Headhunter MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Cleric
Abilities	Morph
Released	2002-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Onslaught
Set code	ONS
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	156
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Cavotta

Key Takeaways

Forces tough decisions on your opponent, offering you a significant strategic edge in gameplay.
Potential to hinder opponent’s resources, giving you a stealth advantage during combat phases.
Demands careful play due to its discard requirements and specific mana costs needed for casting.

Text of card

Whenever Headhunter deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card from his or her hand. Morph o B (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for o3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: If you have a Headhunter in play, it forces your opponent to make difficult decisions about blocking and attacking. Successfully dealing combat damage with Headhunter lets you pluck a card from your opponent’s hand, disrupting their plan and tipping the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Although the Headhunter itself does not provide direct resource acceleration, it effectively diminishes your opponent’s resources. Each successful attack can shrink their hand, thereby slowing down their ability to play multiple spells or build a formidable presence on the board.

Instant Speed: Headhunter’s ability to snatch a card from an opponent’s hand kicks in at a crucial moment—during the combat phase. This adds an element of surprise and caution to each combat, compelling your opponent to weigh their options carefully and perhaps keep back potential blockers they otherwise would have committed to the attack.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Headhunter often hinges on the drawback of needing to discard a card, which can deplete your hand, especially if you are hoping to maintain a strategic set of options.

Specific Mana Cost: The Headhunter card demands an exacting combination of mana types to cast, which can pose a challenge in multi-colored decks and limits its flexibility in deck-building.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the investment versus return, Headhunter’s mana requirement might feel steep, considering the pool of creatures that could be played at a similar cost point but with potentially more impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include Headhunter in Your Collection

Versatility: The adaptability of Headhunter makes it a valuable addition to rogue or discard-themed decks. Its ability to disrupt an opponent’s hand while presenting a threat on the board allows it to work well in various strategies focused on resource denial.

Combo Potential: With Headhunter’s synergy with cards that reward players for discarded cards or opponents losing cards, it can be an engine in combo decks. It has the potential to unlock devastating turns for players who capitalize on such synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state filled with decks that rely heavily on maintaining specific hand cards to function efficiently, Headhunter can be especially effective. Its capability to keep the opponent’s key pieces at bay makes it relevant in many competitive environments.

How to beat

Headhunter, a thrilling MTG card, can be a pesky obstacle due to its ability to disrupt opponent’s hand with its targeted discard effect when it successfully deals combat damage to a player. Facing this nimble black creature often leads to a scenario where maintaining card advantage can become increasingly difficult.

The trick to countering a Headhunter is ensuring it doesn’t connect with your life total. This can be achieved by maintaining a solid defense with creatures ready to block or utilizing removal spells to take it out before it can initiate its effect. Cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile work wonders in efficiently removing threats like Headhunter from the battlefield.

Lastly, if Headhunter is already a fixture on the board, consider adjusting your strategy. Opt to hold back your most valuable cards or use bluffing techniques to mislead your opponent. This minimizes the potential disadvantage caused by its discard ability. By analyzing the situation and using your removals wisely, you can neutralize the headhunter and retain control over the game’s tempo.

Cards like Headhunter

The Headhunter card presents a unique twist within the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It draws a parallel with other creatures such as Ohran Viper, which equally encourages players to focus on combat tricks and direct creature combat. Like Headhunter, Ohran Viper rewards players for dealing combat damage to a player, albeit with card draw rather than the forced discard Headhunter offers.

Moving to a slightly different aspect, we encounter Hypnotic Specter, one of the quintessential creatures that combine flying with a discard effect upon inflicting combat damage to a player. While Hypnotic Specter doesn’t allow the player to choose the discarded card like Headhunter does, it can be more disruptive by randomizing the discard effect. Additionally, both creatures have a solid place in decks focusing on resource denial strategies.

When players weigh the competitive edge of these creatures, Headhunter’s ability to directly influence an opponent’s hand can be crucial in specific gameplay scenarios. Moreover, its tribal synergies in a Rogue deck can offer strategic advantages that go beyond the individual card capabilities, situating it as a tactical option among creature cards with discard effects in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Headhunter by color, type and mana cost

Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions

Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Headhunter MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught, 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 Headhunter and other MTG cards: