Plated Wurm MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Wurm
Released	1998-06-24
Set symbol
Set name	Portal Second Age
Set code	P02
Power	4
Toughness	5
Number	141
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Daniel Gelon

Key Takeaways

Plated Wurm’s size commands board presence, forcing opponents to spend multiple resources to counter it.
The card’s mana cost is specific, which may limit deck integration and speed of play.
Despite a high mana investment, Plated Wurm’s toughness makes it a viable defensive option.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Plated Wurm, an imposing presence on the battlefield, provides significant advantage by requiring multiple cards from your opponent to deal with it. This often leads to two-for-one scenarios where you maintain board and hand superiority.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, this hulking creature’s sheer size can be a deterrent, allowing you a temporal resource acceleration as opponents may hesitate or be unable to attack, thus buying you additional turns to expand your board state and utilize your resources more efficiently.

Instant Speed: The key strength of instant speed is not inherent to Plated Wurm itself; however, the creature’s massive bulk makes it an excellent candidate to follow up your instant speed spells. After holding up mana for other plays and making sure the path is safe, dropping a Plated Wurm can rapidly shift the game to your favor, leveraging the power of surprise and timing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For some MTG strategies, efficiency is crucial. The requirement to discard a card to play Plated Wurm might set you back, especially when your hand is already stretched thin by other demands or when playing against a deck designed to deplete your resources quickly.

Specific Mana Cost: With its demand for both green mana and additional generic mana, Plated Wurm may not seamlessly integrate into multicolor decks. This specific mana cost can sometimes reduce flexibility and slow down your gameplay as you work to gather the necessary resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For seven mana, a Plated Wurm provides substantial creature presence on the battlefield. However, this card’s investment may seem steep when considering alternative creatures or spells that cost less and provide equal or greater impact. Players often scrutinize the efficiency of their mana expenditure, especially in formats where the pace is brisk and each turn’s impact is amplified.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Plated Wurm card is a desirable addition to any green deck that benefits from having high-toughness creatures. Its ability to survive most combat scenarios makes it a strong defensive asset across various game stages.

Combo Potential: Plated Wurm’s substantial presence on the battlefield opens up synergy with cards that leverage the size of creatures, from bolstering its own threat level to empowering mechanics like ‘Ferocious’ or ‘Formidable’.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that leans towards aggro decks, having a robust creature like Plated Wurm can be critical. It stands as a formidable obstacle, often requiring opponents to expend more resources than usual to deal with it, thus preserving your life total and prolonging the game.

How to beat Plated Wurm

The Plated Wurm is a card that can be a solid addition to any green deck due to its robust stats and the decent level of difficulty it represents for opponents trying to remove it from the battlefield. With its substantial toughness, it can withstand a significant amount of damage, making direct damage spells less effective against it.

To successfully navigate against this resilient creature, it is crucial to consider removal spells that bypass its defense by not dealing damage. Spells like Murder or Path to Exile are perfect examples, as they can exile or destroy the creature regardless of its toughness. Board wipes such as Wrath of God can also be a clean solution as they remove all creatures, instantly leveling the playing field. Additionally, utilizing spells that force the owner to sacrifice the Plated Wurm can be highly effective, sidestepping the need to deal with its high toughness directly.

In essence, when facing the Plated Wurm, the key is to leverage spells and abilities that can neutralize it without engaging in damage-based combat, thereby eliminating the barrier its significant toughness presents. This strategy ensures that the Plated Wurm becomes a manageable obstacle in your path to victory.

Understanding Plated Wurm’s Place in the Creature Pantheon

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, creatures like Plated Wurm play a crucial role on the battlefield. With its formidable body and the promise of durability in combat, it’s easy to see the allure of such a creature. Its similarity to cards such as Craw Wurm is evident — both present an imposing presence through substantial power and toughness.

Cards like Plated Wurm

Plated Wurm’s place among its green brethren is defined by its massive size and vanilla nature, akin to others like the colossal Duskdale Wurm, which intimidates with trample and a slightly greater power. Unlike the Plated Wurm, Duskdale Wurm offers that additional keyword that can mean life or death in the late game. Comparatively, we can look at Bellowing Elk, providing a similar stat line while also boasting abilities that interact with other cards to gain indestructible.

Branching out further, Scaled Wurm stands out with its even more impressive power and toughness. While it lacks Plated Wurm’s armor, this beast can be a cost-effective way to dominate the field. On the flip side, Penumbra Wurm offers resilience through a token creation ability upon death, but comes with a heftier mana investment. Each of these creatures offer their unique benefits, forming a diverse ecosystem for players who value raw strength and enduring presence in Magic: The Gathering’s creature-based strategies.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Plated Wurm MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age, 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 Plated Wurm and other MTG cards: