Barbarian Horde MTG Card


Barbarian Horde - Portal Three Kingdoms
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Barbarian Soldier
Released1999-05-01
Set symbol
Set namePortal Three Kingdoms
Set codePTK
Power 3
Toughness 3
Number101
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderwhite
Illustred byKuang Sheng

Key Takeaways

  1. Barbarian Horde’s card draw mechanic keeps pressure high with more spells and creatures at your disposal.
  2. Instant speed enables surprise tactics, making this card a formidable addition to any aggressive strategy.
  3. Despite its power, required discards and specific mana costs limit its versatility across different deck types.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Barbarian Horde card boasts an aggressive card draw mechanic that can potentially flood your hand with additional options. This avalanche of new cards keeps you in a dominant position, consistently threatening your opponent with a relentless barrage of spells and creatures.

Resource Acceleration: This card ramps up your resources swiftly, providing an explosive increase to your mana pool. This acceleration is crucial for outpacing your adversary, enabling you to deploy an army of barbarians and overwhelming spells much sooner than anticipated.

Instant Speed: The beauty of this card lies in its deceptive nature. Cast it at instant speed to catch opponents off-guard, especially during their end step, ensuring you maintain the element of surprise while strategically setting up for your turn without missing any beats.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Embodying the reckless abandon of a barbarian warband, the card often enforces the discard of another card from your hand, symbolizing a trade-off of strategic depth for raw power. This could critically deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable to an opponent’s strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Tailored for a deck that thrives on chaos, the specific mana cost of Barbarian Horde narrows its compatibility. Decks not centered around red mana may struggle to harness its full potential, potentially relegating this fierce assembly to monored or heavily red-inclined deck constructions only.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Detracting from its otherwise aggressive nature, the card’s summoning cost can be steep relative to its deliverables. In the fast-paced battleground of modern Magic, other creatures or spells might provide a quicker, more efficient offensive stance for the same or less mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Barbarian Horde is adaptable to various deck strategies that thrive on aggressive gameplay, enhancing both tribal themes and red-based aggressive decks.

Combo Potential: Its synergy with cards that benefit from high creature counts or attack triggers can significantly amplify your board presence and damage output.

Meta-Relevance: Given the rise of creature-centric strategies, incorporating Barbarian Horde can provide a robust response to control decks and shift the momentum in fast-paced games.


How to beat

Barbarian Horde is a card that can overwhelm opponents with its aggressive strategy in Magic: The Gathering. Typically, it shores up a player’s front line with strong, attacking creatures. This card’s strength lies in its ability to mobilize a formidable creature army quickly, making it a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. To effectively counter it, consider employing control elements that can manage the board and negate the Horde’s numerical advantage.

Strategies for outmaneuvering a player wielding Barbarian Horde include using board wipes to clear multiple creatures at once or employing removal spells targeted at key creatures that bolster the Horde’s power. Furthermore, employing creatures with the defender attribute can act as a bulwark against the incoming barrage. Counterspells are also a potent weapon, as they can prevent the Horde from ever hitting the board. Finally, timing is crucial — disrupting the Horde before it can establish its legion can often lead to a struggling opponent trying to rebuild their forces.

By focusing on control and removal, players can effectively dismantle a strategy centered on Barbarian Horde, maintain equilibrium on the board, and pivot to their game-winning plays in Magic: The Gathering.


Cards like Barbarian Horde

Barbarian Horde enters the battlefield of MTG as a robust addition to creature decks centered around aggression and overwhelming board presence. Its kinship can be seen with cards like Goblin Rabblemaster, a formidable force that also creates additional creatures to amplify its attacking potential. Barbarian Horde, however, distinguishes itself by often offering a higher number of creatures but without the incremental growth akin to the Rabblemaster.

Comparative analysis brings us to Hordeling Outburst, which similarly floods the field with multiple creatures in one go. While Hordeling Outburst provides an immediate troop of tokens, it lacks the recurring nature of Barbarian Horde, which can be crucial in prolonged battles. Legion Warboss is another comparable card with its muster to call forth Goblin tokens. Where the Warboss strategizes with mentoring capabilities, Barbarian Horde relies on sheer numbers to overpower foes.

Evaluating these cards side by side, Barbarian Horde secures its place in decks that profit from numerous creatures and serves as a substantial threat to opponents that struggle with multiple attackers. Its ability to consistently reinforce the ranks makes it an asset in games that stretch over several turns.

Goblin Rabblemaster - MTG Card versions
Hordeling Outburst - MTG Card versions
Legion Warboss - MTG Card versions
Goblin Rabblemaster - Magic 2015 Promos (PM15)
Hordeling Outburst - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)
Legion Warboss - Guilds of Ravnica Promos (PGRN)

Cards similar to Barbarian Horde by color, type and mana cost

Keldon Warlord - MTG Card versions
Crimson Manticore - MTG Card versions
Márton Stromgald - MTG Card versions
Reckless Embermage - MTG Card versions
Wildfire Emissary - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Giant - MTG Card versions
Rathi Dragon - MTG Card versions
Mogg Bombers - MTG Card versions
Warmonger - MTG Card versions
Bloodfire Kavu - MTG Card versions
Whipkeeper - MTG Card versions
Anger - MTG Card versions
Nalathni Dragon - MTG Card versions
Everquill Phoenix - MTG Card versions
Lesser Gargadon - MTG Card versions
Krark-Clan Engineers - MTG Card versions
Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked - MTG Card versions
Ogre Taskmaster - MTG Card versions
Ogre Gatecrasher - MTG Card versions
Reckless One - MTG Card versions
Keldon Warlord - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Crimson Manticore - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Márton Stromgald - Ice Age (ICE)
Reckless Embermage - Mirage (MIR)
Wildfire Emissary - Mirage (MIR)
Flowstone Giant - Tempest (TMP)
Rathi Dragon - Tempest (TMP)
Mogg Bombers - Stronghold (STH)
Warmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Bloodfire Kavu - Apocalypse (APC)
Whipkeeper - Odyssey (ODY)
Anger - Judgment (JUD)
Nalathni Dragon - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Everquill Phoenix - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)
Lesser Gargadon - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Krark-Clan Engineers - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Shimatsu the Bloodcloaked - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Ogre Taskmaster - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Ogre Gatecrasher - Dissension (DIS)
Reckless One - Duel Decks: Elves vs. Goblins (DD1)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Barbarian Horde MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms, 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 Barbarian Horde and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Barbarian Horde has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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