Fierce Empath MTG Card


Fierce Empath excels at fetching late-game threats directly to your hand, enhancing your strategic plays. Its specificity in mana cost and creature tutoring can shape deck building and in-game tactics. The Empath’s utility allows for adaptable plays, making it a worthwhile addition to green-themed decks.
Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Elf
Power 1
Toughness 1

Text of card

When Fierce Empath comes into play, you may search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost 6 or more, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.


Cards like Fierce Empath

Fierce Empath, a utility creature in Magic: The Gathering, holds a unique spot among creature tutor cards. Players often compare it to Woodland Bellower, another tutor creature with slightly different utility. While Woodland Bellower restricts its search to nonlegendary creatures with mana value 3 or less, Fierce Empath specifically searches for a creature card with mana value 6 or greater. This key difference means Fierce Empath is an excellent choice for fetching high-cost, game-swinging creatures directly into your hand.

Another card offering a semblance of similarity is Evolutionary Leap, which, although not a creature, provides a continual creature search mechanism. Where Fierce Empath shines once with a direct search, Evolutionary Leap offers repeated, albeit random, creature selection at the expense of sacrificing a creature. Fierce Empath ensures a targeted approach to enhance your strategy, as opposed to the chance-based outcomes with Evolutionary Leap.

Considering utility and impact on the game, Fierce Empath is a standout tutor that enables big creature strategies, serving as a facilitator for powerhouses that can dominate the battlefield. While there are other tutors within the game, the empath’s specific searching criteria offer a distinct and powerful advantage in creature-based decks.

Woodland Bellower - MTG Card versions
Evolutionary Leap - MTG Card versions
Woodland Bellower - MTG Card versions
Evolutionary Leap - MTG Card versions

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Sabertooth Cobra - MTG Card versions
Quirion Druid - MTG Card versions
Uktabi Orangutan - MTG Card versions
Spike Feeder - MTG Card versions
Hungry Hungry Heifer - MTG Card versions
Titania's Chosen - MTG Card versions
Taoist Mystic - MTG Card versions
Femeref Archers - MTG Card versions
Verduran Enchantress - MTG Card versions
Fyndhorn Elder - MTG Card versions
Lydari Druid - MTG Card versions
Steel Leaf Champion - MTG Card versions
Realmwalker - MTG Card versions
Topiary Stomper - MTG Card versions
Territorial Scythecat - MTG Card versions
Wirewood Savage - MTG Card versions
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Decks using this card

MTG decks using Fierce Empath. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Temur PonzaTemur Ponza PauperTemur PonzaDutch Pauper League - 2nd Leg
Gruul ComboGruul Combo GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League
Four-color LandsFour-color Lands GladiatorGladiator Proving Grounds: Week 14 2024
Jund ComboJund Combo GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 12 2024
Rogue DecklistsRogue Decklists LegacyEternal Challenge 23
Gruul RampGruul Ramp GladiatorGladiator Games: We're Back
Temur ComboTemur Combo GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 06 2024
Mono-Green RampMono-Green Ramp GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League
DecklistDecklist Free formWeekday Night Magic
Mono Green TitanMono Green Titan Mono Green TitanTimeless Open Entry Event #001

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Fierce Empath specializes in searching your library for a creature card with mana value 6 or greater, putting it into your hand. This built-in tutor effect ensures you access to your heavy-hitters, effectively expanding your hand and tipping the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: By ensuring that you can fetch a high-value creature from your deck, Fierce Empath acts as a bridge to your late-game threats, bypassing the need to naturally draw into them. This accelerates your resources by connecting you directly with your game-changing creatures.

Instant Speed: While Fierce Empath itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the creatures it can search out could, in some cases, have flash. This means you can set up for a surprise deployment of a large creature during your opponent’s turn, thus keeping them on their back foot and guessing at your next move.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Fierce Empath itself does not require you to discard, using its ability to fetch high-cost creatures might force you to discard later if you’re unable to play them quickly due to hand size limits.

Specific Mana Cost: Fierce Empath demands a specific color combination of one green plus two generic mana, potentially making it less flexible for decks that run on a tight mana curve or have a more restricted mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although its converted mana cost is three, in a fast-paced game, having Fierce Empath might be less impactful when compared to lower cost creatures with immediate board presence or abilities that can be used the turn they are played.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Fierce Empath can seamlessly adapt to a variety of green-centric decks, particularly those aiming to bring substantial creatures onto the battlefield quickly and efficiently.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with high-impact creatures, allowing players to assemble powerful creature-based combinations with ease.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to search for essential creatures that can turn the tide of the game, Fierce Empath remains relevant, especially in meta-games favoring ramp or creature-centric strategies.


How to beat

Fierce Empath is an intriguing creature card that some players may find challenging to overcome in Magic: The Gathering. What makes Fierce Empath formidable is its ability to search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost (CMC) 6 or greater upon entering the battlefield, ensuring that a high-impact creature is always within reach.

To counter this card effectively, it’s crucial to implement strategies that limit its search ability or negate the value of the fetched creature. Using removal spells or counterspells before the Empath’s ability resolves can disrupt the opponent’s game plan. Graveyard hate cards can also be useful as they can prevent the retrieval and immediate use of creatures from the graveyard after they are discarded or destroyed. Instant-speed removal can deal with both the creature brought into play through the Empath’s ability and with the Empath itself. Restricting your opponent’s mana base or access to certain colors through land destruction or color hose cards can also provide a strategic advantage, hampering their capability to cast the threats secured by the Fierce Empath.

Defeating a card like Fierce Empath requires a mixture of timing, disruption, and understanding the potential threats in the opponent’s deck to anticipate the most effective counters.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the strategic depth that Fierce Empath brings to the table is essential for MTG enthusiasts keen on optimizing their deck’s potential. It’s not just a matter of knowing the card but leveraging its advantages to outpace and outsmart your opponents. Whether you’re crafting a deck around robust late-game titans or seeking to bolster your deck’s consistency with reliable creature searches, this card offers a fascinating angle to explore. Dive deeper into your MTG journey by incorporating Fierce Empath strategically. Tap into a wellspring of tactical guidance and insights that will sharpen your deck-building skills and gameplay. For more on harnessing the full potential of your deck with cards like Fierce Empath, join us to enrich your MTG experience.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Fierce Empath MTG card by a specific set like Scourge and Archenemy, 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 Fierce Empath and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Fierce Empath Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2003-05-26 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12003-05-26ScourgeSCG 1191997NormalBlackAlan Pollack
22010-06-18ArchenemyARC 552003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
32011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 1552003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
42018-03-16Masters 25A25 1712015NormalBlackJohann Bodin
52019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 12122015NormalBlackJohann Bodin
62020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 1812015NormalBlackJohann Bodin
72020-08-07Double Masters2XM 1682015NormalBlackJohann Bodin
82020-09-26The ListPLST DDU-102015NormalBlackJohann Bodin
92023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 2882015NormalBlackJohann Bodin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Fierce Empath has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2020-08-07 If a card in a player's library has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.