Graverobber Spider MTG Card


Graverobber Spider - Born of the Gods
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Spider
Abilities Reach
Released2014-02-07
Set symbol
Set nameBorn of the Gods
Set codeBNG
Power 2
Toughness 4
Number122
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byRichard Wright

Key Takeaways

  1. Graverobber Spider’s power scales with graveyard creature count, offering strategic growth opportunities.
  2. The card demands careful graveyard management, aligning with self-mill and reanimator decks.
  3. Untapped, Graverobber Spider can become a considerable force, crucial for its playability.

Text of card

Reach : Graverobber Spider gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creature cards in your graveyard. Activate this ability only once each turn.

Cloaks woven from its webs are durable and waterproof but said to bring on nightmares.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Graverobber Spider doesn’t directly let you draw cards, its power to become stronger with creatures in your graveyard can turn your losses into a formidable threat. This conversion effectively gives your past plays continued relevancy, offering a different kind of card advantage on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Graverobber Spider itself isn’t a source of resource acceleration. However, it encourages a deck build that capitalizes on a stocked graveyard. Using cards that fill the graveyard can indirectly speed up how quickly you can deploy your game plan.

Instant Speed: While the Spider’s ability isn’t at instant speed, it benefits from the vast pool of instant-speed spells in MTG that can fill your graveyard, power up the Spider, and swing in for significant damage during your turn. This strategic layer enriches your gameplay, providing a valuable combat trick to catch an opponent off guard.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Even though Graverobber Spider doesn’t demand an upfront card discard to play, it relies on a populated graveyard to fully utilize its abilities. This can lead to situations where you’re pitching valuable cards earlier than desired to beef up the Spider’s power.

Specific Mana Cost: Graverobber Spider has a casting cost that requires both green and generic mana, necessitating a dual-color resource commitment. This can sometimes make it difficult to cast, especially early in the game when mana resources may be limited or undeveloped.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature that starts as a modestly-statted 2/4, the initial four mana investment can be steep, particularly when its ability to become stronger is contingent on a well-stocked graveyard. There are creatures of equivalent mana cost that come with guaranteed abilities or higher power and toughness, offering potentially greater immediate value.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Graverobber Spider can adapt to various game states, flourishing in decks that utilize the graveyard. Its ability to grow in power and toughness gives it an edge in multiple board scenarios.

Combo Potential: This arachnid shines in decks that strategically fill the graveyard, setting up for amplified power. Its synergy with self-mill and reanimator strategies makes it a sneaky power player.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that sees frequent creature-based strategies or where graveyards fuel pivotal plays, Graverobber Spider can become a formidable obstacle and ally, leveraging the ever-changing dynamics of graveyard play.


How to beat

Graverobber Spider presents a unique challenge in the realm of Magic: The Gathering with its ability to gain power and toughness from the number of creature cards in your graveyard. This characteristic makes it a formidable foe, especially in the mid to late game as graveyards tend to fill up. To effectively counter this arachnid, maintaining graveyard control is paramount. Utilizing cards that exile the graveyard, such as Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt, can swiftly neutralize the threat posed by Graverobber Spider. Additionally, keeping removal spells at the ready ensures that the spider can be dealt with before it becomes too large to handle.

Another strategy is to limit the spider’s growth potential by minimizing the number of creatures that end up in your graveyard. This can be done with cards that allow you to shuffle your graveyard back into your library. It also pays to be strategic about when to play your creatures, perhaps waiting until you can deal with the spider immediately or choosing not to play into an open battlefield where the spider could take advantage of your sacrifices. By staying vigilant and controlling the flow of creatures to the graveyard, you can prevent Graverobber Spider from spinning out of control.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’ve been enticed by the Graverobber Spider’s unique abilities and its interaction with your graveyard, you’re on the right path. Balancing the cons like its specific mana cost and high investment against its strategic advantages can enrich your gameplay. Whether it’s maximizing the potential of your graveyard, controlling the board with a growing threat, or exploring synergies with self-mill and reanimator decks, Graverobber Spider offers intriguing possibilities. Dive deeper into your deck’s architecture and discover the compelling strategies that Graverobber Spider enables. Elevate your collection by learning how this card might weave its web into your winning deck.


Cards like Graverobber Spider

The Graverobber Spider is a unique addition to the creature lineup in Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels to other arachnids in the game. Similar to the likes of Sporecap Spider, this creature shines in its ability to deter flying adversaries. However, the Graverobber Spider boasts a flexible power boost, capable of becoming a formidable force when your graveyard is well-stocked with creatures.

In the same realm, we spot the Nyx Weaver, another insectile card with graveyard synergy. This creature, like Graverobber Spider, interacts with the graveyard but in a different style, focusing on card retrieval rather than power increment. It offers consistency but lacks the sudden increase in strength. Then there’s Death’s-Head Buzzard, an insect with a smaller footprint but with a death trigger that can clear multiple small threats, unlike our spider that excels in one-on-one combat scenarios.

Taking everything into account, the Graverobber Spider is certainly a versatile card within these creatures of the crawl. Its ability to tap into the graveyard for power not only makes it a standalone threat but also encourages a strategic build-up of creature cards in the graveyard.

Sporecap Spider - MTG Card versions
Nyx Weaver - MTG Card versions
Death's-Head Buzzard - MTG Card versions
Sporecap Spider - MTG Card versions
Nyx Weaver - MTG Card versions
Death's-Head Buzzard - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Graverobber Spider MTG card by a specific set like Born of the Gods, 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 Graverobber Spider and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Graverobber Spider has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2014-02-01 The number of creature cards in your graveyard is counted only as the ability resolves. Once the ability resolves, the bonus won’t change, even if the number of creature cards in your graveyard changes later in the turn.

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