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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Old Ghastbark shines in scenarios where maintaining a hand advantage is key. Its ability to potentially draw a card every turn keeps your hand replenished and pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This card contributes to resource acceleration by enabling you to potentially play additional lands. An extra land drop each turn can significantly outpace your opponent in the long game.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of Old Ghastbark’s ability to operate at instant speed allows you to maximize your mana efficiency. This aspect of the card means you can wait until the end of your opponent’s turn to make pivotal moves, keeping them guessing and preserving your options.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Old Ghastbark demands a card be discarded each time it attacks or blocks, which can quickly deplete your hand, leaving you with fewer options for play.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes two green symbols, Old Ghastbark may not fit seamlessly into multi-colored decks, potentially restricting its play to mono-green or decks with a significant green mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to get Old Ghastbark on the board is sizeable. For a creature with its power and toughness, you might find other creatures or spells that provide more bang for your buck and synergize better with your deck’s overall strategy.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Old Ghastbark fits into a variety of deck types in MTG, particularly those that build around creatures with power and toughness asymmetries. Its unique stats can be an unexpected boon in decks that manipulate or switch power and toughness values.

Combo Potential: This card has potential in combo scenarios. Its ability can synergize with effects that care about creatures with high toughness or effects that switch stats, offering creative ways to surprise opponents during gameplay.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG landscape evolves, cards that offer unique effects can gain unexpected relevance. Old Ghastbark may shine in certain metagames that are unprepared for its distinct abilities and create opportunities for card interactions that are otherwise overlooked.

How to Beat

Confronted with Old Ghastbark on the battlefield can certainly seem daunting. The arboreal behemoth has the distinctive ability to untap each time a player casts a white or blue spell, making it an imposing defender. To effectively neutralize this resolute treefolk, players would do well to pivot their strategy towards direct removal spells that aren’t color-dependent. Cards like Murder or Terminate, which can unceremoniously dispatch creatures without triggering Old Ghastbark’s untap ability, are key. Moreover, relying on global effects, such as board sweeps like Wrath of God, can clear the field without singling out Old Ghastbark, preventing it from becoming an unyielding barrier.

Utility spells that prevent activation of abilities, like Pithing Needle, also offer a strategic edge. They allow you to nullify Old Ghastbark’s reactionary untap maneuver, leaving it vulnerable to attacks. Alternatively, shifting to non-spell based threats, such as creatures with abilities triggered by attacking or entering the battlefield, ensures that the Old Ghastbark’s effect is circumvented. It’s essential to adapt your game plan when faced with this card’s unique defensive abilities to maintain the upper hand.