Rogue Elephant MTG Card
1997-06-09 - Number 139
1997-08-13 - Number sg139
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Elephant |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Rogue Elephant excels in quickly establishing board control with a significant early presence.
- Its play cost includes land sacrifice, adding depth to strategic deck construction.
- When paired with instant speed cards, Rogue Elephant enables versatile gameplay.
Text of card
When Rogue Elephant comes into play, sacrifice a forest or bury Rogue Elephant.
"When are trees like grass?" —*The One Thousand Questions*
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Rogue Elephant provides an early board presence, which can be pivotal in putting pressure on your opponent. While it doesn’t inherently draw cards, its formidable stats for its low cost keep your hand free to control the game pace.
Resource Acceleration: Although playing Rogue Elephant comes at the cost of sacrificing a land, its low mana cost plays into strategies that favor hitting the board early and fast. It accelerates the deployment of a significant threat that can outpace the opponent’s resources.
Instant Speed: While Rogue Elephant itself is a creature and not an instant, when paired with cards that can be played at instant speed, it allows for diverse play patterns. You can commit to playing it if your instant speed options are not required, maximizing the efficiency of your mana each turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of Rogue Elephant is the necessity to discard a land card upon casting. If your hand is already short on lands, this requirement can put you at a significant disadvantage, stalling your gameplay and hindering your mana base development.
Specific Mana Cost: Rogue Elephant demands a green mana to play. This restriction means it’s exclusive to green or multi-colored decks, reducing its versatility across the diverse deck archetypes in MTG. Players running decks without green might find it challenging or impossible to incorporate this card effectively.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Rogue Elephant’s initial casting cost might seem low, the hidden cost of discarding a land can set you back in the mana curve race. In formats where tempo plays a crucial role, the setback of losing a land early in the game can be more significant than the benefit of putting a 3/3 creature into play, especially when other creatures at similar mana costs don’t carry such a hefty downside.
Reasons to Include Rogue Elephant in Your Collection
Versatility: Rogue Elephant offers a unique option for decks that can readily sacrifice lands, such as those with a reanimation strategy or employing land recursion techniques, making it a solid choice in various builds.
Combo Potential: As part of a combo-centric deck, Rogue Elephant can synergize with cards that capitalize on creatures entering the battlefield or that benefit from self-sacrifice tactics, amplifying the strategy’s effectiveness.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where speed is crucial, Rogue Elephant stands out due to its ability to quickly apply pressure, making it relevant in aggressive and tempo-focused deck archetypes.
How to beat
Rogue Elephant, a single-minded force on the battlefield, offers Magic The Gathering players a powerful, early-game asset. With its imposing presence as a 3/3 for just one green mana, Rogue Elephant’s entrance comes at the steep cost of sacrificing a land. For players facing this powerful pachyderm, the key is to exploit its early game disadvantage.
Control strategies can shine here, with cards offering effective removal such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push providing key interaction before the loss of land cripples your opponent’s mana base. Trading one-for-one isn’t just efficient; it’s crippling. Another angle is ramping up the pressure with more aggressive creatures, outmatching the initial burst of power provided by Rogue Elephant, and taking advantage of the temporary setback your opponent faces. Timing is crucial – remove Rogue Elephant before your adversary can stabilize their mana and deploy larger threats.
At the heart of confronting Rogue Elephant lies the balance between recognizing the initial threat it poses and identifying the sacrifice made by your opponent to put it into play. By disrupting their early game plan and overcoming the immediate threat, strategists can navigate past the initial disruption and towards a solid pathway to victory.
Cards like Rogue Elephant
Rogue Elephant joins the ranks as an intriguing creature in Magic: The Gathering’s vast library, nestling into the category of efficient one-drop creatures. Comparable to Kird Ape, Rogue Elephant springs out as a powerful presence in the early game, offering an impressive 3/3 body for just one green mana. While Kird Ape also can achieve a formidable 3/3 early on, it is dependent on controlling a mountain, unlike Rogue Elephant’s straightforward entry with the cost of sacrificing a forest.
Loam Lion is another kin in this arena, echoing the strengths of needing specific lands to reach its peak power level, similar to Kird Ape but in the form of a plains. Rogue Elephant, however, shines in mono-green decks that can easily afford the upfront land sacrifice. Then there is Wild Nacatl – a card celebrated for its adaptability and power scaling in multi-color decks that include forests, yet it demands a broader color commitment compared to the simplicity of Rogue Elephant’s single green mana investment.
Each of these creatures carves its space within the ecosystem of Magic: The Gathering. Rogue Elephant stands out for its capacity to be a dominant early force in exchange for a singular, albeit significant, sacrifice of land, reflecting the delicate balance of risk and reward in deck building strategy.
Cards similar to Rogue Elephant by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Rogue Elephant MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight and World Championship Decks 1997, 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 Rogue Elephant 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 Rogue Elephant Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-06-09 and 1997-08-13. Illustrated by Steve White.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997-06-09 | Weatherlight | WTH | 139 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Steve White | |
| 2 | 1997-08-13 | World Championship Decks 1997 | WC97 | sg139 | 1997 | Normal | Gold | Steve White |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Rogue Elephant has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Rogue Elephant card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-04-01 | If the creature is no longer on the battlefield when the ability resolves, you may still perform the action if you want. |
| 2008-04-01 | When the ability resolves, you choose whether to sacrifice the creature or perform the other action. If you can’t perform the other action, then you must sacrifice the creature. |
