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Fungal Behemoth's Silver Border Saga in Tournaments
There’s something irresistibly nostalgic about the glow of a silver-border night—when the table talk turns playful, the sleeves get a little louder, and deckbuilding leans into the metaphorical “what if?” of the multiverse. Silver-border events celebrate humor, quirky design, and unconventional play patterns that you won’t find in your usual sanctioned tournaments. They’re the playgrounds where creativity matters as much as raw power, and every card carries a wink of Un-sets and friends who like their grand plans with a side of mischief 🧙♂️🔥. While the classic black-border cards rule the core, the spirit of silver-border gatherings reminds us that Magic’s breadth is its charm—and that even a Planar Chaos gem can spark conversations about counter piles, timing, and big, surprising turns ⚔️💎.
Take a card like Fungal Behemoth as a case study in how a single piece of green gumption can shift a long game. Released in Planar Chaos on February 2, 2007, this rare Fungus creature carries a dollar of mystery in its suspend-enabled, counters-driven design. It’s green through and through—the mana cost is {3}{G}, and its actual power and toughness aren’t fixed until you count the +1/+1 counters you’ve managed to pile up on your board. In a sense, Fungal Behemoth embodies the patient, sometimes theatrical tempo of suspend—waiting, ticking, and finally bursting into a board-state you didn’t quite see coming. In a silver-border night, where players lean into fun and unexpected outcomes, a behemoth like this invites conversations about tempo, board growth, and the odd thrill of casting a card for free after a long exhale of time counters 🧙♂️🎲.
Card profile at a glance
- Name: Fungal Behemoth
- Set: Planar Chaos (PLC) · Rare
- Colors: Green (G)
- Mana cost: {3}{G}
- Type: Creature — Fungus
- Power/Toughness: A dynamic stat line determined by +1/+1 counters on creatures you control
- Keywords: Suspend
- Oracle text: Fungal Behemoth's power and toughness are each equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on creatures you control. Suspend X—{X}{G}{G}. X can't be 0. (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay {X}{G}{G} and exile it with X time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.) Whenever a time counter is removed from this card while it's exiled, you may put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
- Rarity: Rare
- Legalities: Modern legal, Legacy legal, Vintage legal, Commander legal (and many other eternal formats)
That suspend clause is the key to the drama. You exile Fungal Behemoth with X time counters and then wait—politely, if you like—while you build up your board with +1/+1 counters. Each upkeep you shed a counter, and with it, you may add a +1/+1 counter to a creature. When the last counter falls, you cast the Behemoth for free, and its power and toughness surge to match the counters on your side of the battlefield. It’s a design that rewards patience and the patient planning you see in long, grindy games—exactly the vibe some silver-border nights chase, where flashy finishes aren’t the only measure of skill 🎨🔥.
“A delayed, explosive surprise that can swing from decidedly small to monstrously massive in the right green-granary of a board.”
In a tournament setting—silver-border or otherwise—the appeal of Fungal Behemoth lies in its possible late-game explosion. You might set up a world where your creatures accumulate +1/+1 counters (through lineage, other similar pump effects, or even token generation), and then your Behemoth scales to monstrous proportions as your opponents scramble to answer the threat that finally emerges from exile. The suspend mechanic also invites meta-game mind games: opponents try to anticipate when you’ll let the last time counter slip away, hoping to preemptively remove your mana advantage, while you quietly stack a plan that hinges on every removal triggering a counter on a creature you control. The emergent drama is deliciously old-school MTG—think of it as a patience test with a green, fungal twist 🧙♂️🎲.
Strategic angles you can test in casual or serious play
- Counter synergy: Lean into incremental growth—cards that place +1/+1 counters or boost their proliferation can turn your board into an unstoppable avalanche once Fungal Behemoth returns to the battlefield. Hardened Scales, Graft variants, or pump effects amplify the Behemoth’s final stature.
- Time-counter management: Since you’re exiling it with time counters, you can weave in effects that steal a time counter or shuffle counters around, keeping your plan flexible and your opponents guessing.
- Board reloads: A space where reanimator or delve-like engines aren’t necessary—just a patient, cumulative approach that culminates in a big payoff after several turns of careful stall and growth.
- Policy in casual play: In silver-border nights, don’t forget to celebrate the weird and wonderful—Fungal Behemoth is a perfect showcase for the joy of non-traditional win conditions and the humor that colored-border events love to embrace 🧙♂️🎨.
From a collector’s lens, Fungal Behemoth’s status as a rare from Planar Chaos—paired with its true green identity and unique suspend mechanic—makes it a talking point in discussions about the era’s ambitious reworks of color pie design. The card sits at a modest price bracket in non-foil form, with foil versions commanding modest premiums—an accessible reminder that timeless MTG design can live happily outside the biggest price tags. If you’re chasing a modern or legacy deck that appreciates a flexible, tempo-rich build around +1/+1 counters, this card deserves a thoughtful look, especially for those who like their strategies to hinge on a patient, mushroom-fueled crescendo 🧙♂️💎.
Beyond the playtable, the experience of a silver-border night is about the community—the stories of dice, misdeclared triggers, and the joy of discovering a card’s potential in a format that encourages experimentation. As you plan ahead for your next casual tournament or friendly gathering, imagine the table’s energy when this behemoth finally surfaces after a suspenseful countdown, its power and toughness standing tall with every counter you’ve lovingly placed. It’s a small, satisfying reminder that in MTG, patience can be as dramatic as any direct attack, and sometimes the best wins come from the quietest corners of the battlefield 🧙♂️⚔️.
If you’re looking to gear up for the next casual night or want a little extra flair for your table, check out this neon-ready accessory collection—perfect for long, immersive evenings of strategy and laughter. And when you’re ready to grab a little hardware to elevate your desk space, consider this Neon Gaming Mouse Pad Non-Slip 9.5x8in Anti-Fray. It’s a stylish companion as you draft, brainstorm, and smile at the memories of Planar Chaos and its clever, counter-filled world.