Bog Elemental MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Elemental
Abilities	Protection
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Power	5
Toughness	4
Number	57
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Glen Angus

Key Takeaways

Bog Elemental returns from the graveyard, offering a persistent battlefield threat when its upkeep is met.
It encourages swamp-based strategies, indirectly helping resource acceleration and deck design.
The Elemental’s presence affects opponent play, as they anticipate its resurgence each turn.

Text of card

Protection from white At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Bog Elemental unless you sacrifice a land.

"When the bog walks, the wise run." —Erissa, bog witch

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While not providing direct card draw, Bog Elemental presents a unique ability to recur from your graveyard to the battlefield. This attrition-based advantage means that, as long as you meet the upkeep condition, you’re able to maintain a persistent threat each turn.

Resource Acceleration: Although Bog Elemental itself doesn’t accelerate resources, having it in your deck encourages building around swamp-based land strategies that often come with resource acceleration elements to fulfill its upkeep cost. This can synergistically benefit your overall deck design.

Instant Speed: The presence of Bog Elemental in a game can affect your opponents’ strategies – knowing they have to contend with its return, they might have to save instant speed removals or counterspells to address it. While Bog Elemental operates at sorcery speed, its continual threat indirectly influences instant-speed decision-making.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bog Elemental necessitates the removal of a land card from your hand, which can be a steep price to pay. In fast-paced games or situations where every card counts, this requirement can put you at a significant disadvantage, forcing you to sacrifice resources that might be critical to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Bog Elemental requires a specific combination of mana, including at least one black and one green. This can be limiting, as it demands a dedicated mana base, making it harder to incorporate into multicolored decks that might not focus on these colors or have the lands necessary to reliably produce them.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that is on the higher end, Bog Elemental may arrive on the battlefield later than preferable. Other creatures or spells could provide similar or better benefits with a lower mana investment, allowing players to maintain tempo and not fall behind in the critical early to mid-stages of the game.

Reasons to Include Bog Elemental in Your Collection

Versatility: Bog Elemental’s ability to fit in decks that emphasize on graveyard mechanics and sacrifice strategies enhances its adaptability. Whether it’s a control or a mid-range deck, its presence can prove to be quite pivotal.

Combo Potential: This card’s synergistic potential is noteworthy as it can be combined with other cards that benefit from creatures going to the graveyard or with those that help manage life payments, paving the way to powerful interactions on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where graveyard strategies are prevalent, Bog Elemental can be a game-changer. Its protection from white ensures that it remains a formidable threat against one of the commonly played colors in Magic the Gathering, solidifying its status in such environments.

How to beat

Bog Elemental presents a unique challenge for players in the world of Magic: The Gathering. As a creature that is seemingly invulnerable when wrapped in the shadows of the swamp, it requires a strategic approach to overcome. Getting the upper hand against this entity often hinges on steering clear of swamp-based confrontation.

One effective tactic is leveraging flying creatures, as Bog Elemental’s dominion does not extend into the aerial arena. Incorporating spells that can alter land types can also be a masterstroke, transforming swamps into more benign terrains, thus stripping the elemental of its protective veil. The use of non-targeted removal spells is another prudent strategy as they circumvent Bog Elemental’s conditional protection, ensuring that your opponent’s formidable guardian can be sent to the graveyard without direct interaction.

Ultimately, the key to triumphing over Bog Elemental lies in outmaneuvering its swamp-bound strength — whether that’s by changing the battlefield or by deploying indirect methods of creature control.

Cards like Bog Elemental

The Bog Elemental is a unique creature card within Magic: The Gathering, with specific traits that cater to a particular strategy. It stands akin to cards like Benthicore, which also relies on specific environmental conditions — in this case, defending it with Merfolk to remain untapped and battle-ready. Nevertheless, Bog Elemental sets itself apart by demanding a player to sacrifice a Swamp to keep it on the battlefield, therefore aligning with decks that can withstand or exploit such losses.

Exploring similar nuances, we come across cards like Nightmare. While it doesn’t require as steep a keeping cost, it shares the adaptive power and toughness trait with Bog Elemental, as their strength fluctuates directly with the number of Swamps you control. Phantom Nishoba presents an alternate route, offering a creature that can dig into your life resources upon taking damage, which plays on the theme of tapping into your own resources for power, paralleling Bog Elemental’s self-sacrificial design. However, it doesn’t match the element of compulsory land sacrifice that defines our murky friend.

To round up, the Bog Elemental embodies a unique place in MTG’s vast array of creatures, resonating deeply with strategies that aren’t afraid to leverage their own assets for potent creatures. It’s a captivating choice for players who enjoy high-risk, high-reward gameplay.

Cards similar to Bog Elemental by color, type and mana cost

Predatory Nightstalker - MTG Card versions

Wei Elite Companions - MTG Card versions

Predatory Nightstalker - Vintage Masters (VMA)

Stone Catapult - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)

Sengir Vampire - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)

Earwig Squad - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Indulgent Tormentor - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Wei Elite Companions - Masters Edition III (ME3)

Shriekmaw - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bog Elemental MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, 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 Bog Elemental and other MTG cards: