Magic: The Gathering is a game of memory. Not just memorizing what the cards do, but remembering that they exist at all. Every year, Wizards of the Coast dumps thousands of new pieces of cardboard into the ecosystem, and honestly, things get lost. One of those things is MTG Boast. It showed up in Kaldheim (2021), did its thing for a few months in Standard, and then basically vanished from the collective consciousness of the competitive scene. But here’s the thing: if you’re playing casual EDH or looking for ways to break through a stalled board state, Boast is weirdly underrated. It’s aggressive. It’s flavor-accurate for a bunch of rowdy Vikings. And it’s a lot more flexible than people remember.
Boast is an activated ability. You can only use it if the creature with the keyword attacked this turn. Simple, right? But the nuance is in the timing. You don't have to use it while the creature is currently swinging. You can use it in the second main phase. You can use it in response to a block. You just have to have declared it as an attacker at some point during that turn.
How MTG Boast Actually Functions on the Stack
Most people see a keyword like "Boast" and assume it's like Melee or Exalted—something that happens automatically. It doesn't. This is a manual trigger. You have to pay the cost. Think of it like a spell you can only cast when you’re feeling particularly brave (or stupid).
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Because it’s an activated ability, it doesn't care if the creature survived the combat. This is the part that catches people off guard. If you swing with a Goldspan Dragon and a Birgi, God of Storytelling, and Birgi gets eaten by a 4/4 blocker, you can still activate Birgi’s boast ability before the end of the combat phase or during your second main phase. She "attacked." The condition was met the moment she was tapped and declared. That opens up a lot of room for bluffing. You can swing into a bad board state just to get the "permission" to activate a powerful effect, essentially trading your creature's life for a specific spell-like outcome.
The Limits of Shouting
You can only boast once per turn. Wizards learned their lesson from older mechanics like Spellsurge or Buyback where things could get infinite very quickly. Boast has a built-in safety valve. Even if you have infinite mana, that Dragonkin Berserker is only making one 5/5 Dragon token per turn. It keeps the game from spiraling into a 20-minute math problem, which, let’s be real, is a blessing in current Magic.
The Cards That Actually See Play
Let's look at the standouts. Usher of the Fallen was a staple in White Weenie decks for a hot minute. It’s a 2/1 for one mana that can poop out a 1/1 Spirit token. In a vacuum? Mediocre. In a deck that needs bodies for Convoke or Skullclamp? It’s a goldmine. Then you have Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire. Varragoth is arguably the best Boast card in existence because he’s a repeatable tutor on a stick.
For the price of three mana and an attack, you put any card from your library on top of your deck. In Commander, that’s terrifying. If he’s your general, you are consistently finding your win conditions every single turn. It forces your opponents to waste premium removal on a three-mana 2/3 just because they can't risk you untapping with him.
- Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire: The tutor king.
- Dragonkin Berserker: Great for late-game mana sinks.
- Birgi, God of Storytelling: Her backside (Harnfel, Horn of Bounty) is the real star, but her boast side generates red mana that helps keep the engine greased.
- Ergi, God of the Tree: Technically not Boast, but Kaldheim flavor is thick here. Let's stick to the actual keyword. Arni Brokenbrow is the one who lets you change his base power to the highest power among your other creatures plus one. It’s a very "Viking" way to win a combat trade.
The mechanic also thrives in limited environments. If you’re ever drafting a "Chaos Draft" or digging through old Kaldheim packs, remember that the Red/White (Boros) and Black/Red (Rakdos) archetypes were built entirely around this. Cards like Frenzied Raider grow every time you boast, turning a simple utility move into a massive threat.
Why Is Nobody Playing It Now?
Power creep is a monster. Since 2021, we’ve seen Modern Horizons sets and Universes Beyond releases that have pushed the baseline stats of creatures through the roof. When you’re looking at a three-drop today, you expect it to draw a card, ramp you, and maybe make a sandwich. MTG Boast requires you to risk a creature in combat and pay mana. That's a "two-stage" cost that many modern decks just aren't willing to pay.
