Butcher's Glee MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants creatures a potent combat boost along with lifelink and regeneration for durability and life gains.
  2. Instant speed allows for surprise tactics and flexible combat responses during opponent’s turns.
  3. Offers synergies with on damage or on death effects, elevating its potential in targeted deck builds.

Text of card

Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains lifelink until end of turn. Regenerate it. (Damage dealt by a creature with lifelink also causes its controller to gain that much life.)

The Crave made Kneecleaver think she was bigger than the dragon.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Butcher’s Glee not only boosts your creature’s power but also provides you with a potential swing in life total that could equate to drawing an additional card. The lifelink aspect ensures that you are gaining tangible benefits on the battlefield while potentially outpacing your opponent’s resources.

Resource Acceleration: While Butcher’s Glee doesn’t directly generate mana, the life gain can indirectly accelerate your resources by bolstering your life total, giving you more time and therefore more draws to get the mana you need. Preventing one of your key creatures from dying can also maintain your board state, keeping your resource engine intact.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Butcher’s Glee allows for strategic combat tricks and surprise shifts in combat dynamics. It lets you respond to your opponent’s actions, potentially removing their creatures or turning a losing situation into a winning exchange, all while keeping your mana open for other possibilities until absolutely necessary.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Butcher’s Glee requires that you keep cards in hand to be effective. In contrast, this spell offers no discard outlet or card advantage, which may result in situations where holding onto it could hinder your hand’s fluidity, especially when trying to maintain a presence on the board.

Specific Mana Cost: The inclusion of black mana makes Butcher’s Glee a spell with a narrow deck compatibility. It’s not just about having black mana but having it at the right moment. If your deck isn’t strictly black or doesn’t have reliable mana fixing, Butcher’s Glee may end up stuck in hand, unused when most needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two black, Butcher’s Glee may be somewhat cumbersome for what it offers. There are certainly instances where gaining life and returning a creature to the fray can swing a game. However, considering this cost structure, one must assess if it’s worth devoting resources to this card over alternatives that may provide a higher or more immediate impact on the game-state.


Reasons to Include Butcher’s Glee in Your Collection

Versatility: Butcher’s Glee provides a threefold boon: life gain, power boost, and regeneration. This makes it a flexible card that can be slotted into various deck types, particularly those that are looking to turn the tide of combat in their favor.

Combo Potential: With its ability to give a creature +3/+0 and regenerate it, this card excels in synergistic strategies. Pairing it with creatures that have ‘on damage’ or ‘on death’ effects can turn a seemingly innocuous attack phase into a game-changing event.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where creature combat is prevalent and life totals can swing drastically, the lifelink provided by Butcher’s Glee could be a determining factor in outlasting opponents. It is particularly handy against decks that rely on damage to clear the board.


How to beat

Butcher’s Glee is a card that can turn the tides of combat in Magic: The Gathering with its life gain and regeneration capabilities. Understanding the timing of your opponent’s plays is crucial in overcoming this combat trick. Employing instant-speed removal spells before the player has the chance to declare attackers can effectively negate the moment of surprise Butcher’s Glee provides. Additionally, anticipating and strategically holding up mana for counter spells when the opponent is likely to engage in a significant attack can ensure Butcher’s Glee never hits the battlefield.

Countering the card or exiling it before it’s played are two effective strategies. Deploying creatures with lifelink or protection from black can also neutralize the impact of Butcher’s Glee by offsetting the life gain or being immune to its effects, respectively. Remember, cards with hexproof or shroud prevent targeting by spells like Butcher’s Glee, offering a solid line of defense. Playing around this MTG card requires a mixture of foresight, board state awareness, and timely execution to maintain the upper hand.


Cards like Butcher's Glee

Butcher’s Glee makes a strong showing in the realm of life gain and creature enhancement in Magic: The Gathering. It finds parallels in cards like Rush of Vitality, which not only bestows a nice boost to toughness and power but also grants indestructible for the turn. Butcher’s Glee edges ahead by not only giving the creature lifelink until the end of the turn but also dishing out an impressive three-point power increase that can swing a close fight or race to your favor.

Another competitor in this niche is Supernatural Stamina. It offers a similar functionality by temporarily saving a creature from death, bolstered with a power increase. But Butcher’s Glee wins in a direct comparison with its more substantial power lift and the critical lifelink mechanic, which can be a turning point during tight gameplay. Vigor Mortis also enters the fray, focusing on resurrection rather than in-combat tricks. While it doesn’t prevent the creature from dying in the first place, it brings it back with a potential +1/+1 counter, albeit without the lifelink boon of Butcher’s Glee.

Sizing up these alternatives reveals Butcher’s Glee as a valuable card, uniquely blending combat enhancement with powerful life gain potential—a combination that can stabilize a game or lead to a crushing swing in life totals in MTG.

Rush of Vitality - MTG Card versions
Supernatural Stamina - MTG Card versions
Vigor Mortis - MTG Card versions
Rush of Vitality - Kaladesh (KLD)
Supernatural Stamina - Amonkhet (AKH)
Vigor Mortis - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Butcher's Glee by color, type and mana cost

Spoils of Evil - MTG Card versions
Dark Banishing - MTG Card versions
Carrion - MTG Card versions
Sick and Tired - MTG Card versions
Corpse Dance - MTG Card versions
Bone Harvest - MTG Card versions
Slay - MTG Card versions
Hapato's Might - MTG Card versions
Afflict - MTG Card versions
Dismember - MTG Card versions
Body Count - MTG Card versions
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Execute - MTG Card versions
Kill! Destroy! - MTG Card versions
Sudden Death - MTG Card versions
Footbottom Feast - MTG Card versions
Fevered Strength - MTG Card versions
Hideous End - MTG Card versions
Corpse Lunge - MTG Card versions
Necrobite - MTG Card versions
Spoils of Evil - Ice Age (ICE)
Dark Banishing - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Carrion - Mirage (MIR)
Sick and Tired - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Corpse Dance - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Bone Harvest - Beatdown Box Set (BTD)
Slay - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Hapato's Might - Sega Dreamcast Cards (PSDG)
Afflict - Odyssey (ODY)
Dismember - Modern Event Deck 2014 (MD1)
Body Count - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Reaping the Graves - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Execute - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Kill! Destroy! - Unhinged (UNH)
Sudden Death - Time Spiral (TSP)
Footbottom Feast - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Fevered Strength - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Hideous End - The List (PLST)
Corpse Lunge - Innistrad (ISD)
Necrobite - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Butcher's Glee MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir and Iconic Masters, 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 Butcher's Glee and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Butcher's Glee Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2015-03-27 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Jesper Ejsing.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-03-27Dragons of TarkirDTK 902015normalblackJesper Ejsing
22017-11-17Iconic MastersIMA 842015normalblackJesper Ejsing
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5862015normalblackJesper Ejsing
42020-09-26The ListPLST IMA-842015normalblackJesper Ejsing

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Butcher's Glee has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-11-17 Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.

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