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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!


Image from Wizards.com

Hunger of the Howlpack
Dark Ascension

Reviewed January 25, 2012

Constructed: 3.00
Casual: 3.33
Limited: 3.55
Multiplayer: 2.80

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Hunger of the Howlpack

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!

Constructed- 3.5
Casual- 4
Limited- 4
Multiplayer- 3.75


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Hunger of the Howlpack

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.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5


Paul

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.
 
Constructed: 1.0
Casual: 1.0
Limited: 2.0
Multiplayer: 1.0

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

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.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5.0
Multiplayer: 4.5

John
Shultis
Phoenix
Gaming

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?

Limited: 3/5
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Multiplayer: 2/5


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