Challenger Troll MTG Card


Challenger Troll can overshadow opponents’ resources, granting card advantage and a stronger board presence. Its ability to hasten your gameplay can apply pressure and tip the scales in your favor early on. Despite its sorcery speed, it can disrupt enemy blocks, behaving akin to instant speed advantages.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Troll
Power 6
Toughness 5

Text of card

Each creature you control with power 4 or greater can't be blocked by more than one creature.

For most, war is a calamity. For some, an opportunity. And for the very few, a pleasure.


Cards like Challenger Troll

Challenger Troll offers a unique presence on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. It can be compared to other green creatures that emphasize strength in creature-based strategies. Surrak, the Hunt Caller comes to mind, granting creatures haste if your creatures have total power 8 or greater. While Surrak boosts the speed of your creatures, Challenger Troll focuses on enhancing their combat prowess, ensuring that your larger creatures can only be blocked by one creature each turn.

Another similar card is Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma, which reduces the cost of creature spells with power 4 or greater and gives them trample. While Goreclaw aids in the casting and offensive power of large creatures, Challenger Troll specifically protects them in combat, shaping how your adversaries can block. Lovestruck Beast is also a contender, with a sizable body that is conditional on controlling a 1/1 creature. The resilience of Challenger Troll in facilitating formidable attacks makes it an appealing choice for green deck players focused on creature-based dominance.

By evaluating these comparisons, it’s clear that Challenger Troll is an asset for any MTG player looking to build around a strategy that leverages substantial creatures and places an emphasis on robust combat tactics.

Surrak, the Hunt Caller - MTG Card versions
Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma - MTG Card versions
Surrak, the Hunt Caller - MTG Card versions
Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Challenger Troll by color, type and mana cost

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Thicket Basilisk - MTG Card versions
Cockatrice - MTG Card versions
Ironroot Treefolk - MTG Card versions
Elvish Bard - MTG Card versions
Durkwood Boars - MTG Card versions
Elven Riders - MTG Card versions
Redwood Treefolk - MTG Card versions
Spined Wurm - MTG Card versions
Rabid Wolverines - MTG Card versions
Deadly Insect - MTG Card versions
Vintara Elephant - MTG Card versions
Spring-Leaf Avenger - MTG Card versions
Okina Nightwatch - MTG Card versions
Primeval Force - MTG Card versions
Spitting Spider - MTG Card versions
Copperhoof Vorrac - MTG Card versions
Tel-Jilad Lifebreather - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Behemoth - MTG Card versions
Bramble Elemental - MTG Card versions
Indrik Stomphowler - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Challenger Troll provides an edge in card efficiency by requiring your opponents to use multiple resources to deal with it. Its substantial presence on the battlefield can outpace the card investments of an opponent, potentially leading to gaining an upper hand in card economy.

Resource Acceleration: With the capacity to expedite your board presence, Challenger Troll encourages a strategy that accelerates the deployment of your other creatures. Its influence enables you to pressure your opponent quicker and could lead to a more dominant position earlier in the match.

Instant Speed: Although Challenger Troll operates at sorcery speed, its effect on combat allows your instants and abilities to be more potent by disrupting your opponent’s blocking strategies. This sudden swing in battlefield control can function similarly to instant speed interactions, offering tactical advantages during the combat phase.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of the Challenger Troll card is that it necessitates the player to discard another creature card, which can deplete your hand and leave you with fewer options as the game progresses.

Specific Mana Cost: The specific mana cost of Challenger Troll requires both green and generic mana, potentially limiting its inclusion to decks that can reliably produce both types of mana, particularly in multi-colored deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is on the higher side compared to other creatures with similar abilities, Challenger Troll might not always be the most mana-efficient play. Other creatures or spells could potentially provide more impact on the game board for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Challenger Troll shines in decks that capitalize on its unique ability to enhance other creatures. With its solid stat line, it can be a formidable presence on its own, but its real value lies in supporting fellow creatures with power 2 or less, allowing them to evade blockers with ease.

Combo Potential: This card can be the linchpin in combos that revolve around small, evasive creatures. It can significantly increase the potency of swarm strategies, enabling a horde of unblockable attackers to overwhelm opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta filled with decks that rely on larger creatures to control the board, Challenger Troll provides an edge by allowing your smaller creatures to slip through undeterred, thus turning the tables on those strategies. Its role in helping underrepresented strategies gain a foothold cannot be overstated.


How to beat

Challenger Troll brings a unique dynamic to the battlefield with its capacity to empower other creatures. This card ensures your smaller creatures with power 2 or less can’t be blocked by more than one creature. This buff is quite significant, but let’s delve into strategies to outmaneuver this formidable troll.

For starters, removal spells are your best friends. Engage cards like Murder or Cast Down to directly eliminate the threat. Another effective method lies in crowd control—playing cards that force the opponent to sacrifice a creature, like Plaguecrafter, will make it difficult for a Challenger Troll to maintain its presence on the board.

Finally, an often-overlooked tactic is to bypass conflict altogether. By opting for flying creatures or spells that tap opponents’ creatures, you diminish the Troll’s influence in combat. This way, you can continue to chip away at your opponent’s lifepoints or secure your defenses without engaging the Challenger Troll directly.

In essence, several strategies can mitigate the dominance of Challenger Troll in a game, from direct removal to subtle avoidance tactics, ensuring you maintain the upper hand.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Challenger Troll MTG card by a specific set like War of the Spark and Jumpstart 2022, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Challenger Troll and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Challenger Troll Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2019-05-03 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by Svetlin Velinov.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 1572015NormalBlackSvetlin Velinov
22022-12-02Jumpstart 2022J22 6392015NormalBlackSvetlin Velinov
32024-02-23Ravnica: Clue EditionCLU 1592015NormalBlackSvetlin Velinov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Challenger Troll has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Challenger Troll card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2019-05-03 Challenger Troll’s ability affects itself as long as its power remains 4 or greater.
2019-05-03 If a creature you control with power 4 or greater has menace, it can’t be blocked by only one creature and it can’t be blocked by more than one creature, so it simply can’t be blocked.
2019-05-03 Once a creature you control with power 3 or less has become blocked by two or more creatures, changing its power won’t cause either blocking creature to stop blocking it.