Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup MTG Card


Boosts board strength through creature enhancement and additional tokens offering continued card advantage. Encourages strategic gameplay using mana efficiently for optimal skill expression and timing. Limited by specific mana costs, impacting its adaptability in multi-color decks and overall mana efficiency.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Werewolf
Abilities Daybound,Trample
Power 3
Toughness 3

Text of card

Trample : Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Daybound (If a player casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)


Cards like Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup

Hound Tamer stands out in the array of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with other creature-based utility cards like Pack Leader. Both Hound Tamer and Pack Leader bolster fellow canines on the battlefield, with Pack Leader offering an anthem effect that gives other Dogs +1/+1. Hound Tamer, while also enhancing fellow creatures, provides further flexibility through its transform ability, becoming Untamed Pup with the potential for indefinite growth.

Another parallel can be drawn with Mayor of Avabruck. This card exhibits the werewolf-transforming ability similar to Hound Tamer while providing an overall power increase to other werewolf and human creatures. Unlike Hound Tamer, Mayor of Avabruck doesn’t offer the individual creature enhancement through +1/+1 counters, but it compensates with a token-generating ability in its transformed state. Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is another card that could be compared. While Tolsimir doesn’t transform or provide ongoing buffs, it does create Wolf tokens and brings immediate life gain and removal utility to the game.

Each card offers unique benefits, but Hound Tamer’s versatility in both buffing and becoming a formidable creature itself gives it a distinct and valuable role in creature-centric decks in Magic: The Gathering.

Pack Leader - MTG Card versions
Mayor of Avabruck - MTG Card versions
Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves - MTG Card versions
Pack Leader - MTG Card versions
Mayor of Avabruck - MTG Card versions
Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves - MTG Card versions

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Taoist Mystic - MTG Card versions
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Lydari Druid - MTG Card versions
Steel Leaf Champion - MTG Card versions
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Topiary Stomper - MTG Card versions
Territorial Scythecat - MTG Card versions
Wirewood Savage - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hound Tamer adeptly balances board presence with card utility. As it evolves into Untamed Pup due to its transform ability, it offers versatility through additional creature tokens, ensuring a continued card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to increase the power of other creatures contributes to a form of resource acceleration, effectively making your existing creatures more threatening without the need for further card investment.

Instant Speed: Though Hound Tamer itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it can still benefit from open mana. This encourages strategic play, holding back resources to activate its abilities at the most opportune moments, similar to the principles that govern instant speed interactions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hound Tamer doesn’t directly have a discard mechanic, it’s crucial to consider the role it plays in a deck that may require you to discard as part of your strategy. Cards requiring discard can force you to make tough decisions about resource management if Hound Tamer is part of a larger combo needing specific cards in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Hound Tamer comes with a specific mana investment, needing both generic and green mana to cast. This demand might restrict the card’s integration in multi-color decks where its mana needs compete with other pivotal spells or color commitments.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Clocking in at three mana for a 3/3 creature, Hound Tamer can be considered mana-intensive when compared with other creatures with additional or more impactful abilities at the same cost. This can deter players from including it in decks where mana efficiency is key to victory.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hound Tamer is a utility creature that can enhance a wide array of green decks due to its adaptability. With its ability to boost itself and other creatures, it’s great for aggressive strategies as well as bolstering your defensive lines.

Combo Potential: As a card with transform capabilities, Hound Tamer can seamlessly integrate into strategies focusing on +1/+1 counters. It also opens up potential for synergies with werewolf or transforming creatures, amplifying the power across your board.

Meta-Relevance: Given that creature-based strategies frequently appear in game formats, Hound Tamer’s utility as both an enhancer and a standalone threat makes it a smart addition to decks looking to remain competitive. Especially as it aligns well against decks with fewer creature removals.


How to beat

Hound Tamer is a versatile card that presents a challenge in Magic: The Gathering duels, thanks to its werewolf transformation abilities that bolster not just itself, but other creatures as well. Its inherent trample ability, combined with its potential to buff creatures, can turn the tide in your opponent’s favor if left unchecked.

To effectively counter Hound Tamer, creature removal spells are a player’s best bet. Instant-speed spells like Murder or Doom Blade can take care of Hound Tamer before it becomes uncontrollable. For those running red, using direct damage spells such as Lightning Bolt or Shock can be sufficient to dispatch the Tamer before it’s able to utilize its +1/+1 counter ability. Additionally, enchantment-based cards that prevent activated abilities, such as Suppression Bonds or Pacifism, can neutralize Hound Tamer’s impact on the game.

Considering the transformable nature of Hound Tamer, managing the flow of spells each turn becomes crucial. By ensuring that two or more spells are played during your turn, you can prevent the Tamer from transforming into its more powerful werewolf form. Coordinating spell casting to maintain control of the board state remains a key strategy in keeping Hound Tamer from dominating the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Unlocking the potential of the Hound Tamer card is essential for MTG players looking to add a versatile threat to their green decks. With a strategic understanding of its transform ability and judicious use of mana, Hound Tamer can be the key to gaining board advantage. Remember to consider its place within your deck, balancing mana requirements against your deck’s broader strategy. For those aiming to refine their tactics, delve deeper with us into the world of MTG. Exploring synergies, evaluating meta shifts, and optimizing decks can elevate your play. Join our community, harness the power of Hound Tamer, and thrive in the ever-evolving meta of MTG.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, 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 Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 3022015TransformBlackCabrol
22021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 1872015TransformBlackRandy Vargas
32022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 1872015TransformBlackRandy Vargas

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hound Tamer // Untamed Pup has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-09-24 Before a player untaps their permanents during the untap step, the game checks to see if the day/night designation should change.
2021-09-24 Day and night are designations that the game itself can have. The game starts as neither. Once the game becomes day (or less commonly, night), the game will be exactly one of them—day or night—going back and forth for the rest of the game.
2021-09-24 Double-faced permanents with daybound transform to their nightbound faces as it becomes night. Similarly, double-faced permanents with nightbound transform to their daybound faces as it becomes day. This happens immediately and is not a state-based action. It happens any time it becomes day or night, not just during the untap step.
2021-09-24 For more information about Day and Night and the Daybound and Nightbound abilities, please see the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Mechanics atricle (https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/innistrad-midnight-hunt-mechanics-2021-09-02).
2021-09-24 If it is day, and the active player of the previous turn cast no spells during their turn, it becomes night.
2021-09-24 If it is night, and the active player of the previous turn cast two or more spells during their turn, it becomes day.
2021-09-24 If it is night, permanents with daybound that enter the battlefield without being cast will enter with their nightbound faces up.
2021-09-24 If it's neither day nor night, and a creature with daybound and a creature with nightbound somehow appear on the battlefield at the same time, it becomes day. The creature with nightbound will transform.
2021-09-24 If you cast a spell with daybound during night, that spell will be front face up (that is, daybound face up) on the stack. However, it will enter the battlefield with its back face up (that is, with its nightbound face up). It won't enter with its daybound face up and then transform.
2021-09-24 Permanents with daybound and nightbound can't transform via any means other than their daybound and nightbound abilities. Notably, older cards such as Moonmist that instruct a player to transform permanents don't affect permanents with daybound or nightbound.