Calamity Bearer MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Giant Berserker
Power 3
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Doubling giant damage turns Calamity Bearer into a major threat, enhancing each giant’s impact on the game.
  2. Although it lacks direct resource acceleration, its ability to potentially hasten victory adds considerable value.
  3. Instant-speed interactions with giants become drastically more effective with Calamity Bearer on the field.

Text of card

If a Giant source you control would deal damage to a permanent or player, it deals double that damage to that permanent or player instead.

He'd ignite the World Tree itself if he could.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While not directly offering card draw, Calamity Bearer amplifies the impact of your giants, turning each card played into a more formidable threat. This synergy effectively maximizes the value of each giant-themed card in your deck.

Resource Acceleration: Calamity Bearer itself does not provide traditional resource acceleration, but by doubling damage from your giants, it enables quicker wins. This form of indirect acceleration puts opponents on a faster clock, requiring less combat to achieve victory.

Instant Speed: Calamity Bearer functions at sorcery speed, but its ability to escalate damage serves as a force multiplier, making any instant-speed giant effects or interactions that much more devastating during unexpected moments in the match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Calamity Bearer has no inherent discard requirement, which can be judged as a neutral trait. However, it does mean it lacks synergy with strategies that benefit from or mitigate discarding.

Specific Mana Cost: Dual red mana in its casting cost means Calamity Bearer heavily leans into red-centric or Gruul decks, potentially restricting its inclusion in more varied multicolor builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: A casting cost of four mana, including two red, positions Calamity Bearer at a point where players might expect an immediate impact on the board. Its dependence on other giants for optimal effectiveness may delay its value contribution.


Reasons to Include Calamity Bearer in Your Collection

Versatility: Calamity Bearer offers a significant power boost in any Giant tribal or Red-based aggressive deck, enhancing their damage output and providing a formidable presence on the board.

Combo Potential: This Giant Berserker doubles the damage that Giants or spells you control deal to a permanent or player, making it an ideal combo piece with other cards that either deal damage or benefit from amplified power, like “Bonecrusher Giant” and “Squash.”

Meta-Relevance: Given the Giant archetype’s growing presence in the competitive scene, adding Calamity Bearer to your collection can prepare you to exploit synergies and maintain an edge as the meta evolves.


How to beat

Calamity Bearer is a powerhouse in MTG that doubles the damage dealt by Giants and spells with the Berserkers or Wizards type you control. To get the upper hand, direct removal spells are your allies. Consider using swift elimination cards like Murder or Heartless Act to swiftly dispatch the Bearer before it can magnify the damage output of other creatures.

Board control is another efficient strategy. Wipes such as Shatter the Sky and Doomskar can even the playing field by removing Calamity Bearer along with other threats. When facing a deck that relies on Calamity Bearer, it’s crucial to manage your resources effectively and prepare to neutralize it the moment it hits the battlefield.

Tightening your defenses is also a valid approach. Creatures with deathtouch, such as Foulmire Knight, deter your opponent from attacking, reducing the Bearer’s impact. Ultimately, prompt removal, strategic board wipes, and defensive positioning are key tactics in ensuring Calamity Bearer doesn’t tip the scales against you in a game of MTG.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the world of MTG is a dynamic venture, with each card adding new layers of strategy and power dynamics, and Calamity Bearer stands out as a quintessential piece in giant-focused decks. Powerful and synergistic, it propels your game forward, pushing you towards swift victory. Its ability to double the impact of your giants puts opponents under pressure, creating opportunities for game-ending plays. Delve deeper into MTG strategies, sharpen your deck-building skills, and harness the formidable force of Calamity Bearer. Ready to expand your MTG arsenal and construct game-changing decks? Let’s deepen your understanding and optimize your gameplay together.


Cards like Calamity Bearer

Calamity Bearer enters the vibrant tapestry of Magic: The Gathering as a noteworthy member of the Giant tribe, offering a substantial boon to red-aligned players. It echoes the impact of cards like Anax, Hardened in the Forge in amplifying damage output from other sources – in this case, doubling the damage that Giants or spells you control would deal. Where Anax bolsters creature resilience by creating tokens upon their demise, Calamity Bearer shines by potentially ending games with its damage amplification ability.

