When it comes back, morph Chromeshell Crab. I mean, hey, you were going to give them your Treacherous Pit-Dweller anyways, so you might as well take one of their creatures while you're at it.
I like this card because it screams, "BREAK ME!" Although I like the Torpor Orb and Sundial of the Infinite suggestions, overall I don't think it's as breakable as Hunted Horror (also breakable with the Orb or the Sundial, among many other things). Granted, Hunted Horror isn't legal in Standard/Type-II.
quick question: Say all of my opponents have shroud or hexproof aka can't be targeted, who controls Treacherous Pit Dweller when it re-enters?
djflo
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Quite aside from any combos, this could be good in an environment where sending creatures to the graveyard is otherwise not good (due to undying, 'dies' triggers, etc.). In that environment, this could be great as a simple 4/3 for 2.
@Skavo - as the ability would have no legal targets, the ability is countered and you'd get to keep it.
This card is not good, and pretending that relying on a specific artifact to be out before hand (torpor Orb and Graffdiggers cage) is not a good way to go about it.
I hate how the "rare" demons often scream card tempo disadvantage.
So what happens if your only opponent has a Leyline of Sanctity in play? It would trigger upon re-entry, but would the trigger be able to be put on the stack without a legal target or would the trigger go on the stack without a target and then be countered upon resolution because of no legal target?
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
jjmalove: definitely would play Brand for this guy over Homeward Path. just because the flavor seems better that way.
WarioMan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's a shame so many other black two-drops outclass it as far as "biting you in the ass later" or else this thing would be pretty cool and probably rated higher.
Could be sweet in a suicide black deck running 2 Phyrexian Tower and 2 Homeward Path. Phyrexian Tower helps ramp you up and also kills him after he undies before he leaves your side. Homeward Path isn't legendary, and lets you keep a 5/4.
Peel from Reality is another interesting option for when he dies, especially since you'll likely have the mana to recast him. It even works if you have to cast it after he's switched sides, since at least you get 2 creatures back to your hand.
rezpatriot
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can see where wizards are going with black in Avacyn restored limited, with getting this card, in a primarily black based deck.
Asmodi0000
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Seems like it could be fun in multiplayer games, where you provide a gift for one of the players who didn't kill it.
Giving someone a 5/4 is a great way to make an ally, and people will be less likely to kill it the first time if it means wasting a kill spell just to deal with a stronger creature in a different board position.
Dragonoth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I misread this as the opponent getting it when you play it, then you getting it when it comes back with undying. Black-Red, Lightning Bolt the demon. I liked it better that way. Now it's like a Haunted Angel.
MisterAction
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Wow. Incredible ability tied to a drawback that makes you think twice before putting it in a deck.
This is the blackest card in the set.
korlix
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Am i the only one who thinks this card is good on its own? So what if it give your opponent a 5/4, it forces your opponent to wast removal and buys you time. If your playing black and don't have a removal spell for this when your opponent gets it, its your fault for playing it.
How about you let it die, the opponent gets it then with a Hex Parasite you take off the counter he got, and kill it therefore getting it back with a +1/+1 counter?
vrywldr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Sundial of the Infinite in response to him entering the battlefield. duh. best card in avacyn restored
Kelptic183
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I just wish it had flying or trample or something. For just a beater, it gets hugely outclassed by quite a lot of cards, even if you ignore the drawback. I love the Torpor Orb idea, I just wish this guy was worth it.
Yes, there are many combos with this card. But none come even close to This + Endless Whispers. Use the Whispers' trigger to return him, and then his "drawback" forces your opponent to give him to you. Basically, he's a 4/3 that comes back for you every time he dies. That's not very fair.
WoWbolt17
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
turn two Treacherous pit-dweller and turn three predator's gambit and you've got a 6/4 for three total mana with intimidate
p.s. Skeletal grimace to keep it on your side
Cyleal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turn two, Throw him down. Turn 3 throw Unhallowed Pact on it from the same set? What order would it resolve in?
MetalViolin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Cyleal Unhallowed Pact wouldn't really work with him. Unhallowed Pact would just cause the pit-dweller to come back to play under your control when it dies, but pit-dwellers control-exchange ability will still trigger afterwords and you're opponent gets him.
Alex343
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
peel from reality
deadeye1387
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have to agree with Kelptic183, this guy's barely anything even without his drawback ability. And when you add the ability, well, let's just say I'm going to get my copy of this card traded.
The idea is to build a deck that is too fast to deal with. With Fiend Hunter topping out your mana-curve (for creatures) at 3 mana and its not even there for attacking, you're looking at two 2cmc 3/3 or 4/3 creatures and an unblockable creature Just pile in a bunch of other stuff that allows you to keep their board clear and eventually the deck should just be too fast to deal with.
I am of the firm belief that most cards are not completely worthless as they may appear and that cards like this which seem like too much work to utilize just require you to plan your deck a little differently. By building around the card's aggressive nature you utilize its biggest asset and plan for its draw back with cards that can double function (Conjurer's Closet to rebind your Neartheath Pilgrim to another creature, add in Disentomb to begin recovering your cheap beaters after a Divine Reckoning) such as Fiend Hunter to wrestle control back to your side of the board.
GraveOver
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's very good card if played properly 4/3 for 2 mana is not so much give him Skeletal Grimance for1B So you have 5/4 (for 1BBB) (you can gamble and wait with grimance(especially in early part of a game) for turn when he is sure to die) AND IF you're Mono dark AvR you probably have bone Splinters or Barter in Blood to kill him if he change side(undead for your sacrifices and its okay :D )
In Conclusion Use Him when you have cards and opportunity to destroy Him/block undead effect and if you got them you have bomb for an early game/suprise later
Best ways to prevent him from going to your opponent's side:
a) Topor Orb. Not bad since you'll probably have built your deck to abuse it anyway. b) Sacrifice him. Innistrad block had few sacrifice outlets at instant speed (Disciple of Griselbrand being the only one that comes to mind), but there's probably some way of sacrificing him. whatever format you play. And next, my favourite one... c) Play him in multiplayer. You can give it to whoever has the least chance of attacking you, or just use him as coin in multiplayer politics.
NickDay
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mark of the Oni is fun to put in a deck with this. That way, you'll always control a demon!
holyexemplar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is for Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter. You can sac this for four counters on Vish Kal, use those counters to kill a 4/4, then sac it again when it returns to the battlefield for five counters and kill a 5/5.
Remember, it's still under your control until the first ability resolves, so it works!
But remember Endless Whispers returns the creature to play "at end of turn" so this isn't an infinite combo, and looks something like this...
1st> Have endless whispers in play along with a sacrifice outlet and Treacherous Pit-Dweller 2nd> When TPD goes to the graveyard, the undying trigger goes on the stack and Endless Whispers creates a delayed triggered ability that will trigger at end of turn. 3rd> The undying trigger resolves and TPD comes back into play with +1/+1 counter, triggering TPD's other ability (the control changing part) and nullifying the first Endless Whispers delayed trigger since it can't track the card when it changes zones. 4th> Sacrifice TPD to your outlet before its ability resolves sending it to the graveyard, nullifying the undying ability on the stack, and Endless Whispers creates a delayed triggered ability (again). 5th> At end of turn the delayed trigger goes on the stack, resolves, your opponent gets TPD, and is forced to give it back.
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
EDIT: Alright, forget all that. Grafdigger's Cage is where it's at: keeping the Dweller out of trouble, being cast first turn, and hosing the crap out of half the standard metagame right now.
j_mindfingerpainter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Arachibutyophobia: Sure. But for 1 more mana, you get to make use of its undying. Also, it's nice for cards with undying or flashback and the like to still be useful, so you can run them with this.
EDIT: Alright, so it looks like the main suggestions not to let your opponents get it are by:
Gaining control of it once it dies (Namely Mark of Oni)
Sacrificing it in response to the triggered ability (Fling or an outlet)
Or my suggestion, not letting the ability trigger with Torpor Orb.
It looks like most people are looking to Grafdigger's Cage. I like the card and it's powerful, but that's a tricky deck to build. How many creatures benefit from the Cage? Arguably Dweller doesn't even benefit from it, because its Undying doesn't work. Yes it curves into this but you don't get Birthing Pod or Flashback either. Stifle isn't legal in many formats. It's not as overpowered if you use a token maker (and probably not the best choice for it anyway) and doesn't get a second life. You have to wait to use the {1} and you lose the rest your turn and you can't do it if it's not your turn with Sundial of the Infinite. You can't give it a counter in Standard mono-black, and it doesn't have a second life. Gaining control of it lets your opponent get a 2-for-1 by killing it, and Homeward Path is only legal in Commander. Sacrificing it doesn't let you keep it.
Torpor Orb washes Venser decks and some Birthing Pod ones, lets you get Undying and Flashback, and there are other high power/low cc creatures it works with. Like Vexing Devil. You only need one Torpor Orb to keep multiple Dwellers, it doesn't require any mana, it's legal in Standard, you can't get a 2-for-1 off of it, you don't need to worry about whose turn it is for it to come back, and you can do it in one color.
Smithjg84
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I fail to see how any sacrifice would work. When I look at the rules that trigger the ability, it appears that any instance where it is put into your graveyard from the battlefield would trigger undying.
700.6 Dies 700.6. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.” It is used only when referring to creatures.
701.14. Sacrifice 701.14a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a permanent he or she doesn’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.
702.91. Undying 702.91a Undying is a triggered ability. “Undying” means “When this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control with a +1/+1 counter on it.”
Any regenerate ability just prevents all damage dealt this turn. This seems like a really powerful card. However, I can not find a constant mechanic to work it into a demon aggro deck. Skeletal grimmace doesnt put a counter on it, just gives it +1/+1. Torper orb would be wicked if it where still standard. Which really only leaves with sticking a +1/+1 counter on it or exile it. It's too much of a double edged sword for me. We only play standard and strictly adhere to the rule book. (no room for grey areas) I am open for suggestions because this is a beast for BB.
snazzycool
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rest in Peace will make this a lot of fun in an Orzhov deck.
klauth
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
ReturnToRavnica's Scavenge mechanic would work, especially Slitherhead 's turrning it into a 2cmc 5/4 that won't come back to bite you
As was said, the scavenge ability from return to ravnica would work really well with him, but you could also use Necropolis Regent with this guy to make him really nuts. If you want to run him in a modern deck there's Torpor Orb or Sundial of the Infinite as an option to negate his ability.
EDIT: This guy has some fun synergy with Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. Since this guy is under your control for a brief moment, you can sacrifice him to Jarad's ability so instead of your opponent getting a 5/4 they can lose 5 life instead. Just something fun to do.
4/5
Oni_of_Darkness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Smithjg84: the sacrifice trick works because when the Pitt-Dweller undies he briefly comes back under your control and then is given over to the opponent's control because you are the owner of the card. So as long as you have an instant speed sac tool (such as the mentioned Fling) you have the ability to interrupt the Pitt-Dweller turning on you.
I personally love this card but i admit i'm usually to scared to play it unless i have a Fling or something in my hand.
RuecianXII
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Could you cast an instant exiling a card in your graveyard targeting this one before the undying brings it back?
Osprey_93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card, flavorfully and mechanically. It really shines in the right deck though i'm decidedly against the slitherhead strategy as you can have so much fun with this card in standard rakdos now between this, vexing devil, and fling.
Other shenanigans may be done with act of treason, brimstone volley, altar's reap...
BegleOne
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
After several honest attempts, I can state with confidence that this is the best card to play in Standard if your intention is to kill yourself.
"Here Mr. Opponent, take a 5/4 on turn three."
TheShadow344
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Simply awesome in suicide black. I run him alongside Carrion Feeder so that I can just sacrifice the Pit-Dweller in response to the 'gain control' trigger.
Bobth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Play it with Grim Affliction, or simply block with at least a 2/2 that has Wither/Infect, and you've set yourself up to get this card back. I like genuine drawbacks for black cards that you have to BUILD around, screw Rakdos, Lord of Riots, Phyrexian Obliterator, and their ilk. We want more of this and Abyssal Persecutor.
psychichobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mark of the Oni that fool! 'Why thanks for making that creature stronger for me.'
Curves into it too.
HallowedFury
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When I first saw this I thought you got it when it came BACK from the graveyard. Then I read this page and realised it might actually be playable. Damn.
Good late game as a finisher or with death's presence, hunger of the howlpack, cathar's crusade etc....
TowerDefender
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Bioshift sure it gives another of their creatures a +1 +1 counter, but you should get the Pit Dweller back again, but then they will get it again. See-saw! lol. Varolz, the Scar-Striped, but you risk a spectacular 2 for 1 if they kill off Varolz. 4 power for 2 mana... big big risk though.
MostlyLost
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
1. Have this guy out, and no other creatures on your side. 2. Mirrorweave targeting him. 3. Board wipe. 4. ???????? 5. PROFIT!
VampireChild85
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I find it funny that everyone's first reaction is to find a way too keep it / get it back / kill it when it changes control. Is it odd to play it because I want the opponent to get another creature?
There's so many cool cards that punish the opponent for getting, having and attacking with creatures :p
werdwood93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
turn one dark ritual into him and then add sadistic glee. you may want to practice a maniacal laugh before hand
Or you could just give him +1/+1 counters. Then he doesn't go to your opponent when he dies.
Just imagine, your opponent's board is almost empty, and you have some stuff and this on the field, and he's holding Go for the Throat. "Ok, in response, Hunger of the Howlpack." "..." *tableflip*
absreim
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Skavo
If your opponents have Shroud or Hexproof, then the creature will come back under your control.
Epic combo with Otherworldly Journey. Yeah... if you could just give that back... that would be great...
Tiger_II
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"You killed my 4/3 Treacherous Pit-Dweller with Go For The Throat! Damn man.. here ya go."
*Your turn*
"I cast Mark of the Oni on your 5/4 Treacherous Pit-Dweller ... Thanks!" *Hugs*
JailedWanderer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't understand all the hate. He's a 4/3 for two ! Without anyway to get around the drawback he's still good! Plus their are a million ways to get around the drawback, and not all of them are artifacts. Use with any kind of flicker ability or instant sack ability and boom- you get a four three with a small drawback. Not to mention this ability makes all of your opponents go out of their way to kill him, so they waste cards that are probably better used on something else.
Comments (76)
Oh, and this is an excellently designed card.
Yes, I know Treacherous Pit-Dweller doesn't have Haunt.
I like this card because it screams, "BREAK ME!" Although I like the Torpor Orb and Sundial of the Infinite suggestions, overall I don't think it's as breakable as Hunted Horror (also breakable with the Orb or the Sundial, among many other things). Granted, Hunted Horror isn't legal in Standard/Type-II.
There's also the Stifle/Trickbind/Voidslime route. Might be fun in a casual
OR Flayer of the Hatebound, and when Treacherous Pit-Dweller comes back, have it nuke itself.
OR Mimic Vat, so you can exile it when it dies and then make problemless token versions.
OR numerous other things.
Me likey.
@Skavo - as the ability would have no legal targets, the ability is countered and you'd get to keep it.
I hate how the "rare" demons often scream card tempo disadvantage.
Brand
Cool people use Mark of the Oni. You've probably never heard of it.
Peel from Reality is another interesting option for when he dies, especially since you'll likely have the mana to recast him. It even works if you have to cast it after he's switched sides, since at least you get 2 creatures back to your hand.
Giving someone a 5/4 is a great way to make an ally, and people will be less likely to kill it the first time if it means wasting a kill spell just to deal with a stronger creature in a different board position.
This is the blackest card in the set.
Also, Altar's Reap.
p.s. Skeletal grimace to keep it on your side
Unhallowed Pact wouldn't really work with him. Unhallowed Pact would just cause the pit-dweller to come back to play under your control when it dies, but pit-dwellers control-exchange ability will still trigger afterwords and you're opponent gets him.
Turn 2: Forest, this, Hunger of the Howlpack
Tormented Soul
Nearheath Pilgrim
Cloistered Youth
This
Fiend Hunter
Soulbind Tormented Soul w/ Nearheath Pilgrim to pay for Cloistered Youth's upkeep. As for the Treacherous Pit-Dweller, just hold the Fiend Hunters for when they take the Pit-Dweller. Then Cloudshift the Fiend Hunter which causes the Pit-Dweller to come back under your (it's owner) control and then just have the Fiend Hunter target a different creature of your opponent's. Conjurer's Closet would allow you to keep up the combo once you run out of Cloudshift which doubles to help avoid removal. Things like Rebuke help to clear your path. Throw in Divine Reckoning and keep the Pit-Dweller around to continue the pressure.
The idea is to build a deck that is too fast to deal with. With Fiend Hunter topping out your mana-curve (for creatures) at 3 mana and its not even there for attacking, you're looking at two 2cmc 3/3 or 4/3 creatures and an unblockable creature Just pile in a bunch of other stuff that allows you to keep their board clear and eventually the deck should just be too fast to deal with.
I am of the firm belief that most cards are not completely worthless as they may appear and that cards like this which seem like too much work to utilize just require you to plan your deck a little differently. By building around the card's aggressive nature you utilize its biggest asset and plan for its draw back with cards that can double function (Conjurer's Closet to rebind your Neartheath Pilgrim to another creature, add in Disentomb to begin recovering your cheap beaters after a Divine Reckoning) such as Fiend Hunter to wrestle control back to your side of the board.
AND IF you're Mono dark AvR you probably have bone Splinters or Barter in Blood to kill him if he change side(undead for your sacrifices and its okay :D )
In Conclusion Use Him when you have cards and opportunity to destroy Him/block undead effect and if you got them you have bomb for an early game/suprise later
a) Topor Orb. Not bad since you'll probably have built your deck to abuse it anyway.
b) Sacrifice him. Innistrad block had few sacrifice outlets at instant speed (Disciple of Griselbrand being the only one that comes to mind), but there's probably some way of sacrificing him. whatever format you play. And next, my favourite one...
c) Play him in multiplayer. You can give it to whoever has the least chance of attacking you, or just use him as coin in multiplayer politics.
Remember, it's still under your control until the first ability resolves, so it works!
Endless Whispers is great for a creature that you can sacrifice a few times every turn to things like Goblin Bombardment, Viscera Seer, or Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter.
But remember Endless Whispers returns the creature to play "at end of turn" so this isn't an infinite combo, and looks something like this...
1st> Have endless whispers in play along with a sacrifice outlet and Treacherous Pit-Dweller
2nd> When TPD goes to the graveyard, the undying trigger goes on the stack and Endless Whispers creates a delayed triggered ability that will trigger at end of turn.
3rd> The undying trigger resolves and TPD comes back into play with +1/+1 counter, triggering TPD's other ability (the control changing part) and nullifying the first Endless Whispers delayed trigger since it can't track the card when it changes zones.
4th> Sacrifice TPD to your outlet before its ability resolves sending it to the graveyard, nullifying the undying ability on the stack, and Endless Whispers creates a delayed triggered ability (again).
5th> At end of turn the delayed trigger goes on the stack, resolves, your opponent gets TPD, and is forced to give it back.
