Veteran Brawlers MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Human Soldier
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Power	4
Toughness	4
Number	106
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Paolo Parente

Key Takeaways

Veteran Brawlers excels in creature-heavy decks, offering strategic board control and synergy.
Its discard activation can limit options, making it a tactical choice in deck building.
Despite mana constraints, it’s a strong contender in current metagames, beefing up offense.

Text of card

Veteran Brawlers can't attack if defending player controls an untapped land. Veteran Brawlers can't block if you control an untapped land.

Death awaits them on both fronts.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Veteran Brawlers could provide a solid advantage by maximizing your on-field presence. Every successful combat where it’s involved potentially wears down your opponents’ resources while keeping yours robust and ready for action.

Resource Acceleration: This card can be a vital addition to strategies focused on utilizing creature-based ramp. Deploying Veteran Brawlers early on can boost your resource development, solidifying your position for mid to late-game dominance.

Instant Speed Interaction: With the ability to threaten enemy blockers or survive combat due to its durability, Veteran Brawlers works well with instant speed spells. This synergy often helps retain the brawler for multiple engagements, spelling trouble for your adversaries as you escalate your board position with each turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Veteran Brawlers necessitates discarding a card as part of its activation, which might deplete your hand when you need options the most.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise combination of mana types, which can be restrictive and make it challenging to play in multicolor decks that don’t favor red and green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost to get Veteran Brawlers on the battlefield, there are instances where other creatures could provide a better power and toughness ratio or utility without such a hefty mana investment.

Reasons to Include Veteran Brawlers in Your Collection

Versatility: Veteran Brawlers is a card that adapts seamlessly into various deck builds. Especially for players who favor aggressive strategies, this card can become an essential powerhouse, holding its ground in fast-paced games.

Combo Potential: Known for its ability to synergize with cards that tap or untap creatures, Veteran Brawlers can anchor combos that amplify your offensive capabilities. It is particularly effective in decks that manipulate the tap-state of creatures for gainful effects.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors creature-heavy tactics, Veteran Brawlers shines as a strong offensive option. Moreover, if the prevailing decks tend to have nonbasic lands, this card becomes even more potent, denying opponents the chance to block your assault.

How to beat

Veteran Brawlers is a card that can pose a challenge on the battlefield with its unique conditions preventing it from attacking or blocking when controlling a land that doesn’t produce colorless mana. Overcoming this card involves strategic land management. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can target and convert key lands in your opponent’s control to basic lands, which facilitates the activation of Veteran Brawlers’ restrictions.

Another tactic is to embrace removal spells. Widespread Brutality and Blasphemous Act, for example, are superb for dealing with creatures irrespective of their size or abilities, thereby neutralizing the threat without the need to engage in combat directly. Artifact removal, such as Abrade or Smelt, can also dismantle your opponent’s mana artifacts, forcing them into a position where their lands may inhibit their own Veteran Brawlers.

Additionally, employing creatures with evasion abilities such as flying or trample can help you circumvent the Brawlers and push damage through. Ultimately, while the Brawlers can be formidable, your path to victory includes dismantling your opponent’s mana base, utilizing removals wisely, and deploying creatures that can avoid direct combat.

Cards like Veteran Brawlers

If you’re a fan of creature-based strategies in MTG, then you’ll appreciate the abilities of Veteran Brawlers. This card parallels other creatures such as Balduvian Horde. Like Veteran Brawlers, the Horde is a powerful attacker, but it comes at the cost of discarding a random card upon entering the battlefield, which can be less predictable for strategy.

Another card that veteran players might find familiar is Lowland Giant. Although it has a smaller attack power when compared to the Brawlers and lacks the ability to tap for damage to each player during each of your upkeeps, it does not impose any restrictions on the casting of noncreature spells. This difference could make Lowland Giant a safer, albeit less aggressive, option.

It’s clear that Veteran Brawlers is designed for decks that rely heavily on creatures over spells. It offers a tactical edge in mono-red or creature-heavy deck strategies. By examining the nuances of these creatures in MTG, it’s evident that Veteran Brawlers suits an aggressive playstyle that can navigate its noncreature spell casting limitation.

Cards similar to Veteran Brawlers by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Elite Infantry - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Veteran Brawlers 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 Veteran Brawlers and other MTG cards: