Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute MTG Card

Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute - Innistrad

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Advisor
Abilities	Transform
Released	2011-09-30
Set symbol
Set name	Innistrad
Set code	ISD
Power	0
Toughness	1
Number	47
Frame	2003
Layout	Transform
Border	Black
Illustred by	Michael C. Hayes

Key Takeaways

Provides consistent card draw and hand sculpting, potentially flipping to enhance board presence.
Transforms instantly, altering combat dynamics unexpectedly and adding flexibility to play.
Demands careful hand management, posing challenges in resource allocation and mana base.

Text of card

: Draw a card, then discard a card. If a creature card is discarded this way, untap Civilized Scholar, then transform it.

"Me, angry? Of course not. Thanks to my research, I'm above such petty emotions now."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Civilized Scholar provides a consistent avenue to draw an additional card each turn, potentially flipping into Homicidal Brute. This offers a method to filter your hand and sculpt better game states.

Resource Acceleration: As Homicidal Brute, it becomes a significant creature threat without additional mana investment. This lets you allocate resources elsewhere while maintaining board presence.

Instant Speed: The transformation into Homicidal Brute can occur at instant speed, enabling surprise shifts in board dynamics during either player’s turn and capitalizing on unsuspected combat math.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Civilized Scholar demands a card discard to transform into Homicidal Brute. If you’re managing a depleted hand, this transformation can be a challenging setback, potentially putting you at a card disadvantage against your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana required to cast Civilized Scholar includes a blue, which could be restrictive. Players without a sufficient mana base or those running a multicolored strategy might struggle to consistently summon the card into play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the three mana needed to get Civilized Scholar on the battlefield, which then requires additional steps for its transformation, there might be alternate choices providing immediate impact or more versatility for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute in Your Collection

Versatility: Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute offers flexibility in gameplay, as it can toggle between a card-filtering engine and a powerful attacker. This enables it to slot into a variety of strategies and adapt to different board states.

Combo Potential: With the ability to transform into Homicidal Brute under the right conditions, this card creates opportunities for surprise combat wins or can be cleverly paired with cards that benefit from transforming or discarding.

Meta-Relevance: Given its dual nature, Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute has relevance in metas where both sides of the card can offer advantages, whether in controlling the pace of the game or dealing with unexpected threats.

How to beat

Confronting the transforming duality of Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute requires strategic finesse on the battlefield. Experienced players know that when facing such a versatile threat, timing and resource management become paramount. This card, known for its ability to switch from a looting effect to a formidable creature upon discarding a creature card, can catch opponents off guard. Neutralizing it demands prompt response before it flips, or once transformed, ensuring it’s kept at bay with removal spells.

To effectively counter Civilized Scholar, denying the card draw and looting opportunities is key by either pressuring the owner’s hand size or removing the Scholar before it can transform. Similarly, after the Scholar has switched into the aggressive Homicidal Brute, deploying instant-speed removals like Path to Exile can clear the way, preventing the onslaught it threatens. Control decks that maintain open mana for such answers, or aggro decks that can outpace the need to flip the card, often fare better against this duality challenge.

Strategically, keeping the board clear of potential creature cards that could be discarded to transform the Scholar is also a viable approach. Ultimately, understanding the mechanics and being equipped to react to both sides of the card can tip the scales in your favor against the Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute in your games.

Cards like Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute

Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute glimmers in the realm of transform cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest comparisons are cards with the same transforming ability, which highlight versatility and adaptability in gameplay. Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration navigates a similar pathway, beginning as a simple creature and metamorphosing into a more potent threat. While Delver emphasizes a lean mana curve, our Scholar // Brute trades this efficiency for a loot mechanic on one side and raw power on the flipside.

Another card that echoes this dual nature is Ludevic’s Test Subject // Ludevic’s Abomination. It begins tentatively as an unassuming Lizard egg, but given time and resources, it becomes a formidable monstrosity. Unlike Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute, which swings between intellect and raw aggression with each card cycle, Ludevic’s pair relies on strategic resource investment for a one-time, permanent transformation.

Evaluating these options reveals the unique space occupied by Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute within Magic: The Gathering. The cycling capability and the surprise element of flipping from a passive thinker to an aggressive attacker add layers of strategy, setting it distinctly apart from its transformative kin.

Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration - MTG Card versions

Ludevic's Test Subject // Ludevic's Abomination - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute by color, type and mana cost

Yusri, Fortune's Flame - MTG Card versions

Aegar, the Freezing Flame - MTG Card versions

Veyran, Voice of Duality - MTG Card versions

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad, 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 Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2011-09-22	If Civilized Scholar attacks, and later in the turn (but before the beginning of your end step), it transforms, Homicidal Brute’s last ability won’t trigger. This is because the creature attacked that turn, even if had its other face up at the time.
2011-09-22	You don’t have priority between untapping Civilized Scholar and transforming it. You can’t activate the draw-and-discard ability again, for example.
2011-09-22	You’ll tap and transform Homicidal Brute even if it couldn’t attack.
2016-07-13	For more information on double-faced cards, see the Shadows over Innistrad mechanics article (http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/shadows-over-innistrad-mechanics).