GingerbruteHow it works & interactions with other cards

A Multi-Purpose Snack

Gingerbrute is an artifact creature with three distinct parts. First, it has Haste, allowing it to attack immediately. Second, it has an evasion ability that makes it difficult to block. Third, because it has the 'Food' subtype, it can be sacrificed to gain 3 life. Note that 'Food' is an artifact type, not a creature type, even though it appears on the type line of this Golem.

The Path to Unblockable Status

To ensure Gingerbrute gets past your opponent's defenses, you must activate its middle ability for one mana. This must be done during the Beginning of Combat step or the Declare Attackers step. Once the ability resolves, only creatures with Haste can be declared as blockers for Gingerbrute for the rest of the turn.

Timing and Sacrificing

A common mistake is trying to activate the 'can't be blocked' ability after a creature has already been declared as a blocker. If Gingerbrute is already blocked by a creature without haste, activating the ability won't remove that blocker. Additionally, if you sacrifice Gingerbrute to gain life, it is gone; you cannot sacrifice it to pay for two different costs, such as its own life-gain ability and another card's sacrifice requirement simultaneously.

When to Serve

Play Gingerbrute early to chip away at your opponent's life total while they lack Haste creatures to block it. In the late game, it serves as a reliable way to trigger 'leaves the battlefield' effects or to provide a crucial 3-life boost to survive an enemy's final swing.

Interaction examples

The Cookie Army

Ginger, Queen of Sweets

If you control Ginger, Queen of Sweets and are the monarch, you will create a Gingerbrute token at every upkeep. These tokens have the exact same abilities as the original card, allowing you to create a repetitive, unblockable army that can also be sacrificed for life if Ginger herself is in danger.

Taking to the Skies

Ornithopter of Paradise

If your opponent controls Ornithopter of Paradise, it has Flying but not Haste. If you spend one mana to activate Gingerbrute's ability, the Ornithopter cannot block it. Flying only stops creatures without flying or reach; it does not grant the Haste required to catch this cookie!

Ping and Run

Walking Ballista

If an opponent has a Walking Ballista, they might try to block your Gingerbrute. If the Ballista was played on a previous turn (and thus no longer has 'Summoning Sickness' but lacks the Haste keyword), it cannot block Gingerbrute once the evasion ability is active. However, the Ballista can still use its ability to remove a counter and deal 1 damage to destroy Gingerbrute before combat damage is dealt.