Beast Within

Instant

Destroy target permanent. Its controller creates a 3/3 green Beast creature token.

Discussion (51)

PookandPie on ghave, and all his spores

7 hours ago

Hi there! I love Ghave, he was among my first Commanders back when I started playing this format in 2013, and is still one of my favorites to this day.

Here's my list, for reference: Ghave: Baby Makin' and Alimony

I have some recommendations that may help speed you along.

First things first: Ghave wants mana and +1/+1 counters. He turns +1/+1 counters into creature tokens- so you want to capitalize on that, and in order to do so, you need mana. Things that can help you make substantially more mana are:

Cryptolith Rite , Citanul Hierophants , Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip, Rishkar, Peema Renegade , among many others. These are solid places to start.

You want to put +1/+1 counters on your stuff because Ghave can turn all that into more creatures. So cards like Ivy Lane Denizen , Cathars' Crusade , Champion of Lambholt , Bloodspore Thrinax , Undying creatures, etc., can let you put more counters on things. In the case of Ivy Lane, for example, you can play, say, Growing Rites of Itlimoc, make 2 tokens (because Ivy Lane will put a counter on the creature that just came in, so you can keep doing it), and then transform Itlimoc at end of turn, which you can tap for 4 mana to make 4 more tokens. Then the next turn, even without playing a land, you can make 18 more tokens (by tapping your 5 lands, then tapping Itlimoc, which will now give 13 mana), and so on, so forth. Having high mana production and multiple cards that can let you get to +1/+1 counters is ideal.

To put this into perspective, Ghave is likely your fastest engine at generating tokens. 1 mana = 1 token is better than Selesnya Guildmage, and all of the counter cards mentioned above are more efficient than Chorus of the Conclave. Ghave + a source of counters is also just better at making tokens than Acorn Catapult, and is generally easier to use than Cobra Trap (though if you get to cast the latter for its trap cost, only then is it more efficient). Penumbra Spider is mediocre for this reason, as well, as is Symbiotic Wurm (since if you have Ghave and Cathars' Crusade, you can pay 8 mana to get 8 8/8s by responding to Crusade's triggered ability). Celestial Force just isn't a very good card, and I would recommend removing it for something that does more for you- even Essence Warden or Soul Warden would gain you substantially more life since you're a token deck. Bestial Menace is also less efficient than just focusing on things like Cathars' Crusade.

I would cut all of those to add in the counters sources mentioned above.

Also, you may find Ravenous Chupacabra more efficient than Dark Hatchling. You can hit black creatures at 2 less mana- that seems more valuable to me.

Other cards you may find helpful:

Generous Patron - put counters on opponent's creatures that aren't doing anything, and you get more cards. Cards are the most important resource in Magic, so this is a worthwhile thing to do.

Beast Within is pretty much better than Afterlife. A 3/3 token without evasion is better to give opponents than a 1/1 that flies, and Beast Within can hit lands, enchantments, even planeswalkers.

Devoted Druid is a fun little creature. If you have it, Cathars' Crusade, and Ghave, you can make infinite saproling tokens.

LVL_666 on The Queen's Egg

1 day ago

Slayroth, you totally read my hivemind regarding Generous Gift . I already slotted it in for Beast Within . All that's left is to wait for tappedout to add Cloudshredder Sliver to the list of cards that can be added because it's going to be slotted in for Winged Sliver . I'm still mulling over Hollowhead Sliver. What to slot it in for? The faux "loot" ability just seems really handy and at the least worth trying out. Any suggestions?

mymanpotsandpans on Modern Horizons Announced

1 day ago

Did some research on it ToolmasterOfBrainerd and see where they are coming from. I read one of Rosewater’s old post on it. Both to some degree bend what their color can do. Green flat out destroying creatures and white flat out destroying individual lands are both not common things in each color. Both card’s flavor is on point, with a tad strech in their share of the color pie.

Still don’t really agree that white is the more appropriate home for it, but I don’t necessarily believe a Beast Within colorshifted into any of the other colors would be perfect either.

mymanpotsandpans on Modern Horizons Announced

2 days ago

DemonDragonJ How does that acknowledge Beast Within is a break in the color pie? When it doesn't even break it to begin with, please explain.

saj0219 on Modern Horizons Announced

2 days ago

DemonDragonJ, I'm not sure Generous Gift is WotC saying anything about Beast Within ... As far as making a 3/3 green creature, Rapid Hybridization has something to say about that. It seems green 3/3s are the the order of the day when you destroy something this way, regardless of your original color :)

I'm also thrilled with the spoilers so far - so much nostalgia. I also love the new Pyrophobia. I can't think of a single "Coward" creature, but then someone pointed out to me that cards with Changeling would count as cowards...

