I can't be the only one who remembers
Battlegrowth from the first Mirrodin block, can
I? That card was a decent trick in Limited, but
not worth talking about anywhere else, as one
+1/+1 counter just wasn't significant enough in
a set that gave us Affinity.dec. I have higher
hopes for Hunger of the Howlpack, and not just
because there's no Affinity cards in Standard.
(Though Blasphemous Act has a functional
"affinity for creatures") One +1/+1 counter may
not seem like much, but infect and proliferate
are still in Standard. This card can heal the
wounds dealt by a Plague Stinger before the
proliferate kills the creature. Or you can
proliferate yourself and add more +1/+1
counters. This card also has an intriguing
interaction with Undying. If your opponent's
Undying creature is about to "die", you can use
this in response to ensure it doesn't come back,
making it akin to a kill spell in a roundabout
way.
And we haven't even taken its Morbid trigger
into account! Giant Growth was always on the
cusp of playability in Standard-- never quite
exciting enough, never quite finding the deck
that could make it shine. If a creature has died
this turn, Hunger of the Howlpack has the same
potency as a ERMANENT Giant Growth. If your own
undying creature has died this turn, it already
has a +1/+1 counter on it, so why not add three
more? Dark Ascension has plenty of ways to
sacrifice a creature-- use any of them precombat
or as a combat trick in conjunction with this
for a potentially devastating rout!
Considering this card's concept, shouldn't
the creature get the three +1/+1 counters when
it itself kills something? Regardless, one mana
for a permanent boost to a creature already
seems decent, especially in conjunction with
effects like proliferate and Ghave, Guru of
Spores (Dark Ascension is definitely going to be
his favorite expansion). Conditionally getting
an even bigger, still permanent boost makes this
card well worth considering, in almost any
gameplay setting. A lot of settings right now
have so much combat going on, and so many ways
to cheaply make creatures die, that said
condition is arguably very easy to meet. The
only thing going against it right now might be
saturation, as sometimes happens with effects of
this type: for example, Mutagenic Growth has
versatility on its side, and things like the
aggro-combo-style infect decks that use a lot of
similar cards don't usually care as much about
killing things or about recovering fast. Still,
Hunger of the Howlpack has the potential to be
devastating in the right context and with the
right support.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
Hunger of The Howlpack an interesting morbid
card that sadly screams limited filled. The
ability to pump a creature permanently is
powerful and this being an instant speed is
nice. In standard I don’t foresee this card
seeing much play it is just limited fodder and
doesn’t do enough to justify its inclusion in 60
card decks. In extended and eternal formats it
is severely outclassed to the point I don’t
believe you should ever consider running it in
these formats. In casual and multiplayer a
permanent boost on one of your creatures can be
valuable but the morbid trigger while easy to
achieve is not guaranteed making this is poor
addition to casual and multiplayer. This card
doesn’t pack enough of a punch making it a waste
of a slot in your deck even if it has a morbid
theme. In limited this card is solid not an
early pick by any means but a real solid card
that could possibly be a combat trick or just a
pump style spell, solid and unexciting. Overall
this card is pretty bad only having relevancy in
limited otherwise stay away and it’s not worth
the space in your decks.
Today's card of the day is Hunger of the
Howlpack which is a one mana Green instant that
puts a +1/+1 counter on target creature or three
if a creature died during that turn. This
is an excellent card that is better than Giant
Growth if Morbid is triggered and if necessary
can still be playable as a +1/+1.
Creatures with Hexproof, evasion, or Double
Strike are a great target for this, but the deck
should probably be two colors as Green is
generally lacking in both sacrifice and removal.
For Limited this is a common that should be
drafted early and often as it should be a
game-changing play nearly every time it is used.
Even without removal or noteworthy creatures as
support it will make an impact and is worth
splashing when Green is not your strongest pool.
Welcome to Pojo.com’s card fo the day section.
The Dark Ascension card of the day is Hunger of
the Howlpack. Hunger of the Howlpack is a common
green instant that costs one green mana. Hunger
of the Howlpack puts a +1/+1 counter on target
creature. If a creature died this turn it puts
three +1/+1 counters on it instead.
For one green mana Hunger of the Howlpack is not
a bad card at all. It could easily be used in
ways that will get the three counters, and even
if not, a +1/+1 counter could be a big
difference maker, and all for only one mana.
The thing that may be overlooked is how well it
can act as a stopper. The fact that there are a
lot of creatures with Undying in Dark Ascension
means that this could stop them from coming back
if used properly. I know that will likely be a
main function for me to use it going into this
weekend’s prerelease. Stopping the Undying.
How will you use your Hunger of the Howlpack
this weekend at your local Prerelease?
