Graven Dominator MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Gargoyle |
| Abilities | Flying,Haunt |
| Released | 2006-02-03 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Guildpact |
| Set code | GPT |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 7 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Carl Critchlow |
Key Takeaways
- Graven Dominator enhances your hand and mana pool, quickly escalating your board presence.
- Its instant speed utility offers flexibly timed strategic responses, disrupting opponents’ turns.
- Although powerful, the card’s high mana cost and color specificity limit its deck compatibility.
Text of card
Flying Haunt (When this card is put into a graveyard from play, remove it from the game haunting target creature.) When Graven Dominator comes into play or the creature it haunts is put into a graveyard, each other creature becomes 1/1 until end of turn.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Graven Dominator presents an opportunity to regulate the battlefield while simultaneously beefing up your hand. Each nontoken creature that perishes under its watch contributes to a thicker deck, edging you towards domination with more options to strategize every turn.
Resource Acceleration: With this card in motion, any creature’s demise translates into an acceleration of your resources. It gives your mana pool an uptick, paving the way for a quicker deployment of heavy hitters or complex combos that formerly seemed turns away.
Instant Speed: The versatility of Graven Dominator shines at instant speed, allowing for tactical surprises. You can undermine your adversary’s plans outside your own turn, wielding it when least expected, potentially in response to a game-altering threat. This adaptability is invaluable in maintaining momentum and springing your own threats onto an unprepared board.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Graven Dominator requires a card to be discarded to activate certain abilities. This cost can be particularly taxing when your hand is depleting, causing a strain on your strategic options.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost includes not just a significant quantity of mana but also a particular color combination that could potentially restrict deck-building options, making it less flexible for those without the right mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the Graven Dominator boasts impactful abilities, its high mana cost is notable. In a game where speed can be of the essence, there are alternatives that may achieve similar effects or advance your board state with a lower investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Graven Dominator offers flexibility, acting as both a formidable flyer and a game-changer with its haunt ability. It’s a valuable addition for decks seeking aerial threats and board control.
Combo Potential: The card’s ghostly gift to halve the life total of the player with the least life can be leveraged in tandem with life manipulation tactics, providing exciting combo opportunities in the right setup.
Meta-Relevance: With its unique haunt mechanic, Graven Dominator holds a special place in metas where life totals can swing drastically. In a field where each life point is a precious commodity, this card can turn the tides swiftly.
How to beat
Graven Dominator is a card that presents a unique challenge when facing it on the battlefield. Its ability to make creatures with flying more potent while simultaneously suppressing those without can significantly alter the dynamics of the game. To successfully counteract Graven Dominator’s ability, it’s crucial to consider strategies that neutralize its effects. Deploying creatures with reach or those that have activated abilities to gain flying, even temporarily, can serve as an effective defense. Additionally, employing removal spells that can bypass the evasion granted to flying creatures helps to mitigate the increased threat posed by the card.
Another method to overcome the Graven Dominator is to focus on non-creature strategies, such as direct damage spells or planeswalkers that can control the board without relying on creatures. This diminishes the Dominator’s impact as it specifically targets creatures without flying. Lastly, cards that alter the creature types, changing their abilities, or using enchantments that can ground creatures, thus negating flying, can reverse the tactical advantage granted by the Graven Dominator.
By understanding the scope of its ability and preparing your deck with appropriate counters, you’ll be well-equipped to triumph over the strategic challenges posed by Graven Dominator in the game.
Cards like Graven Dominator
Graven Dominator stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a unique flyer with the potential to level the playing field. Flying creatures like Serra Angel have been iconic for offering both offense and defense capabilities, though without Graven Dominator’s board impact. Where Serra Angel provides consistent pressure and vigilance, Graven Dominator shines by resetting other fliers’ power in critical board states, which can be a significant turn of events.
Looking to Galepowder Mage, another creature with flying, there’s a subtle playstyle difference. Galepowder Mage may not impact the board as widely as Graven Dominator does, but it excels in reusing your own enter-the-battlefield effects or disrupting opponents’ plans with its exile and return ability. In the realm of creature control, Archon of Absolution also shares flight but specializes in protecting you from attacks with its taxing ability, a strategic defensive tool unlike Graven Dominator’s aggressive approach.
Assessing Graven Dominator’s role amongst its peers, it holds a niche that pivots games through its unique effect on flying creatures. It’s a pick that offers both a tactical advantage and a surprise element, pivotal in turning the tide of aerial combat in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Graven Dominator by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Graven Dominator MTG card by a specific set like Guildpact, 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 Graven Dominator 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Graven Dominator has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Graven Dominator card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2006-02-01 | If Night of Souls’ Betrayal is on the battlefield when Graven Dominator’s ability resolves, all other creatures will become 0/0 and die. |
| 2009-10-01 | The effect from the ability overwrites other effects that set power and/or toughness if and only if those effects existed before the ability resolved. It will not overwrite effects that modify power or toughness (whether from a static ability, counters, or a resolved spell or ability), nor will it overwrite effects that set power and toughness which come into existence after the ability resolves. Effects that switch the creature’s power and toughness are always applied after any other power or toughness changing effects, including this one, regardless of the order in which they are created. |
