Hello Everybody and Happy Friday! It is time once again for everyone’s (okay, maybe just my) favorite weekly article – Fan Favorite Friday! This week I’ve been helping Dane with his Eight Rat deck tech (which you should definitely check out) and have had rats on the brain, so I decided to pit Pack Rat against Monastery Mentor, which is another one of my favorite token makers. Pack Rat and I go way back, so you can imagine how nervous I was watching the vote go back and forth this week! However, in the end, my favorite lil’ rat was victorious! Before we dig into how awesome I think this card is, we can’t forget about the winner from last week’s FFF!
Jake Scholl, the random number generator has spoken and declared you the winner of the Rabblemasters! Congratulations! Let us know if we need to ship them, and if not they’ll be waiting for you here at the shop.
Now, it wouldn’t be a Fan Favorite Friday without us giving ya’ll a chance to win a little somethin’ somethin’ so this week you get a chance to win a foil Pack Rat and three Non-foils to keep it company! All you have to do is:
- Like the ABU Games Facebook Page
- Like the post announcing the giveaway
- Comment on said post telling us what you love most about Pack Rat!
Now, that’s enough of that, let’s talk Pack Rat!
History
Pack Rat was released as part of Return to Ravnica on October 5th, 2012 and quickly took the place of most coveted Pack 1 Pick 1 of the limited format. I’m fairly certain the first draft of that format I ever went undefeated in was because I nabbed the coveted rat in my first pack and then built up a Rakdos shell around it.
Dane has similar memories of this awesome Rat. When I asked him why he likes the card so much he said: “It takes control style decks and gives them a dedicated creature where they normally wouldn’t have a creature that could take over and overwhelm the board.”
Pack Rat started as the most ridiculous limited bomb, but when Theros came out and we got Thoughtseize in Standard and Mono-black control became a huge contender. Turn 1 Thoughtseize into Turn 2 Pack Rat was ridiculous.
Lately, it seems like I’ve been seeing this little critter popping up in more and more eternal formats, which brings me all the joy! Viva la rat!
What Makes This Card So Cool?
Pack Rat is a two-drop whose power and toughness are equal to the number of rats you control. You can pay two and a black to discard a card and create a copy of Pack Rat. It’s not just some token either, it’s an EXACT copy of Pack Rat complete with its ability and rules text. Tired of those extra lands or un-impactful spells in your hand? TURN ‘EM INTO RATS SUCKA! This thing is an insane value engine if you can get it going, which is why it took over limited games so easily!
What Formats Is This Card Played In?
When it was in Standard, Pack Rat found the perfect home in Mono-Black Devotion. I played this deck for a long time during that Standard, and it was AWESOME! Check it out:
There are several shells that Pack Rat has found its way into for Modern, but I’m going to shout out Dane’s new 8 Rat list because it looks awesome! You should check out his video here!
This feisty little rat has even worked its way into Legacy. I’ve seen it tested in Reanimator, Faeries, Dead Guy Ale, and plenty of random brews – and you know what? It’s always seemed pretty awesome! Here’s a Black deck that went 5-0 in a Legacy League several moons ago that looks super sweet:
In Conclusion
PACK RAT IS COOL YA’LL. This card is probably the biggest reason I hop into RTR drafts any time I can around the Valley. The chance to destroy my opponents off the back of this awesome critter is just too tempting. What about ya’ll? Do you have some good Pack Rat stories? Let us all know in the comments! Take care of yourselves and I’ll see you next week!
