Nighthawk Scavenger MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nighthawk Scavenger thrives on decking versatility, able to grow in power and toughness as your opponent’s graveyard fills. This not only tilts the board presence in your favor but also limits the effectiveness of their graveyard strategies while enhancing yours.

Resource Acceleration: It’s worth noting that while the Nighthawk Scavenger doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its significant lifelink feature effectively buys you more time to deploy your resources. By extending the game, you’re indirectly accelerating your potential to leverage more mana and card plays against your opponent.

Instant Speed: Though the scavenger itself isn’t an instant, its innate potential to disrupt instant-speed play is noteworthy. With the capability to rapidly grow, it can turn the tables on an adversary’s combat math unexpectedly, especially during your turn. Additionally, the threat of this card’s evolving power impacts your opponent’s instant speed plays, as they know that their graveyard-fueled spells could inadvertently enhance the scavenger.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nighthawk Scavenger’s effectiveness is heavily tied to the opponent’s graveyard content, making its power less reliable if you can’t ensure regular discard or destruction of their cards.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes two black mana symbols, Nighthawk Scavenger demands a solid commitment to black mana, potentially limiting deck-building flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its potential for power and toughness increase, Nighthawk Scavenger’s three mana cost is considered high when compared to other creatures with a fixed rate of power and toughness, making it less appealing for aggressive, low-curve strategies.

Reasons to Include Nighthawk Scavenger in Your Collection

Versatility: Nighthawk Scavenger is a card with flexible usability, capable of sliding into various deck archetypes with ease. Its power scales with the game, making it as useful early on as it is in late-game scenarios.

Combo Potential: With lifelink, its synergy with cards that capitalize on life gain is considerable. Moreover, its ability to grow in strength based on graveyard contents can work well with strategies focused on milling or discard.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta filled with graveyard interaction and high-powered creatures, Nighthawk Scavenger stands as a cost-efficient creature that can be a recurring threat and a deterrent to aggressive strategies.

How to beat Nighthawk Scavenger

Nighthawk Scavenger is a versatile and powerful card renowned for its ability to grow stronger with the number of card types in an opponent’s graveyard. Defeating this formidable creature requires a strategic approach. It’s helpful to limit the card types in your graveyard to curb its power. Cards that offer graveyard hate, such as Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze, can significantly weaken the Scavenger by removing potential fuel for its ability. Additionally, spot removal like Path to Exile or Murderous Rider can dispatch the creature regardless of its size. Remember to be mindful of its lifelink ability which can provide your opponent with a steady stream of health, so timing your removal before combat can prevent any life gain.