Kitchen Finks MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Ouphe
Abilities Persist
Power 3
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Consistently resilient, Kitchen Finks returns after destruction, effectively doubling as two creatures over time.
  2. The hybrid mana cost limits flexibility but enforces commitment to specific color pairs in deck construction.
  3. Has key roles in life-gain combos, warranting inclusion in MTG collections for its meta relevance.

Text of card

When Kitchen Finks comes into play, you gain 2 life. Persist (When this creature is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.)

Accept one favor from an ouphe, and you're doomed to accept another.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Kitchen Finks shines by offering a persistent board presence, bouncing back with the persist ability after being destroyed. This resilience makes it a source of sustained card advantage as it can effectively count as two creatures over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly ramping your mana, the life gain from Kitchen Finks can facilitate resource acceleration by providing a cushion that allows a player to use life as a resource more freely. This is especially potent in strategies where life can be traded for cards and abilities.

Instant Speed: Though Kitchen Finks itself isn’t an instant, its ability to interact profitably in combat or provide life in response to pressure can be as tactically advantageous as an instant. This creature excels in mid-game skirmishes where life totals and board presence are critical.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not applicable to Kitchen Finks itself, decks incorporating this card may need to be mindful of discard mechanics. If you are running other cards with discard demands, balancing them with the Finks’ beneficial effects requires careful strategizing.

Specific Mana Cost: Kitchen Finks demands both white and green mana for its hybrid cost. This specificity narrows the card’s adaptability, especially for players who prefer monocolor decks or who are dealing with a mana base that doesn’t consistently provide both types of mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although offering a solid presence on the field with its persist ability, Kitchen Finks comes with a mana value of three. This cost is high when compared to other creatures that may not have as much resilience but provide more aggressive early-game advantages.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kitchen Finks provides a dual role of life-gain and board presence, making it an invaluable asset across various deck archetypes from midrange to control-oriented strategies.

Combo Potential: This card is a staple in recurring life-gain strategies, interacting seamlessly with persist mechanics and sacrifice outlets to form powerful loops.

Meta-Relevance: In environments rife with aggressive tactics, Kitchen Finks shines as a means to stabilize your life total while maintaining a threatening presence on the battlefield.


How to beat

Kitchen Finks is an iconic card in the MTG realm, offering resilience and staying power with its persist ability. This creature can be quite a challenge to remove from the battlefield for good. When facing off against Kitchen Finks, it’s crucial to navigate around its ability to return with a -1/-1 counter after dying. One effective tactic is to utilize exile effects, which can permanently remove Kitchen Finks from the game, bypassing its persist. Cards like Path to Exile are excellent for cleanly dealing with this creature.

Another approach to countering Kitchen Finks is to take advantage of its weakness against cards that can place additional -1/-1 counters or effects that can reduce toughness to zero in response to the persist trigger, such as with the card Fatal Push. This can negate the persist ability’s effect and eliminate the Finks in one fell swoop. Lastly, employing graveyard hate such as Rest in Peace can shut down not only Kitchen Finks but also any other strategies reliant on graveyard mechanics, making it a comprehensive solution against decks that capitalize on these recurring nuisances.

To conclude, while Kitchen Finks may initially seem daunting to overcome, strategic use of exile, instant-speed removals, or graveyard disruption can effectively neutralize this persistent threat, maintaining the balance of the battlefield in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the multifaceted nature of Magic the Gathering demands an understanding of both the cards and the strategies they enable. Kitchen Finks stands out as a diverse card that offers resilience and staying power, making it a compelling choice for those looking to add endurance to their decks. Adapting to MTG’s changing landscapes means recognizing and utilizing cards like these that can tip the scales in your favor. Enrich your gameplay and deck-building skills by delving deeper into the strategic uses of Kitchen Finks and similar creatures. Learn with us and harness the full potential of your MTG collection.


Cards like Kitchen Finks

Kitchen Finks stands out in MTG as a resilient creature with a favorable impact on life totals. It draws a close parallel to creatures like Obstinate Baloth, which also offers a substantial life gain bump, albeit without the recursion ability that Kitchen Finks possesses. While Obstinate Baloth provides an immediate life gain of 4, Kitchen Finks enters the battlefield with the potential to swing life totals by a total of 4 across multiple turns, thanks to its persist mechanic.

