Devouring Strossus MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	8
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Abilities	Flying,Trample
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Power	9
Toughness	9
Number	101
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	D. Alexander Gregory

Key Takeaways

Devouring Strossus offers card advantage by disrupting opponents and reviving your own creatures.
Its presence accelerates the game’s pace, pressuring opponents and conserving your resources.
Due to its high mana cost and discard requirement, strategic deck building is essential.

Text of card

Flying, trample At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature. Sacrifice a creature: Regenerate Devouring Strossus.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Devouring Strossus is a mighty creature card that can present significant card advantage. Its compelling ability to sacrifice a creature each turn can be utilized to decimate your opponent’s board, leaving them at a disadvantage. Furthermore, it offers the chance to recur valuable creatures from your graveyard, ensuring a steady flow of resources and potentially overwhelming your opponent with powerful plays.

Resource Acceleration: While Devouring Strossus itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its sheer presence on the battlefield accelerates the game’s pace in your favor. Dominating combat phases and pressuring opponents to respond can indirectly lead to resource acceleration as you dictate the flow of the game, conserving your mana and resources for crucial turns.

Instant Speed: Although Devouring Strossus operates at sorcery speed, the strategic layer it adds to gameplay is undeniable. It forces opponents to think twice about their instant-speed removals or tricks, knowing that failing to deal with Devouring Strossus promptly could lead to their creatures being devoured turn after turn, granting you an unstoppable board presence.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players activating Devouring Strossus’s regenerative ability are required to discard a card. This can be particularly taxing when your hand is already depleted, which might force tough decisions or weaken your position.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that demands both black and generic mana, integrating Devouring Strossus into a multicolor deck demands careful mana base planning. This can be restrictive for players wanting to maintain a flexible mana curve across different colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial casting cost that is on the higher end of the spectrum, utilizing Devouring Strossus requires substantial mana resources. In fast-paced games, this might result in a delay in play or render the card a late-game option only.

Reasons to Include Devouring Strossus in Your Collection

Versatility: Devouring Strossus serves as a dynamic tool in command zones or as a game-ending threat in decks focused on reanimation. With its ability to fly and trample over defenses, it adapts easily to various battlefield situations.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with sacrifice and graveyard strategies, allowing you to exploit its upkeep cost for your benefit. Integrating it into combos can enable you to recur potent effects or dismantle your opponent’s board presence.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where creature-based strategies dominate, Devouring Strossus can act as both an offensive powerhouse and a formidable deterrent. Its imposing presence can shape the pace of play and often requires immediate answers from opponents.

How to beat Devouring Strossus

Devouring Strossus presents a formidable challenge on the battlefield, showcasing its might in the form of a giant creature with trample and regeneration capabilities. These traits make it a daunting opponent, but it’s not invincible. A key strategy in overcoming this behemoth lies in preventing its regeneration. Utilize spells like Tormod’s Crypt or Leyline of the Void to eradicate its advantage from the graveyard, thus rendering its regeneration ability useless.

Moreover, employ creature removal cards that circumvent regeneration. Consider leveraging exile effects via spells such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, which can effectively deal with the Strossus, bypassing its regeneration altogether. Additionally, enchantments like Rest in Peace can be pivotal in shutting down any graveyard strategies that might otherwise fortify its position on the battlefield.

Ultimately, understanding the intricate mechanics and adopting a proactive disruption plan can swing the odds in your favor. Keeping such formidable threats in check ensures your long-term success in the diverse and strategic realm of MTG gameplay.

Cards like Devouring Strossus

When peering into the shadowy depths of MTG’s creature collection, Devouring Strossus emerges as a notable force. It’s often weighed against other formidable creatures like Sheoldred, Whispering One. Both cards have imposing presences with abilities that disturb the board state. However, Devouring Strossus offers an invasive regeneration ability, sacrificing a creature for its own survival, a trade-off that Sheoldred doesn’t require.

Another parallel can be drawn with Lord of the Void, as both are formidable flying creatures that can swing the game in your favor. However, Devouring Strossus invites a more aggressive strategy, demanding a sacrifice from your own ranks to maintain its dominance. Meanwhile, Lord of the Void looks to the opponent’s deck to cast creatures from their graveyards without any cost to your own board.

Examining these alternatives paints a clearer picture of Devouring Strossus’s unique position. With its combination of trample, regeneration, and the potential to decimate an opponent’s creature base, it stands as a horror that demands immediate attention the moment it hits the board. Its distinct mechanics offer a mix of offense and resilience, binding players to a darker path in their MTG strategy.

Sheoldred, Whispering One - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Devouring Strossus by color, type and mana cost

Myojin of Night's Reach - MTG Card versions

Shambling Attendants - MTG Card versions

Distended Mindbender - MTG Card versions

Razaketh, the Foulblooded - MTG Card versions

Torgaar, Famine Incarnate - MTG Card versions

Archfiend of Despair - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Devouring Strossus MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Devouring Strossus and other MTG cards: