trigger upon gaining life, supporting a more extensive lifegain theme within your deck.
Meta-Relevance: Given its solid stature and the ever-welcome life gain, Loxodon Restorer holds relevancy in metas where aggro decks are prevalent. Its presence can thwart many aggressive strategies, making it a valuable card in your collection to adapt to shifting gameplay dynamics.
How to beat
Loxodon Restorer can be a formidable presence on the battlefield, essentially serving as a linchpin for life-gain strategies in Magic: The Gathering. With its built-in ability to restore health upon entering the battlefield, overcoming this steady source of life gain can be an obstacle. However, this creature’s reliance on the conventional casting cost also presents opportunities for counterplay.
Fast-paced decks have an inherent advantage against Loxodon Restorer, as they can typically apply pressure before it can impact the game significantly. Direct removal spells are a logical response to a creature of this kind; spells like Murder or Cast Down provide a simple solution to clear the Restorer from the board. Additionally, countering the spell before it takes effect is always a valid strategy. Cards like Negate or Essence Scatter can prevent the Loxodon Restorer from ever touching the field, thereby nullifying the potential life gain it provides.
Lastly, leveraging permanents that restrict healing abilities, such as Tocatli Honor Guard, can efficiently derail strategies centered around creatures with enter-the-battlefield triggers like Loxodon Restorer. In summary, while this elephantine cleric can showcase endurance, there are ample methods within the MTG universe to overcome its restorative prowess.
Cards like Loxodon Restorer
Loxodon Restorer serves as an intriguing creature within Magic: The Gathering’s vast array of life-gaining cards. Sharing the spotlight with cards such as Basilica Guards, the Restorer offers immediacy with its “enter the battlefield” effect, a feature absent in the Guards’ gameplay. However, Basilica Guards have the added utility of detaining another creature, potentially offering a more strategic advantage in controlling the battlefield.
Another potential comparison is with the well-known Centaur Healer. The Healer, which also provides a life boost upon entering the battlefield, is cheaper to cast but offers a lower life gain than Loxodon Restorer. Moreover, Centaur Healer presents a more aggressive board presence with its three points of power compared to the Restorer’s mere two.
Insights into these comparisons allow us to appreciate Loxodon Restorer’s unique place in the game. With its significant life gain and considerable body, it stands as a solid choice for decks looking to stabilize late game while putting a substantial creature on the board.
Cards similar to Loxodon Restorer by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Loxodon Restorer 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 Loxodon Restorer 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 Loxodon Restorer has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Loxodon Restorer card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-10-05 | Because convoke isn’t an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs. |
| 2018-10-05 | Convoke doesn’t change a spell’s mana cost or converted mana cost. |
| 2018-10-05 | If a creature you control has a mana ability with in the cost, activating that ability while casting a spell with convoke will result in the creature being tapped before you pay the spell’s costs. You won’t be able to tap it again for convoke. Similarly, if you sacrifice a creature to activate a mana ability while casting a spell with convoke, that creature won’t be on the battlefield when you pay the spell’s costs, so you won’t be able to tap it for convoke. |
| 2018-10-05 | Tapping a multicolored creature using convoke will pay for or one mana of your choice of any of that creature’s colors. |
| 2018-10-05 | When calculating a spell’s total cost, include any alternative costs, additional costs, or anything else that increases or reduces the cost to cast the spell. Convoke applies after the total cost is calculated. |
| 2018-10-05 | When using convoke to cast a spell with in its mana cost, first choose the value for X. That choice, plus any cost increases or decreases, will determine the spell’s total cost. Then you can tap creatures you control to help pay that cost. For example, if you cast Worldsoul Colossus (a spell with convoke and mana cost ) and choose X to be 3, the total cost is . If you tap two green creatures and two white creatures, you’ll have to pay . |
| 2018-10-05 | You can tap an untapped creature you haven’t controlled continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn to convoke a spell. |