Another comparable creature is Voice of Resurgence. Both create an additional body upon dying; however, Voice of Resurgence’s token power is linked to the number of creatures you control at death, making it variable, whereas Kitchen Finks guarantees a return with a -1/-1 counter. Then there is Thragtusk, which not only offers a significant 5 life gain but also leaves behind a 3/3 token when it leaves the battlefield, irrespective of the method. It doesn’t have the same staying power as the Finks but compensates with a beefier token.

Ultimately, Kitchen Finks may reign superior for players valuing incremental life gain and creatures that are tough to permanently remove, making it an enduring preference in games of MTG.

Obstinate Baloth - MTG Card versions
Voice of Resurgence - MTG Card versions
Thragtusk - MTG Card versions
Obstinate Baloth - Magic 2011 (M11)
Voice of Resurgence - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Thragtusk - Magic 2013 (M13)

Cards similar to Kitchen Finks by color, type and mana cost

Beast Walkers - MTG Card versions
Radiant Essence - MTG Card versions
Ranger en-Vec - MTG Card versions
Noble Panther - MTG Card versions
Benalish Emissary - MTG Card versions
Hedge Troll - MTG Card versions
Anurid Brushhopper - MTG Card versions
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers - MTG Card versions
Oracle of Nectars - MTG Card versions
Knight of the Reliquary - MTG Card versions
Centaur Healer - MTG Card versions
Chronicler of Heroes - MTG Card versions
Selvala, Explorer Returned - MTG Card versions
Veteran Warleader - MTG Card versions
Joraga Auxiliary - MTG Card versions
Wayfaring Temple - MTG Card versions
Pride Sovereign - MTG Card versions
Atzocan Seer - MTG Card versions
Ledev Champion - MTG Card versions
Ironroot Warlord - MTG Card versions
Beast Walkers - Homelands (HML)
Radiant Essence - Mirage (MIR)
Ranger en-Vec - Anthologies (ATH)
Noble Panther - Invasion (INV)
Benalish Emissary - Invasion (INV)
Hedge Troll - Planar Chaos Promos (PPLC)
Anurid Brushhopper - World Championship Decks 2003 (WC03)
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Oracle of Nectars - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Knight of the Reliquary - Historic Anthology 2 (HA2)
Centaur Healer - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Chronicler of Heroes - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Selvala, Explorer Returned - Dominaria United Commander (DMC)
Veteran Warleader - Battle for Zendikar Promos (PBFZ)
Joraga Auxiliary - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Wayfaring Temple - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Pride Sovereign - Hour of Devastation (HOU)
Atzocan Seer - Rivals of Ixalan (RIX)
Ledev Champion - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Ironroot Warlord - Core Set 2020 (M20)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kitchen Finks MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Shadowmoor, 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 Kitchen Finks and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Kitchen Finks Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2008-05-02 and 2018-12-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 361662003normalblackLarry MacDougall
22008-05-02ShadowmoorSHM 2292003normalblackKev Walker
32009-01-01Friday Night Magic 2009F09 32003normalblackLarry MacDougall
42013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1902003normalblackKev Walker
52018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 2162015normalblackKev Walker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kitchen Finks has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-06-07 If a creature with persist stops being a creature, persist will still work.
2013-06-07 If a creature with persist that has +1/+1 counters on it receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner’s graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, persist won’t trigger and the card won’t return to the battlefield. That’s because persist checks the creature’s existence just before it leaves the battlefield, and it still has all those counters on it at that point.
2013-06-07 If a permanent has multiple instances of persist, they’ll each trigger separately, but the redundant instances will have no effect. If one instance returns the card to the battlefield, the next to resolve will do nothing.
2013-06-07 If a token with no -1/-1 counters on it has persist, the ability will trigger when the token is put into the graveyard. However, the token will cease to exist and can’t return to the battlefield.
2013-06-07 If multiple creatures with persist are put into the graveyard at the same time (due to combat damage or a spell that destroys all creatures, for example), the active player (the player whose turn it is) puts all of their persist triggers on the stack in any order, then each other player in turn order does the same. The last trigger put on the stack is the first one that resolves. That means that in a two-player game, the nonactive player’s persist creatures will return to the battlefield first, then the active player’s persist creatures do the same. The creatures return to the battlefield one at a time.
2013-06-07 The persist ability triggers when the permanent is put into a graveyard. Its last known information (that is, how the creature last existed on the battlefield) is used to determine whether it had a -1/-1 counter on it.
2013-06-07 When a permanent with persist returns to the battlefield, it’s a new object with no memory of or connection to its previous existence.

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