Looking at other comparisons, we can draw a parallel with Furnace of Rath, a familiar card that doubles damage dealt to any target. While Furnace of Rath offers a broader spectrum of damage doubling, affecting all sources, it also indiscriminately affects opponents’ damage, potentially backfiring on the player. Calamity Bearer’s focused yet potent ability allows for a more controlled approach, targeting only your Giants and spells for increased damage, ensuring that the player can harness this power without the inherent risks associated with Furnace of Rath.

Assessing the strategic placement of Calamity Bearer within the roster of damage boosting MTG cards, it becomes clear that the card holds its own, especially in synergy-focused Giant decks where maximized damage is key. It establishes itself as a pivotal card for players aiming to escalate their offensive rapidly and decisively.

Anax, Hardened in the Forge - MTG Card versions
Furnace of Rath - MTG Card versions
Anax, Hardened in the Forge - Theros Beyond Death (THB)
Furnace of Rath - Tempest (TMP)

Cards similar to Calamity Bearer by color, type and mana cost

Dragon Whelp - MTG Card versions
Keldon Warlord - MTG Card versions
Crimson Manticore - MTG Card versions
Márton Stromgald - MTG Card versions
Reckless Embermage - MTG Card versions
Wildfire Emissary - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Giant - MTG Card versions
Rathi Dragon - MTG Card versions
Mogg Bombers - MTG Card versions
Warmonger - MTG Card versions
Bloodfire Kavu - MTG Card versions
Whipkeeper - MTG Card versions
Anger - MTG Card versions
Nalathni Dragon - MTG Card versions
Everquill Phoenix - MTG Card versions
Goblin Goon - MTG Card versions
Lesser Gargadon - MTG Card versions
Krark-Clan Engineers - MTG Card versions
Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked - MTG Card versions
Ogre Taskmaster - MTG Card versions
Dragon Whelp - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Keldon Warlord - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Crimson Manticore - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Márton Stromgald - Ice Age (ICE)
Reckless Embermage - Mirage (MIR)
Wildfire Emissary - Mirage (MIR)
Flowstone Giant - Tempest (TMP)
Rathi Dragon - Tempest (TMP)
Mogg Bombers - Stronghold (STH)
Warmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Bloodfire Kavu - Apocalypse (APC)
Whipkeeper - Odyssey (ODY)
Anger - Judgment (JUD)
Nalathni Dragon - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Everquill Phoenix - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)
Goblin Goon - Legions (LGN)
Lesser Gargadon - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Krark-Clan Engineers - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Ogre Taskmaster - Ninth Edition (9ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Calamity Bearer MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Resale Promos, 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 Calamity Bearer and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Calamity Bearer Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2007-01-01 and 2021-02-06. Illustrated by Simon Dominic.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 883122015normalblackSimon Dominic
22007-01-01Resale PromosPRES 1252015normalblackSimon Dominic
32021-02-05KaldheimKHM 3562015normalblackSimon Dominic
42021-02-05KaldheimKHM 1252015normalblackSimon Dominic
52021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 125p2015normalblackSimon Dominic
62021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 125s2015normalblackSimon Dominic

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Calamity Bearer has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-05 If another effect (or effects) modifies how much damage your Giant source would deal—by preventing some of it, for example—the player being dealt damage or the controller of the permanent being dealt damage chooses the order in which any such effects (including Calamity Bearer’s) apply. If all of the damage is prevented, Calamity Bearer’s effect no longer applies.
2021-02-05 If damage dealt by a Giant source you control is being divided or assigned among multiple permanents and/or players, that damage is divided or assigned before doubling. For example, if you attack with a 5/5 Giant with trample and it’s blocked by a 2/2 creature, you can assign 2 damage to the blocker and 3 damage to the defending player. Those amounts are then doubled to 4 and 6, respectively.
2021-02-05 The damage is dealt by the same source as the original source of damage. The doubled damage isn’t dealt by Calamity Bearer unless it was the original source of damage.

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