EDIT: Alright, so it looks like the main suggestions not to let your opponents get it are by:
Not letting it return from the graveyard (Grafdigger's Cage)
Countering the activated ability (Stifle etc)
Making a token army with it (Mimic Vat or Soul Foundry)
Ending the turn (Sundial of the Infinite)
Giving it a +1/+1 counter
Gaining control of it once it dies (Namely Mark of Oni)
Sacrificing it in response to the triggered ability (Fling or an outlet)
Or my suggestion, not letting the ability trigger with Torpor Orb.
It looks like most people are looking to Grafdigger's Cage. I like the card and it's powerful, but that's a tricky deck to build. How many creatures benefit from the Cage? Arguably Dweller doesn't even benefit from it, because its Undying doesn't work. Yes it curves into this but you don't get Birthing Pod or Flashback either. Stifle isn't legal in many formats. It's not as overpowered if you use a token maker (and probably not the best choice for it anyway) and doesn't get a second life. You have to wait to use the {1} and you lose the rest your turn and you can't do it if it's not your turn with Sundial of the Infinite. You can't give it a counter in Standard mono-black, and it doesn't have a second life. Gaining control of it lets your opponent get a 2-for-1 by killing it, and Homeward Path is only legal in Commander. Sacrificing it doesn't let you keep it.
Torpor Orb washes Venser decks and some Birthing Pod ones, lets you get Undying and Flashback, and there are other high power/low cc creatures it works with. Like Vexing Devil. You only need one Torpor Orb to keep multiple Dwellers, it doesn't require any mana, it's legal in Standard, you can't get a 2-for-1 off of it, you don't need to worry about whose turn it is for it to come back, and you can do it in one color.
700.6 Dies
700.6. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.” It is used only when referring
to creatures.
701.14. Sacrifice
701.14a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s
graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a
permanent he or she doesn’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration
or other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.
702.91. Undying
702.91a Undying is a triggered ability. “Undying” means “When this permanent is put into a
graveyard from the battlefield, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under
its owner’s control with a +1/+1 counter on it.”
Any regenerate ability just prevents all damage dealt this turn. This seems like a really powerful card. However, I can not find a constant mechanic to work it into a demon aggro deck. Skeletal grimmace doesnt put a counter on it, just gives it +1/+1. Torper orb would be wicked if it where still standard. Which really only leaves with sticking a +1/+1 counter on it or exile it. It's too much of a double edged sword for me. We only play standard and strictly adhere to the rule book. (no room for grey areas) I am open for suggestions because this is a beast for BB.
EDIT: This guy has some fun synergy with Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. Since this guy is under your control for a brief moment, you can sacrifice him to Jarad's ability so instead of your opponent getting a 5/4 they can lose 5 life instead. Just something fun to do.
4/5
I personally love this card but i admit i'm usually to scared to play it unless i have a Fling or something in my hand.
Other shenanigans may be done with act of treason, brimstone volley, altar's reap...
"Here Mr. Opponent, take a 5/4 on turn three."
'Why thanks for making that creature stronger for me.'
Curves into it too.
2. Mirrorweave targeting him.
3. Board wipe.
4. ????????
5. PROFIT!
There's so many cool cards that punish the opponent for getting, having and attacking with creatures :p
'Nuff said.
Just imagine, your opponent's board is almost empty, and you have some stuff and this on the field, and he's holding Go for the Throat.
"Ok, in response, Hunger of the Howlpack."
"..."
*tableflip*
If your opponents have Shroud or Hexproof, then the creature will come back under your control.
I see can see this card as sideboard tech against Leyline of Sanctity, Grafdigger's Cage, or Rest in Peace, among others.
Yeah... if you could just give that back... that would be great...
*Your turn*
"I cast Mark of the Oni on your 5/4 Treacherous Pit-Dweller ... Thanks!" *Hugs*
You can also use Graft. I use a mix of Planar Void, Relic of Progenitus, and Mark of the Oni to keep him from beating me to death.