Harsh Mentor

Legality

Format Legality
Pre-release Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Magic Duels Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Vintage Legal
Modern Legal
Standard Legal
Leviathan Legal
Legacy Legal
Arena [BETA] Legal
Brawl Legal
Frontier Legal
1v1 Commander Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Unformat Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal

Printings View all

Set Rarity
Amonkhet (AKH) Rare

Combos Browse all

Harsh Mentor

Creature — Human Cleric

Whenever an opponent activates an ability of an artifact, creature, or land on the battlefield, if it isn't a mana ability, Harsh Mentor deals 2 damage to that player

View at Gatherer Browse Alters

Price & Acquistion Set Price Alerts

AKH

$0.44 ( 0.50 - 12.99 ) TCG Player $3.33 TCG Player Foil
$0.29 CardKingdom $2.99 CardKingdom Foil
0.02 MTGO TIX CardHoarder

Ebay

Recent Decks

Load more

Harsh Mentor Discussion

Chadarnook on Card creation challenge

2 weeks ago

Beckon

Sorcery

Activate a loyalty ability of target planeswalker you control as though none of its loyalty abilities have been activated this turn. Loyalty counters can't be put on it this way. (They can still be removed.)

I have no idea what color should get this kind of effect. White usually does planeswalker stuff but this seems impulsive enough for red.

Make a card that turns a non-damaging effect into life loss (like Megrim, Harsh Mentor, or Vizkopa Guildmage).

wefal on Help with Boros ping/punish deck

4 weeks ago

Hello everyone,

I want to build a fun deck for my casual 3-4 man play group.

I'm new to MTG so it's a huge time consuming to search for the cards I want (dont get me wrong, it's fun but too much time consuming).

I'm looking for cards that ping damage my opponents and punish them. Cards like Harsh Mentor, Goblin Chainwhirler, Guttersnipe, Metzali, Tower of Triumph. Double damage cards like Insult // Injury and Angrath's Marauders some Planeswalker Chandra cards, but also fun cards like Axis of Mortality for politics, and Fight to the Death, Deflecting Palm to catch my opponents off guard.

pokepower116 on Xantcha, Woke Agent

1 month ago

Gleeock Oooh I love the deck! Nature's Revolt seems pretty disgusting in this kind of build... I secretly love it. I also didn't know about the "hunted" cycle! Seems really interesting and it looks like it might be exactly what this deck needs. I can make my opponents attack every turn, but when they have no creatures to attack with it doesn't really help anything. Also Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor looks even better now that I take another look at her; I'll have to consider her for this deck too.

As far as redirect spells are concerned, I'm not sure what I would use them on! There's nothing really that this deck plays that needs to be protected from targeted removal except from Xantcha herself and maybe a couple huge enchantments like Havoc Festival. I LOVE the redirect spells in my Zada, Hedron Grinder deck because they effectively work as counterspells for my opponents' counterspells, but not sure how they would really help in this deck. Can you explain a little further?

scumbling1 Thanks for showing interest!! It's still a little too early to tell what's good and what's not but I was able to play two games with her using a proxy for the commander (because my cards finally arrived a couple days ago!) and I'll give you my first impressions below before I give a "formal" update after I get to jam a few more games.

First game I played went pretty horribly. Got mana screwed but I think that was moreso bad shuffling and WAY too greedy of a keep (2 lands and a Star Compass). I was only able to get a Spellshock and Xantcha to stick in the early game. Xantcha was great because I was able to use her activated ability to try and draw myself into lands, but I had to go about 4-5 cards deep before I even found another land. By the time I was able to play Painful Quandary my opponent combo'd off and took out the table. The deck ran 9 mana rocks and 35 mana producing lands (excluding Glacial Chasm and Maze of Ith at the time, which I felt was plenty. I added Thaumatic Compass  Flip to help consistently get land drops and change into a functional Maze of Ith for the late game, but might also replace one or two of the weaker mana rocks with a 36th/37th land for more early game consistency. I'd want to play a few more games though since this was a greedy keep and the first game I've played.

Second game was MUCH better. My opening hand was 3 lands, Sol Ring, Last One Standing, War's Toll, and Manabarbs. Thanks to the early ramp I was able to get Xantcha and my damage dealers online much quicker. I drew into Eidolon of the Great Revel (which didn't really do much damage that game), Furnace of Rath, Spellshock, and Exsanguinate. Unfortunately, we made a ruling mistake that allowed me to do much more damage than I was supposed to. We didn't know that War's Toll's trigger doesn't draw the mana from your lands when you tap them. Because of that, Manabarbs ended up dealing about twice the amount of damage it was supposed to. With that all being said, I was able to play Furnace of Rath, have it survive a turn around the table, and then Exsanguinate (where x=7) for 14 damage and gain 52 life. Then for the remaining player, I cast Mob Rule to take the majority of their blockers and knock them out of the game. Even though there was the ruling error that caused me to deal more damage than I was supposed to, the deck was still sitting in a prominent position and probably would have won regardless. The only complaint I had with the second game was that it took until ~turn 4 before I felt like I was really impacting the game. I wish there were more cards like Harsh Mentor, Eidolon of the Great Revel, or Pyrostatic Pillar that I could replace some of the top-end cards with. I really wanted to order Polluted Bonds for the deck for the constant damage and lifegain, but considering the curve of this deck I think I'll hold off on it.

No more major changes slated until I get to play a couple more games with it! Like I said, would love to add more low cost cards.

thijmnesoy on Sleeper Agent | Budget Xantcha Politics

1 month ago

wow this is a really cool deck. I also was concidering building a deck around Xantcha, but I also had other deck ideas on my mind. I really like this list. But why the Vampiric Link and the Loxodon Warhammer ? they don't work with Xancha because the lifeloss isn't caused by Xantcha. And Harsh Mentor is a little bit questionable, because you also want your other opponents to let the opponent with Xantcha in control to lose life

Guerrilla on Xantcha My New Bae

1 month ago

~~~ Brainstorming via Text ~~~

I hope this is all helpful for you! :)

I really like the use of Oppression here. Geth's Grimoire might be a powerhouse for you, especially if you include Words of Waste to go with it.

I tend to play decks that play the player and tend to flow in a more asymmetrical way to the game; so I like to use cards such as Altar of the Brood and Mindcrank as a form of pre-removal.

Using red, you have access to many of the overlooked cards in the mental game of magic. Avarice Totem, Custody Battle and Fractured Loyalty can become game changers in and of themselves. Avarice Totem with Pithing Needle can be quite fun.

I think that Jinxed Choker deserves a spot here, and that you could consider some additional hidden gems such as Vampiric Spirit or Basilisk Collar in here with some of your "passive pingers" such as Harsh Mentor, Xantcha, Sleeper Agent or even Sleeper Agent herself, etc.

Some other great options would be cards that encourage your opponents to make bad decisions - I usually try to not beat the deck but the opponent in magic, so cards such as Pain's Reward and Choice of Damnations can be a house depending on how well you play the game and the opponent.

I would always include a Glacial Chasm with a way to fetch it.

I would confuse your opponent by being friendly with some cards such as Abyssal Persecutor and cards of the like.

You're not trying to help the other players win, you're owning your opponents without them realizing it.

Curses seem great here. I would use the softer curses such as Curse of Opulence and Curse of Vengeance (the best life insurance policy in the game, IMO)...

You have access to Norin the Wary, that always sparks options...

You have access to political time bombs such as Impending Disaster being in Red.

Since you're already running the Planar Void, might as well throw in the Helm of Obedience win to go with it.

Since we're in black, Priest of Yawgmoth with Spine of Ish Sah seems great. That might spark some interest in sacking things. You will have access to Goblin Welder... so there's that.

No matter what you do, I would auto-include Claws of Gix, a Scroll Rack, and a Sensei's Divining Top, consider maybe some shadow cards - just type the word "Dauthi" into http://www.cardkingdom.com/ and see what comes up... that might lead to some ideas with equipment such as Explorer's Scope and/or Trepanation Blade (two cards that are incredibly underrated IMO)...

If you keep your dudes low in power, you could consider a Meekstone and an Icy Manipulator as a soft/old-school wall for yourself (though it would stop Xantcha from doing her work). If the Icy is there... there's always Winter Orb - who doesn't miss that?? :)

Lots of choices here...

Maybe stealing equipment would be a thing you'd enjoy... you know there's always "that guy" that runs "those cards" all the time... Red is all about that.

Another idea: Mox Monkey: Gorilla Shaman with a Mycosynth Lattice seems really fun.

Or... Electrickery + Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth would be fun.

If you're feeling aggro-y, Filth + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth seem strong.

If you can get your hands on it, Word of Command fits the flavor of this deck well...

Maybe you could include a Wish Board with Burning Wish or Death Wish... in fact, you could keep the weird political theme going with a suicide life swap build with that black tree: Tree of Perdition and/or Soul Conduit.

I'm just spouting off ideas - I plan to make a deck with her when I get some free time. :)

Very cool start here and again, I hope all of this is helpful to you!

CryptonicNova on Card creation challenge

2 months ago

Zurgo, Breaker of Bones

Vigilance, menace, haste

When Zurgo, Breaker of Bones enters the battlefield search you library for an equipment an exile it with a Horde counter on it.

Whenever Zurgo, Breaker of Bones attacks, you may pay , if you do, cast a card with a Horde counter on it and attach it to Zurgo.

Zurgo, Breaker of Bones gets +1/+1 for each equipment attached to him.

"I will grind your bones to dust, and use the powder to sow the seeds of my glorious victory." Zurgo, Breaker of Bones

3/3

90% of the cards created here are broken beyond all play-ability, yall need to calm down, to do so, recreate the cycle of 2 mana creatures with upside. For those that don't know this cycle includes, Tarmogoyf Dark Confidant Stoneforge Mystic Snapcaster Mage. I don't know whether Young Pyromancer or Harsh Mentor is the red choice. Make the card playable, but not busted.

Wallamin on Rakdos Burn

2 months ago

Hi, as a fellow Rakdos Burn Player I'd like to offer a couple of suggestions to improve the deck, while still staying low on budget. I would cut most of the Three-Drops to improve the overall speed of the deck, killing the opponent quickly is the main advantage and appeal of playing any Burn List.I would especially lower the number of expensive creatures, the Guttersnipes in particular, but I think the Elementals and the Shredfreaks could be replaced as well.

Suitable replacements include Bloodsoaked Champion, Vicious Conquistador, Firedrinker Satyr, Zurgo Bellstriker, Soul-Scar Mage, Harsh Mentor and maybe Spike Jester.

I personally also feel that a Dark Confidant-like card benefits the Strategy and is one of the main draws to include Black in Burn. There are a variety of creatures that provide a similar effect and are very budget-friendly: Blood Scrivener, Asylum Visitor, Pain Seer, Ruin Raider. However, I had the most success with Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, which has menace to boot, supported by Gonti's Machinationss and Aether Hubs. Removing these creatures will be a high priority for your opponents, making Claim to Fame very powerful, bringing back your card advantage-tools.

I would also relegate the Terminates to the Sideboard and instead play Searing Blood in the Main, especially since you are running a playset of Graven Cairns. On a similar note, Sign in Blood could also be considered, since it does not only provide further provide card draw, but can be aimed at the opponent to deal 2 damage to the opponent in a pinch.

In terms of spells, I would definitely improve the number of Lightning Bolt-Effects. Shard Volley, Collateral Damage and Burst Lightning are fine options. And since you are willing to also play Sovereign's Bite, you might want to look into Two-Drop Burn Spells as well: Lightning Strike, Searing Spear, Incinerate, Incendiary Flow are all serviceable Burn. I would not cut the Bump in the Night for Sovereign's Bite, though. One Mana Burn is so much more important than the three Life gained. Playing both should be good, though.

And finally, I would drop the Lootings and Duresses from the Sideboard. You rarely have the time to spend your first turn looking at their hand, despite it being basically the only answer Rakdos has to cards like Worship or enchantments in general. I feel it is just too much of a tempo loss. And you can just make them lose life with Bump instead of dealing damage to them anyways. Instead I would propose you look into Molten Rain to fight Tron- and Utopia Sprawl-Decks and add more Rakdos Charms or Smash to Smithereens to fight artifacts.

t3hdarkness on Kaervek the merciless

2 months ago

With a Seven Mana Commander, its never really going to be fast. But you can take measures to speed it up a little and slow everyone else down.

Putting out some early game meanness like Ankh of Mishra, Harsh Mentor, and Zo-Zu the Punisher let you get some damage going on while waiting for your big threats. This makes you a big target though.Crawlspace, Curse of Opulence, Ensnaring Bridge, Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, and Silent Arbiter can throw off some of the agro.

Burnished Hart, Commander's Sphere, Coalition Relic, Darksteel Ingot, Rakdos Cluestone, Rakdos Keyrune, Rakdos Signet, and Talisman of Indulgence will help speed out your commander and play those punishing triple mana symbol cards. Additionally they are immune to my next suggestion War's Toll.

One last thing. It won't let you win, but Heartless Hidetsugu with any of your damage doublers ends the game on the spot.

Load more