Blitz Leech MTG Card


Blitz Leech - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Leech
Abilities Flash
Released2020-04-24
Set symbol
Set nameIkoria: Lair of Behemoths
Set codeIKO
Power 5
Toughness 2
Number74
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byNicholas Gregory

Key Takeaways

  1. The leech’s ability to remove counters and draw cards boosts both board and hand advantage.
  2. Its specific mana cost and higher casting cost can be restrictive for some deck strategies.
  3. Meta-relevant in games where creatures with counters are prevalent, offering tactical disruption.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash When Blitz Leech enters the battlefield, target creature an opponent controls gets -2/-2 until end of turn. Remove all counters from that creature.

"Fools wear armor against it as if the worst it could take is your blood." —Gavi, nest warden


Card Pros

Card Advantage: This creature not only deals with threats by removing any counters from them but can also replenish your hand by granting you the power to draw a card. This dual utility is perfect for maintaining or escalating your position in the match.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly generate resources, Blitz Leech’s ability to clear the path for your other attackers can accelerate your board advantage and indirectly lead to greater resource accumulation by allowing for more effective and unimpeded attacks.

Instant Speed: Blitz Leech’s flash ability means it can be summoned at the speed of an instant. This not only surprises your adversaries but also allows you the flexibility to decide the most strategic moment for its deployment, whether that’s during your opponent’s turn or at the end of it, preserving your mana and options open until you need to act.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One drawback of Blitz Leech is the absence of a discard effect that can sometimes benefit graveyard-based strategies. Not having this can be seen as a missed synergy opportunity for decks that thrive on filling the graveyard.

Specific Mana Cost: Blitz Leech’s casting cost is specific to black mana, requiring two black mana symbols and four generic mana. This can limit deck-building options, especially in multicolored decks that might struggle to meet the black mana requirement consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost of six mana, Blitz Leech is on the higher end for creature spells. When considering its ability to remove counters and its stats, some players might find it less mana-efficient compared to other creatures or removal spells available in the game.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Blitz Leech’s ability to remove all counters from a single target makes it a flexible inclusion in any collection. Its utility shines in a meta where +1/+1 counters or other counter types are prevalent on creatures, and as an instant, it can upend combat or dismantle key strategies at a crucial moment.

Combo Potential: While not a combo piece in the traditional sense, Blitz Leech can serve as an unexpected enabler. It can disrupt opponent’s combos relying on counters or simply reset a persistent threat, buying time for your winning strategy to unfold.

Meta-Relevance: Given its power to neutralize threats that rely on counters to dominate, Blitz Leech is particularly relevant in metas dominated by these strategies. Its life-leeching ability upon entering the battlefield can offer a slight edge in life totals, often tipping the scales in creature-heavy matchups.


How to beat

Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts often encounter formidable creatures, and Blitz Leech is no exception. With its instant-speed ability to negate all counters from a target creature and remove it from combat, it can quickly turn the tide of battle. To gain the upper hand against Blitz Leech, timing is essential. Utilizing removal spells before your opponent reaches six mana can effectively bypass its ability to disrupt your strategy. Considering the mana cost to cast Blitz Leech is relatively high for its effect, keeping pace with mana-efficient plays leaves the opponent behind, rendering the leech less impactful.

Another tactic is to minimize the number of creatures that rely on counters to be effective. By crafting a strategy that doesn’t hinge on +1/+1 counters or similar mechanics, you diminish the impact a Blitz Leech can have on your board state. Moreover, having instant-speed responses of your own allows you to adapt to the battlefield dynamically. Spells that grant hexproof or indestructible can safeguard your key creatures against the leech’s intimidating entrance. Ultimately, recognizing the leech’s strengths and deploying preemptive or responsive maneuvers will help ensure it doesn’t sabotage your game plan.


Cards like Blitz Leech

The inclusion of Blitz Leech in the Magic: The Gathering universe adds a unique twist to creature removal dynamics. It bears a resemblance to other removal cards like Murder, a straightforward spell that destroys a target creature irrespective of its size or abilities. Yet, Blitz Leech stands out with the additional benefit of removing all counters from the target creature before it’s destroyed. This can disrupt opponent strategies that rely heavily on +1/+1 counters.

Comparing Blitz Leech to Grasp of Darkness, which merely gives a creature -4/-4 until end of turn, confirms the Leech’s advantageous niche. While Grasp can be beneficial against indestructible creatures, Blitz Leech’s counter removal can be more impactful in a game dominated by counters. Another similar card, Last Gasp, also reduces a creature’s power and toughness, however, it falls short of handling tougher creatures in comparison to Blitz Leech’s straightforward kill ability, and it shows no interaction with counters, potentially signaling a missed opportunity to weaken or clear boosted enemy creatures.

Therefore, Blitz Leech not only serves as a potent removal option in the game but it is also particularly positioned to disrupt the current meta-games where counter-centric creatures are prevalent, making it an intriguing choice for players who want to stay a step ahead.

Murder - MTG Card versions
Grasp of Darkness - MTG Card versions
Last Gasp - MTG Card versions
Murder - MTG Card versions
Grasp of Darkness - MTG Card versions
Last Gasp - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Blitz Leech MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, 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 Blitz Leech and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Blitz Leech has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2020-04-17 Blitz Leech’s ability removes all counters from the target creature before state-based actions are checked to see if that creature should die. For example, a 2/2 creature with a flying counter on it will lose that counter while it’s a 0/0 creature before it dies.

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