Fen Hauler MTG Card
2017-01-20 - Number 58
2019-11-07 - Number 656
2020-11-12 - Number 85
2020-09-26 - Number AER-58
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Insect |
| Abilities | Improvise |
| Power | 5 |
| Toughness | 5 |
Key Takeaways
- Fen Hauler provides card advantage and has synergistic potential with artifact-heavy strategies.
- Challenges include a specific mana requirement and a potentially steep casting cost.
- Despite its drawbacks, it’s a meta-relevant card that can be unblockable within the right setup.
Text of card
Improvise (Your artifacts can help cast this spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for .) Fen Hauler can't be blocked by artifact creatures.
"Success is found where others fear to look." —Ara, renegade smuggler
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Fen Hauler can contribute to card advantage by providing an impactful seven-power creature on the battlefield. A larger creature often demands an answer from your opponent, making them allocate resources that could potentially lead to gaining an upper hand in card economy.
Resource Acceleration: Though Fen Hauler itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its Improvise ability allows you to tap artifacts you control to help pay for its mana cost, effectively turning any artifacts into potential mana sources and potentially accelerating your board presence.
Instant Speed: While Fen Hauler is not an instant itself, its Improvise ability gives it a flexible casting cost that can sometimes enable playing it sooner than expected. Being able to strategically deploy your artifacts as mana can free up actual mana for instant speed responses during your opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To unleash Fen Hauler on the battlefield, you must part ways with another card from your hand, crafting a tough decision when your options are sparse.
Specific Mana Cost: Fen Hauler’s allegiance to black mana demands a crafting of decks that skew heavily towards swamps or sources of black mana; it’s not a stroll in any mage’s park.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Seven mana is a hefty sum to conjure up a creature; there exists a cadre of behemoths and spells that might promise greater tumult for similar or reduced investment.
Reasons to Include Fen Hauler in Your Collection
Versatility: Fen Hauler is a card that offers flexibility in deck design, capable of being a cornerstone in artifact-heavy builds. Its ability to become unblockable by virtue of controlling artifacts allows it to fit into various strategies, from aggressive to synergistic artifact decks.
Combo Potential: As an artifact creature, Fen Hauler interacts well with mechanics that capitalize on artifact synergy. Its intimidating presence on the battlefield can be enhanced by other cards that reward you for having artifacts, offering potential for powerful combinations and board states.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where artifact strategies are prevalent, Fen Hauler can be a game-changer. Its innate evasion coupled with a respectable power and toughness makes it an important card to consider when adapting to a meta that favors artifact-based decks or when seeking to counter such strategies with a hefty finisher.
How to Beat Fen Hauler
Fen Hauler is an intriguing creature card that poses a unique challenge on the battlefield. It excels in decks utilizing the Improvise mechanic, effectively reducing its casting cost by tapping artifacts. Unlike other creatures that are straightforward to remove, Fen Hauler comes with built-in protection, making it unblockable by artifact creatures. This can give it a considerable edge, especially in artifact-heavy metas.
To effectively counter Fen Hauler, players should consider a few strategies. Removal spells that don’t target, such as board wipes like Wrath of God or Supreme Verdict, can bypass its protection. Additionally, using counterspells when the Hauler is cast prevents it from hitting the board in the first place. Also, manipulating combat through effects that force a creature to block or be blocked can neutralize the Fen Hauler’s advantage.
The key is to anticipate this elusive creature and maintain answers in your deck to ensure that the Fen Hauler’s impact is minimized. With adequate preparation and the right mix of control elements, you can navigate around this threat and maintain dominance over the game state.
Cards like Fen Hauler
Fen Hauler occupies a unique space in the MTG card universe. This creature card is similar to several others with the Improve mechanic, but it carves out its niche with an intriguing ability that makes it unblockable provided you have an artifact. This is reminiscent of the Salvage Scuttler which also benefits from having artifacts in play, although Scuttler allows you to return an artifact to your hand rather than enabling an unblockable attack.
Diving deeper into the comparison, Fen Hauler can be looked at alongside the Spire Monitor. While both can be difficult for opponents to block, Spire Monitor achieves this through flying and not reliant on artifacts, offering more consistent evasion. Moreover, Etherium Abomination also enters the conversation with its artifact-dependent ability. The distinction lies in its additional function of graveyard disruption, albeit with a more temporary evasion compared to Fen Hauler’s ongoing unblockable status.
Examining these varied capabilities, Fen Hauler stands out for those looking to seamlessly integrate artifact synergies into their offense strategy. Its ability to be unblockable with the right board state can represent a potent threat and a game-changer for players leveraging artifact-heavy decks in MTG.
Cards similar to Fen Hauler by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Fen Hauler MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Mystery Booster, 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 Fen Hauler and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Fen Hauler Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by Sidharth Chaturvedi.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-01-20 | Aether Revolt | AER | 58 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sidharth Chaturvedi | |
| 2 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 656 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sidharth Chaturvedi | |
| 3 | The List | PLST | AER-58 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sidharth Chaturvedi | ||
| 4 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 85 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sidharth Chaturvedi |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Fen Hauler has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Fen Hauler card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | Because improvise isn’t an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs. |
| 2017-02-09 | Equipment attached to a creature doesn’t become tapped when that creature becomes tapped, and tapping that Equipment doesn’t cause the creature to become tapped. |
| 2017-02-09 | If an artifact you control has a mana ability with in the cost, activating that ability while casting a spell with improvise will result in the artifact being tapped when you pay the spell’s costs. You won’t be able to tap it again for improvise. Similarly, if you sacrifice an artifact to activate a mana ability while casting a spell with improvise, that artifact won’t be on the battlefield when you pay the spell’s costs, so you won’t be able to tap it for improvise. |
| 2017-02-09 | Improvise can’t be used to pay for anything other than the cost of casting the spell. For example, it can’t be used during the resolution of an ability that says “Counter target spell unless its controller pays .” |
| 2017-02-09 | Improvise can’t pay for , , , , , or mana symbols in a spell’s total cost. |
| 2017-02-09 | Improvise doesn’t change a spell’s mana cost or converted mana cost. |
| 2017-02-09 | Tapping an artifact won’t cause its abilities to stop applying unless those abilities say so. |
| 2017-02-09 | When calculating a spell’s total cost, include any alternative costs, additional costs, or anything else that increases or reduces the cost to cast the spell. Improvise applies after the total cost is calculated. |
