Underworld Rage-Hound MTG Card

Underworld Rage-Hound - Theros Beyond Death

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elemental Dog
Abilities	Escape
Released	2020-01-24
Set symbol
Set name	Theros Beyond Death
Set code	THB
Power	3
Toughness	1
Number	163
Frame	2015
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Tyler Walpole

Key Takeaways

Underworld Rage-Hound’s Escape ensures frequent battlefield returns, increasing card advantage.
Its synergy with graveyard mechanics can lead to reduced spell costs and resource acceleration.
Despite being mana-restrictive and requiring discards, it’s a versatile and persistent threat.

Text of card

Underworld Rage-Hound attacks each combat if able. Escape—, Exile three other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.) Underworld Rage-Hound escapes with a +1/+1 counter on it.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Underworld Rage-Hound offers a continual presence on the battlefield thanks to its Escape mechanic. Each time it’s cast from the graveyard, its ability to scavenge through your deck for answers keeps you at an advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana, the synergy of this card with graveyard-utilizing mechanics can effectively reduce the cost of other spells with similar Escape capabilities, indirectly accelerating your resource management.

Instant Speed: While the Underworld Rage-Hound itself isn’t played at instant speed, it pairs well with instant speed spells. It can apply pressure during your turn, forcing your opponent to deal with it and potentially leaving them vulnerable to your instant-speed interactions during their own turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Underworld Rage-Hound’s ability to return from the graveyard comes with the steep price of discarding a card. This can strain your hand, forcing you to choose between keeping the pressure on your opponent or conserving cards for future turns.

Specific Mana Cost: With its need for both red mana in its casting cost, Underworld Rage-Hound has a restrictive requirement that may not seamlessly fit into multi-colored decks, potentially limiting its versatility across various deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although a 3/1 creature with potential for recurrence is useful, its initial mana investment of two, along with the requirement to discard for its return, might not be as cost-effective when considering other creatures available with similar or lower casting costs.

Reasons to Include Underworld Rage-Hound in Your Collection

Versatility: Underworld Rage-Hound offers flexibility in deck construction due to its Escape mechanic. This allows it to be cast from the graveyard, making it a recurring threat in aggressive strategies and providing consistent pressure on the opponent.

Combo Potential: In synergy-centric decks, this feisty creature pairs well with cards that benefit from or enable graveyard strategies. This includes enablers that discard or mill cards, setting up for its Escape activation.

Meta-Relevance: The meta often shifts, but with aggressive strategies frequently appearing, Underworld Rage-Hound can maintain relevance. Its ability to return to the battlefield multiple times makes it particularly useful against control decks, grinding out value over time.

How to Beat Underworld Rage-Hound

Conquering the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering often means dealing with persistent threats like Underworld Rage-Hound. Known for its escape mechanic, this fiery canine can return from the graveyard to challenge you once more. To effectively suppress this repeat offender, consider utilizing removal spells that exile, such as “Soul-Guide Lantern” or “Scavenging Ooze.” These cards don’t just remove the Hound for a turn; they eliminate its ability to escape entirely.

Control decks that can manipulate or prevent graveyard interaction hold a distinct advantage here. Cards like “Grafdigger’s Cage” or “Leyline of the Void” are crucial tools, maintaining a clear board and keeping your opponent’s graveyard in check. Remember, preventing escape is not just about removing one creature, but also about disrupting your opponent’s broader strategy.

Harnessing exile effects and graveyard control creates a robust defensive line that not only fizzles the Underworld Rage-Hound’s impact but also fortifies your position against a variety of recurring threats, making your path to victory that much clearer.

Cards like Underworld Rage-Hound

Underworld Rage-Hound brings its own flair to the aggressive creature pool in Magic: The Gathering. It’s in similar company with other creatures that boast the Escape mechanic, such as Phoenix of Ash. The Rage-Hound, like the Phoenix, offers a second chance at impacting the battlefield after a visit to the graveyard. What makes Underworld Rage-Hound particularly interesting is its mandatory attack each turn, ensuring relentless pressure on your opponent.

Another comparable creature is Gutterbones, which reanimates itself from the graveyard to hand. Though Gutterbones allows for a more tactical approach, choosing when to return to the fray, it doesn’t match the Rage-Hound’s aggressive and recurrent on-field presence. Then there’s the similarity with Skyclave Shade, which also can’t block, and similarly returns from the graveyard to the battlefield, albeit with Kicker to become even larger. While Skyclave Shade has the potential for a more significant late-game presence, it lacks the Rage-Hound’s consistent attack force.

Overall, each card provides its unique benefits but Underworld Rage-Hound distinguishes itself as a persistent aggressive force, offering red deck players a reliable and reincarnating attacker in MTG’s dynamic environment.

Phoenix of Ash - Theros Beyond Death Promos (PTHB)

Skyclave Shade - Zendikar Rising Promos (PZNR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Underworld Rage-Hound MTG card by a specific set like Theros Beyond Death, 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 Underworld Rage-Hound and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Underworld Rage-Hound has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Underworld Rage-Hound card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2020-01-24	After an escaped spell resolves, it returns to its owner’s graveyard if it’s not a permanent spell. If it is a permanent spell, it enters the battlefield and will return to its owner’s graveyard if it dies later. Perhaps it will escape again—good underworld security is so hard to come by these days.
2020-01-24	Escape’s permission doesn’t change when you may cast the spell from your graveyard.
2020-01-24	If Underworld Rage-Hound can’t attack for any reason (such as being tapped or having come under that player’s control that turn), then it doesn’t attack. If there’s a cost associated with having it attack, the player isn’t forced to pay that cost, so it doesn’t have to attack in that case either.
2020-01-24	If a card has multiple abilities giving you permission to cast it, such as two escape abilities or an escape ability and a flashback ability, you choose which one to apply. The others have no effect.
2020-01-24	If a card with escape is put into your graveyard during your turn, you’ll be able to cast it right away if it’s legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions.
2020-01-24	If you cast a spell with its escape permission, you can’t choose to apply any other alternative costs or to cast it without paying its mana cost. If it has any additional costs, you must pay those.
2020-01-24	Once you begin casting a spell with escape, it immediately moves to the stack. Players can’t take any other actions until you’re done casting the spell.
2020-01-24	To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying (such as an escape cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The converted mana cost of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was and no matter whether an alternative cost was paid.