Herald of Torment MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment Creature — Demon
Abilities	Bestow,Flying
Released	2014-02-07
Set symbol
Set name	Born of the Gods
Set code	BNG
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	75
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Vance Kovacs

Key Takeaways

Bestow provides dual utility, making Herald of Torment a versatile card choice for players.
It fits into many deck strategies due to its moderate casting cost and powerful effect.
The Bestow mechanic can turn the tides of combat with unexpected buffs.

Text of card

Bestow (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.) Flying At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life. Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 and has flying.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Bestow ability of Herald of Torment provides great versatility, enabling you to either have a potent creature or to enhance another creature you control. This dual utility can effectively act as two cards in one, sometimes swinging the balance in your favor when it comes to card advantage on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature that can be cast for a relatively moderate cost, Herald of Torment fits smoothly into many game plans. The ability to bestow it onto another creature later in the game does not provide direct mana acceleration, but it can give you a significant advantage by making one of your creatures a more substantial threat without the need to cast another spell.

Instant Speed: While Herald of Torment itself does not function at instant speed, its Bestow mechanic provides a layer of combat tricks and unexpected buffs that can be akin to the tactical advantages of instant-speed interactions. Timing the bestow during your main phase can catch opponents off-guard, potentially disrupting their planned blocks or attacks.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of Herald of Torment is its potential for card disadvantage. The Bestow mechanic allows you to enchant another creature, which is a powerful effect. However, if the enchanted creature is removed from play, it can lead to a loss of two cards (the creature and Herald of Torment itself) for your one removal spell, creating a disadvantageous situation.

Specific Mana Cost: Herald of Torment requires a specific mana investment of one colorless and two black mana. This can be restrictive for multicolored decks that may have trouble reliably producing the necessary black mana early in the game or prefer a more flexible mana base. Consequently, the card often finds a home mostly in mono-black decks or those heavily skewed towards black mana usage.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana and a Bestow cost of five mana, Herald of Torment can be on the expensive side for aggressive strategies. Players might find this to be a drawback when they need to deploy threats quickly or are looking to maintain a high tempo against opponents, such as in fast-paced games where lower-cost creatures can be more efficient.

Reasons to Include Herald of Torment in Your Collection

Versatility: Herald of Torment offers flexibility for deck builders. As a flying creature with bestow, it serves both as an independent threat and as an enhancement for other creatures, adapting to the changing pace of the game.

Combo Potential: With its bestow ability, Herald of Torment can become part of potent combinations. Boosting combat capabilities of already dangerous creatures or enabling powerful interactions with abilities triggered by enchanting a creature or dealing combat damage.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where evasive creatures are key for bypassing grounded defenses, Herald of Torment shines by being a considerable aerial threat. Especially relevant in matches where its life payment is a negligible downside compared to its aggressive stat line and impact on the battlefield.

How to beat

Herald of Torment is a formidable enchantment creature known for its bestow mechanic, allowing it to either be a creature or an aura that attaches to another creature. Its flying ability and giving other creatures a power boost can cause significant threats in the skies of MTG battles. However, to tackle the challenges posed by this card, one effective strategy is to utilize removal spells that can target both creatures and enchantments. Cards like Banishing Light or Oblivion Ring offer a swift solution, removing the Herald, whether it’s a lone combatant or augmenting another creature’s power.

Moreover, due to its bestow cost, players can take advantage of the moments before it comes into full effect. Cards that force opponents to sacrifice creatures can nullify Herald of Torment’s impact on the game, especially if deployed before the bestow feature triggers, reducing its efficacy. In addition, employing creatures with reach or other flyers can combat the aerial advantage Herald of Torment provides, effectively neutralizing its battlefield presence. Always remember to keep pace with your opponent’s mana pool, as the life loss from Herald of Torment’s upkeep can be capitalized on with an aggressive strategy.

In summary, having a diverse arsenal that includes both creature and enchantment removal, utilizing sacrifice effects, and maintaining a strong defensive line of flyers or reach creatures, players can effectively counter the challenges Herald of Torment brings to the table.

Cards like Herald of Torment

Herald of Torment stands out in the plethora of enchantment creatures available. Comparable to Master of the Feast, both cards deliver a considerable power punch for a low mana cost, but Herald of Torment offers Bestow, allowing it to double as an aura. While Master of the Feast may provide your opponent with additional card draw, Herald of Torment skillfully bypasses this downside with its life payment ability, albeit a minor life loss during upkeep.

Likewise, Gnarled Scarhide offers benefits with similar Bestow mechanics, reinforcing its place in decks that capitalize on enchantment synergies. Its lower casting cost makes it accessible earlier in the game, but it does not provide the same aerial threat and power level. Lastly, Nightveil Specter hovers near Herald of Torment’s niche, boasting a disruptive ability against opponents’ decks. Despite this, it lacks the versatile Bestow ability and brings a different strategic focus to the board.

In summary, while there are enchantment creatures that mimic aspects of Herald of Torment, it carves a distinctive identity with its balance of aggressive stats, utility through Bestow, and manageable life-loss trade-off, making it a strategically sound choice in many MTG decks.

Cards similar to Herald of Torment by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Herald of Torment 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 Herald of Torment and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Herald of Torment has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-09-15	An Aura that becomes a creature is no longer put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action. Rather, it becomes unattached and remains on the battlefield as long as it’s a creature. While it’s a creature, it can’t be attached to another permanent or player. An Aura that’s not attached to a legal permanent or player as defined by its enchant ability and also isn’t a creature will be put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action.
2013-09-15	Auras attached to a creature don’t become tapped when the creature becomes tapped. Except in some rare cases, an Aura with bestow remains untapped when it becomes unattached and becomes a creature.
2013-09-15	If a permanent with bestow enters the battlefield by any method other than being cast, it will be an enchantment creature. You can’t choose to pay the bestow cost and have it become an Aura.
2013-09-15	On the stack, a spell with bestow is either a creature spell or an Aura spell. It’s never both, although it’s an enchantment spell in either case.
2013-09-15	Unlike other Aura spells, an Aura spell with bestow isn’t countered if its target is illegal as it begins to resolve. Rather, the effect making it an Aura spell ends, it loses enchant creature, it returns to being an enchantment creature spell, and it resolves and enters the battlefield as an enchantment creature.
2013-09-15	Unlike other Auras, an Aura with bestow isn’t put into its owner’s graveyard if it becomes unattached. Rather, the effect making it an Aura ends, it loses enchant creature, and it remains on the battlefield as an enchantment creature. It can attack (and its abilities can be activated, if it has any) on the turn it becomes unattached if it’s been under your control continuously, even as an Aura, since your most recent turn began.
2013-09-15	You don’t choose whether the spell is going to be an Aura spell or not until the spell is already on the stack. Abilities that affect when you can cast a spell, such as flash, will apply to the spell after you’ve made this choice. For example, an effect that said you can cast creature spells as though they have flash won’t allow you to cast a creature card with bestow as an Aura spell anytime you could cast an instant, but one that said you can cast Aura spells as though they have flash will.
2014-02-01	The triggered ability that causes you to lose life applies whether Herald of Torment is a creature or an Aura. The “you” in that ability refers to Herald of Torment’s controller. If you control Herald of Torment as an Aura enchanting a creature another player controls, that ability will trigger at the beginning of your upkeep and cause you to lose 1 life.