Why? Just why? Why does this keep returning? Yay for it breaking the 4 card rule (which I guess 2010 is all about molesting the rules of the game), but other than that, it's not very useful and should remain out of the core. I mean, who other than people making extended decks use a ton of these rats anyhow?
Joseph_Leito
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Actually, I could imagine a B/U with only these for creatures.
;-; there hard to get...i need like 94 more for a battle of wits deck
Qazior
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
theillustricoisZ: That works for as long as opponent plays something like Counterbore on this.
UltimaCenturion
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I heard of someone who used this in a Highlander with Thrumming Stone and some other card that let you stack your deck. Get thrumming stone out, and WHAM there are all your relentless rats. Ow. Imagine this thing with door of destinies. >.< Anyways, it needs a higher mana cost, at least. Or give it a number limit (just say "Up to X amount can be in a deck" or something.)
MidnightsMystique
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Ah... You dirty ratt you killed my brother.... Wiat nevermind there he is. I swear These rats reminds me of smurfs. Just not so blue and well Yeah.... Does anyone know if smurfet was a "s..T" there?
GoGo26
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
now there come decks with 40 rats and 20 swamps
holgir
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(12 votes)
Hello WotC, this should be a common, period.
EnV
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
This is kinda unfair unless you use cards that rely on anti-name cards such as Meddling Mage. And I agree that his rapes the rules of the game. Not even the best faerie deck can take this shit down.
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Great card, a decent remake of Plague Rats and the very exclusive card you can have more than four times in a deck aside from (Snow-covered) Basic Lands.
Good-working cards with these gnawers are: * Thumming Stone for mad chain reactions, * Desperate Research for very cheap card advantage, * Aether Vial as first turn drop and to get your rats on the field faster and easily, * Locket of Yesterdays to reduce their cost by one - yet that's not the best choice since you can use the aforementioned one-drop and the reduction being conditional. If you add a green splash, there are some further nice synergies: * Bloodbond March for the ultimate reaimation, * Echoing Courage for a cheap +2/+2 boost - at instant speed, a possible reason why you could consider playing this card - although a normal rat will do better if you run too many other cards already, * Pack Hunt for some decent card advantage, can get you three rats for four mana, although Desperate Research is still strictly better here, * Nantuko Shrine can be used for a squirrel infestation. Another advantage from this card is its synergy with Swarmyard. A white-splash might also help, although less effectively with: * Remembrance to keep a stock of your rats * lifegain from Aven Shrine.
There's a last thing that doesn't affect the usability of the card, yet i'd love to see nonetheless: Finally a reprint of this card at Common rarity.
phoenixcobra27
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
if you have a deck with a whole load of relentless rats a good way to keep boosting them is for a couple Coat Of Arms
Forgeling
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(8 votes)
It would be fun to have just one of these in your deck just to get your opponent to waste spells on it.
PeterRabit
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Maelstrom pulse will rape this card, But I see how you could make a combo deck carrying some of these cards, So if your combo doesn't kick off, you can beat em down with your rats, also if your opponent happens to use counterbore, massive deck thinning right there, You could also make a combo deck that deliberately removes all the rats... I dunno just a thought I came across when I saw this card
Lol, just kidding. XP If you're using cards like that, you don't need rats.
iandustrial
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(9 votes)
"Whoa, sweet! I'd better buy tons of packs so I can get enough of these to stuff in my deck!" -what Wizards of the Coast hopes new players will say when they see this
VirtueVsVice
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@peterrabit
That's why you would have to run negate, cancel, etc.
djpraiseadelik
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Two-Headed Giant has a mascot deck...had to play a team with two of these decks this Friday and I headdesked several times for not putting at least 2 Thought Hemorrages in my Black/Red deck.
Esprel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I don't understand the hype on this card. I mean, it doesn't even have banding for god's sake.
Lateralis0ne
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Um, Holgir, why would it have banding? That keyword was left behind years ago...it wouldn't make sense to suddenly bring back for one card.
lorendorky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I love killing these things :) Lavalanche, Earthquake, maelstrom pulse mwahaha
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Heh, love these guys...I want to make this my standard deck. Unfortunately, Maelstrom Pulse wrecks me...
bijart_dauth
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
this card is fun, you can do relly mean things with it, however it dies to pulse and counterbore but in my metagame where these things don't exist..... lets just say i don't lose much
MrDressup
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(3 votes)
spearbreaker bhemoth and els beth, maybe 4 overruns
jkjkkjkjkjkjkjk
jlowther
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(7 votes)
They should've been clever and had nine different versions of them with different titles:
Relentless Rats Unrelenting Rats Relent-Free Rats Rats that Don't Relent "Never Gonna Relent" Rats "Don't Know the Meaning of 'Relent'" Rats Elentless-Ray Ats-Ray I Smell a Relentless Rat and Men With Rats (who don't relent)
EGarrett01
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
If this card was a 1/1 for 1B instead of costing 3...wow what a difference.
WhiteyMcFly
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does its ability override the rules of EDH?
KMcombine
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Yeah but c'mon, where you gonna get 10+ of these guys without a booster box?
and even then I only get 4-5 of these precious little guys, but I would'nt wanna see it go common, rats have a heirachy too ya'know I like my rats silver and gold :j.
tbh though I dont think i'd ever play any other color if they where common enough to build decks with.
I'm sure iandustrial, that is not the case. as you may already know they are too busy complaining about cards like this being a money grab, or how dual lands wreck magic.
Verdant Succession oh, if only you were black...
Tactic: Summon Rats. Occasionally, you'll see Marrow-Gnawer and the fun begins. You sacrifice 1 Relentless Rats, and then you create an ever-growing army by sacrificing tokens. Once you get your hand on Coat of Arms, you have a humongous rat army. But, even if you don't, you still have an army of rats with Fear.
BioPrince
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
RATS ON A PLANE!
KarmasPayment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"Does its ability override the rules of EDH?" -WhiteyMcFly
Nope, it doesn't. And if you want to play with these, EDH isn't your style anyways.
Comments (37)
2 Marrow-Gnawer
28 relentless rats
26 Swamps
That is all.
Get thrumming stone out, and WHAM there are all your relentless rats. Ow.
Imagine this thing with door of destinies. >.<
Anyways, it needs a higher mana cost, at least. Or give it a number limit (just say "Up to X amount can be in a deck" or something.)
Good-working cards with these gnawers are:
* Thumming Stone for mad chain reactions,
* Desperate Research for very cheap card advantage,
* Aether Vial as first turn drop and to get your rats on the field faster and easily,
* Locket of Yesterdays to reduce their cost by one - yet that's not the best choice since you can use the aforementioned one-drop and the reduction being conditional.
If you add a green splash, there are some further nice synergies:
* Bloodbond March for the ultimate reaimation,
* Echoing Courage for a cheap +2/+2 boost - at instant speed, a possible reason why you could consider playing this card - although a normal rat will do better if you run too many other cards already,
* Pack Hunt for some decent card advantage, can get you three rats for four mana, although Desperate Research is still strictly better here,
* Nantuko Shrine can be used for a squirrel infestation. Another advantage from this card is its synergy with Swarmyard.
A white-splash might also help, although less effectively with:
* Remembrance to keep a stock of your rats
* lifegain from Aven Shrine.
Such decks are unfortunately very fragile to cards like Extirpate, Thought Hemorrhage, Cranial Extraction, Lobotomy, Haunting Echoes, Counterbore, Shimian Specter, Maelstrom Pulse or Moratorium Stone. Well, at least they're still immune to Eradicate^^
There's a last thing that doesn't affect the usability of the card, yet i'd love to see nonetheless:
Finally a reprint of this card at Common rarity.
Lol, just kidding. XP If you're using cards like that, you don't need rats.
That's why you would have to run negate, cancel, etc.
jkjkkjkjkjkjkjk
Relentless Rats
Unrelenting Rats
Relent-Free Rats
Rats that Don't Relent
"Never Gonna Relent" Rats
"Don't Know the Meaning of 'Relent'" Rats
Elentless-Ray Ats-Ray
I Smell a Relentless Rat
and
Men With Rats (who don't relent)
and even then I only get 4-5 of these precious little guys, but I would'nt wanna see it go common, rats have a heirachy too ya'know I like my rats silver and gold :j.
tbh though I dont think i'd ever play any other color if they where common enough to build decks with.
I'm sure iandustrial, that is not the case. as you may already know they are too busy complaining about cards like this being a money grab, or how dual lands wreck magic.
Verdant Succession oh, if only you were black...
And Recycle (or Null Profusion).
And some cake.
24 Swamp
2 Cabal Coffers
2 Marrow-Gnawer
24 Relentless Rats
4 Coat of Arms
2 Oversold Cemetery
2 Dark Ritual
Tactic: Summon Rats. Occasionally, you'll see Marrow-Gnawer and the fun begins. You sacrifice 1 Relentless Rats, and then you create an ever-growing army by sacrificing tokens. Once you get your hand on Coat of Arms, you have a humongous rat army. But, even if you don't, you still have an army of rats with Fear.
-WhiteyMcFly
Nope, it doesn't. And if you want to play with these, EDH isn't your style anyways.