I would gently push back against the assertion that there are only minor differences between modern and legacy. Consider that the four most commonly played cards in legacy (and six of the top 10) are not modern legal. Decks like ANT, Sneak and Show, Stoneblade, and Turbo Depths would like to have a word with you as well... Joking aside though, I do think the two formats encourage (or at least, are defined by) fairly different play patterns.

DemonDragonJ on Modern Horizons Announced

2 days ago

Today has been another day for awesome previews!

First, I am very glad that WotC finally acknowledged that Beast Within is a violation of the color pie, and has created a more appropriate replacement for it, but, if the original card generated a green token, should not the new card generate a white token?

The new variation of splice is very nice, due to being much more flexible than the original incarnation, so I hope that that is an indication that it may return again in future sets.

A red variant of Juzam Djinn is very nice, and also much more appropriate to the color pie, today, but, by today’s standards, it is nothing spectacular, which would explain why it is an uncommon, not a rare.

Umezawa’s charm is very nice, and I am very glad to see a reference to a famous character from the story and his signature weapon. Will there be a complete cycle of charms, or is that a stand-alone card?

It is nice to see a card with the overload mechanic that is not red or blue, as this is not the first time that a mechanic that originally was used by a guild of Ravnica appeared outside of that plane, and this set also marks the first time that a replicate cost is not exactly identical to the card’s normal casting cost.

If I could find one negative thing about today’s spoilers, it is that I feel that Altar of Dementia is another card that should not have been introduced to modern, but even that is a fairly minor complaint. Hopefully, this year’s Commander set shall have some great cards for eternal formats.

Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor, yes, I am glad for that, but this set is introducing cards to modern, and, at this rate, the differences between modern and legacy are very minor at best, so I wish to WotC would make an effort to keep those formats distinct from each other.

NensouHiebara on Balan, Equipment Voltron

2 days ago

Generous Gift

Wasn't expecting a White Beast Within .

oc616 on Oathbreaker Estimated Tier List

2 days ago

I think some guidelines need to be defined on what makes certain PWs stronger than others in terms of tiers. I'd personally consider the tier list in the same way as the EDH one, assuming the 'Walkers in question are tuned to their utmost and pit against one another at their best. I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Mana Cost Even in heavy ramp decks, anything 6 or above I'd feel has next to no chance of being S tier. The format when taken to its extreme is too fast for these decks, especially with so much fast mana banned. Although Ugin, the Ineffable and Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge are certainly strong enough with their ramp to hit A tier, they're just a bit too slow to win at the same speed other decks have displayed. With a punishing enough stax plan, maybe this can change.

Passive Synergy Pretty much relegated to WAR 'Walkers, having a passive makes a big difference in your power level. Dovin, Hand of Control , Nissa, Who Shakes the World and Saheeli, Sublime Artificer all have passive abilities that can push their game plan to further extremes as they are not restricted to one loyalty activation a turn. Although not everything in A tier and above needs a passive, and despite not all passives being strong, this is still a massive boost in power for those decks abusing them. Its all about how well they can accelerate their game plan.

Utility, or the Swiss Army Knife approach Cards like Dack Fayden or Xenagos, the Reveler provide extra utility outside of being used to win the game. Card draw in Dack's case, mana acceleration for Xenagos. Both of these 'Walkers provide the ability to win the game in the right build, but they still accelerate your game plan without a win all the same. This would be near enough essential for S tier and certainly desired for A tier.

How Consistent/Strong they Combo Narset, Parter of Veils , Jace, Wielder of Mysteries and Ral, Storm Conduit have cheap 1 card combos that either win the game or lock opponents out of the game. Arguments about seeing these combos from the command zone and therefore focusing that player should NOT be considered a factor on the raw power level said combo achieves. S tier 'Walkers should have these, but not all who have a combo will be S tier.

Colour Identity Although Sarkhan Unbroken is often used as Dragon tribal, the colours he gives your decks access to provide plenty of combos, ramp and answers to make a strong and consistent deck. Aminatou, the Fateshifter is another example that would fit here, with both of these 'Walkers also providing great utility abilities to support their game plans too. I'll also use this point to state how mono Green really struggles in this format. There are strong strategies such as Nissa, Who Shakes the World combined with Genesis Wave , but even with the various combos to generate big mana and large threats, it struggles to connect a fast win on the turn it is executed. Lacking cheap and instant speed answers to faster decks apart from Beast Within is also a downside for the colour. For that reason, I think it would be a struggle for any mono Green deck to hit S tier.

I hope this helps. Been loving this format and playing it solid for the past 2 months online or with a playgroup at my LGS to try and test what feels like the more consistent strategies, which as it turns out, feel almost like the opposite of EDH. White is a stronger colour than Green, aggro and mill are considerably more viable, decks that ramp to play big spells struggle to win often. Its a refreshing change of pace for multiplayer games.