In competitive 60-card formats, if a creature has to attack to do something, it usually needs Haste. Most Boast creatures don't have it. This creates a "telegraphing" problem. You play the creature. Your opponent sees it. They have a whole turn to kill it before you ever get the chance to use the ability.
However, in Commander, the math changes. You have 40 life. You can afford to lose a creature if the payoff is right. Using Varragoth to find an Ad Nauseam or a Peer into the Abyss is worth the risk of heaving him into a blocker.
Misconceptions About the Combat Phase
A common mistake I see at Friday Night Magic involves the "Post-Combat Boast."
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Player A swings with a Fearless Pup.
Player B doesn't block.
Player A moves to the second main phase, then tries to Boast.
This is perfectly legal. You don't lose the ability to boast just because you left the combat phase. As long as it is still your turn and that creature was declared as an attacker earlier, the "gate" is open. You can use this to your advantage by waiting to see how your opponent reacts to your spells in the second main phase before committing your mana to a boast activation. It's all about information.
Also, "Attacked" means "was declared as an attacker." If a card like Winota, Joiner of Forces or Kaalia of the Vast puts a creature onto the battlefield already attacking, that creature did NOT "attack" for the purposes of Boast. It missed the declaration trigger. This is a weird quirk of Magic rules, but it's vital. If you cheat a Boast creature into play mid-combat, you can’t use its ability that turn.
Making MTG Boast Work in 2026
If you want to build around this, you need to minimize the risk of the attack.
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- Evasion is king. Slap a Whispersilk Cloak or Rogue's Passage on your Boast creatures. If they can't be blocked, the "risk" of attacking disappears.
- Untap shenanigans. Since you can only boast once per turn, you aren't looking to untap the creature to boast again. Instead, you want to use the Boast ability and then untap the creature so it can sit back on defense.
- Cost Reducers. Cards like Zirda, the Dawnwaker are insane here. Zirda reduces the cost of activated abilities by two mana. Most Boast costs are between one and three mana. With Zirda out, most of your boasts become free or cost a single pip of colored mana.
Honestly, the mechanic is a bit of a flavor win that got overshadowed by the sheer volume of "enters the battlefield" (ETB) triggers that dominate the current meta. We’ve moved toward a game where you get your value immediately. Boast asks you to wait. It asks you to be proactive. In a world of reactive Ward-heavy creatures, there’s something refreshing about a card that says "I’m coming for you, and I’m going to talk trash while I do it."
Building Your Own Boast Engine
If you’re diving into a deck build, look for Grand Finale or Battle of Frost and Fire. These aren't boast cards, but they create the environment where aggressive, attacking-matters strategies can breathe. You want to force your opponent into a position where they can't afford to block, or where blocking doesn't actually stop your value engine.
The biggest takeaway for MTG Boast is to treat it as a secondary resource. Don't build a deck that only functions if you can boast. Build a deck that functions by attacking, and use Boast to sink your excess mana when you don't have a spell to cast. It's the "Plan B" that keeps your hand full and your board state threatening when the game goes long.
Go check your bulk boxes. You probably have a few Varragoths or Birgis gathering dust. Shove them into a deck, swing wide, and remember to actually announce your activation before you end your turn. It’s a forgotten tool, but in the right shell, it's still a lethal one.
Actionable Next Steps
- Audit your Black/Red Commander decks: Check if Varragoth fits your curve. He’s often better than a one-time tutor spell because he demands an answer.
- Evaluate "Attacking Matters" triggers: Compare your current creatures to Boast alternatives. If you're running high-cost spells, Dragonkin Berserker might be a better late-game draw than a generic mana dork.
- Practice Timing: Next time you play, try waiting until your second main phase to activate a Boast ability. Notice how it changes your opponent's willingness to use counter-magic or removal during combat.