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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hollowsage enables players to potentially benefit from card advantage each turn. Whenever you untap Hollowsage, you may have target player discard a card, effectively diminishing your opponent’s hand while retaining your own card count.

Resource Acceleration: While not providing direct mana acceleration, Hollowsage contributes to resource acceleration by pressuring opponents to use up their resources more rapidly to avoid the steady depletion of their hand, thereby skewing the resource balance in your favor over time.

Instant Speed: Due to Hollowsage’s triggered ability at untap, this interacts favorably with instant speed spells and effects that can untap creatures, allowing you to activate its ability outside of the usual untap phase, catching an opponent unaware and forcing a discard at potentially crucial moments.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hollowsage forces players to discard a card whenever it becomes untapped. This can be detrimental when your hand is already diminished, effectively pressuring you to manage resources exceedingly cautiously to maintain control over the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both black and blue mana, Hollowsage has a mana cost that necessitates a dedicated dual-color deck. This limits its flexibility, rendering it unsuitable for a variety of mono-color decks or those that do not include both of these mana types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a total of four mana, including two specific color types, Hollowsage’s cost might be considered steep for the utility it provides. In many scenarios, there are alternatives that can provoke card discarding or provide tactical advantages without such a significant mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hollowsage fits seamlessly into a variety of black-aligned decks by harnessing its ability to make each player discard a card. This aligns perfectly with strategies that profit from both opponents losing resources and from your own graveyard interactions.

Combo Potential: Within decks that capitalize on discard mechanics or tap/untap shenanigans, Hollowsage can serve as a cornerstone. It’s especially potent in tandem with cards that allow you to tap it without engaging in combat, maximizing its trigger each turn.

Meta-Relevance: If the game’s current trends lean towards decks loaded with hand disruption tactics or reanimator strategies, Hollowsage provides essential utility. It can disrupt opponent’s plans while fueling your graveyard for recursive threats or delve costs.

How to beat Hollowsage

Hollowsage is a unique creature card with an ability that ties its effectiveness to having untapped creatures during your upkeep. To effectively counter this MTG card, it’s essential to adjust your strategy by either ensuring Hollowsage doesn’t remain on the battlefield or mitigating the impact of its ability. Removal spells, like Doom Blade or Path to Exile, can dispatch Hollowsage efficiently before its untap ability becomes an issue.

Another tactic involves utilizing cheap, instant-speed removal or flash creatures to maintain pressure during your opponent’s turn. This way, you’re keeping your hand secret and minimizing the advantage Hollowsage provides to your opponent. Alternatively, playing with cards that benefit from being discarded or have Madness abilities can actually turn Hollowsage’s ability into an advantage for you. In the end, knowing the intricacies of your deck and having a plan to address creatures like Hollowsage can keep you one step ahead in your MTG matches.