Drudge Beetle MTG Card
2012-10-05 - Number 122
2022-12-02 - Number 649
2024-01-12 - Number 136
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Insect |
| Abilities | Scavenge |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Scavenge ability enables Drudge Beetle to be resourceful, enhancing creatures without depleting your hand.
- Activating scavenge at instant speed offers surprise tactical benefits during crucial moments.
- The specific green mana cost and high scavenge cost require strategic mana management.
Text of card
Scavenge (, Exile this card from your graveyard: Put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to this card's power on target creature. Scavenge only as a sorcery.)
The Street Swarm is the labor class that drives the Golgari's endless cycle of life and death.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Drudge Beetle may not create card advantage directly, but its scavenge ability lets you utilize the card from your graveyard, effectively giving your creatures on the battlefield a boost without sacrificing additional cards from your hand.
Resource Acceleration: While not a direct resource accelerator, Drudge Beetle’s scavenge mechanic allows for efficient use of mana in the late game. By investing mana to strengthen creatures when there’s surplus, it ensures no mana goes to waste.
Instant Speed: Though Drudge Beetle itself isn’t an instant, the scavenge ability can be activated at instant speed. This means you can surprise your opponent by increasing a creature’s power and toughness during their turn or in response to an action, which can be a significant tactical advantage.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One drawback of the Drudge Beetle is its Scavenge feature, which necessitates the discard of the card from the graveyard to utilize the ability. This can be a significant setback if preserving graveyard resources is integral to your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Drudge Beetle includes one green mana, which could restrict deck-building flexibility. Players must commit to green mana sources in their decks to ensure they can play the card consistently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While a 2/2 creature for two mana is standard, it’s essential to note that the Scavenge cost is comparatively high. At six mana, including four of any type and two green, the ability is a considerable investment, particularly when there are alternative creatures or cards that deliver similar or greater value at a lower mana cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Drudge Beetle slips effortlessly into decks that exploit graveyard mechanics or are looking for robust low-cost creatures. Its adaptability shines in formats that appreciate resilient early-game presence.
Combo Potential: This creature’s scavenge ability makes it a subtle yet potent enabler for decks that capitalize on counters or require creatures in the graveyard to trigger various synergies.
Meta-Relevance: In metas where games are drawn out, having a creature like Drudge Beetle that can return as increased power later in the game can turn the tides, making it a practical choice for recurring value.
How to beat
Drudge Beetle may seem modest in its role on the battlefield, but its ability to scavenge and strengthen other creatures can be a persistent issue for opponents. To effectively counteract Drudge Beetle’s persistent nature, it’s vital to manage your removal resources wisely. Considering cards like Shock and Fatal Push can easily dispatch the Beetle before its scavenging becomes a problem. You can also employ graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze to inhibit its reanimation capabilities and ensure it doesn’t come back to haunt you.
Strategically timing your removals or employing exile effects ensures that once the Beetle is gone, it stays gone. With proper graveyard management and creature control, Drudge Beetle can easily be kept in check. Moreover, direct player threats or imposing a faster-paced game can also derail your opponent’s slower scavenge strategy, often leaving the Beetle a mere stepping stone on your path to victory.
In essence, maintaining dominance over the battlefield and your opponent’s graveyard will minimize the impact of Drudge Beetle and similar low-cost utility creatures. By doing so, the path towards victory will become clearer and your position in the game, more secured.
Cards like Drudge Beetle
Drudge Beetle is a modest yet reliable creature card in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relatives in the creature category are cards such as Sedge Scorpion and Kessig Recluse. The commonality lies in their ability to operate as low-cost defensive options with deathtouch or reach abilities. Drudge Beetle, with its solid stats and Scavenge ability, offers a late-game advantage by bolstering another creature upon being in the graveyard.
In comparison, Sedge Scorpion provides immediate board presence and a deterrent to attackers through its deathtouch ability at the cost of only one mana. Kessig Recluse, conversely, sports reach and deathtouch, making it an effective foil against flying creatures, though at a higher mana investment. Neither, however, matches the reuse of resources that Drudge Beetle possesses with its Scavenge ability, giving it a unique niche as a continual source of power buff even after death.
While not the flashiest of creatures, Drudge Beetle finds its strength in its late-game versatility. This highlights the importance of considering not just the initial casting impact but also the potential graveyard value that a card like Drudge Beetle can add to your game strategy.
Cards similar to Drudge Beetle by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Drudge Beetle MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Drudge Beetle and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Drudge Beetle Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2012-10-05 and 2024-01-12. Illustrated by Slawomir Maniak.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012-10-05 | Return to Ravnica | RTR | 122 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Slawomir Maniak | |
| 2 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 649 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Slawomir Maniak | |
| 3 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 136 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Slawomir Maniak |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Drudge Beetle has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Drudge Beetle card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-04-15 | Exiling the creature card with scavenge is part of the cost of activating the scavenge ability. Once the ability is activated and the cost is paid, it’s too late to stop the ability from being activated by trying to remove the creature card from the graveyard. |
