As Ulamog’s otherworldly offspring squirm across various realms, they consume everything in their path, reshaping both matter and mana to suit their needs. Within the narrative of Magic: The Gathering, Ulamog and his spawn signify the essence of consumption. In game terms, this concept is expressed through the "ingest" keyword.
The ingest ability allows your creatures to feast on your opponents’ resources, exiling cards from their library with each successful attack. This mechanic not only hinders your opponent’s access to critical spells but also nourishes your Processors—creatures that require exiled cards to activate their special abilities.
What Is Ingest?
Ingest is a special keyword primarily found on certain Eldrazi Drones. When one of these creatures successfully inflicts combat damage on a player, that player is forced to exile the top card of their library. Unlike many other exile mechanics, these cards are placed face-up, which is essential for interactions with Processors.
If a creature has multiple instances of ingest, each activates separately, allowing you to exile multiple cards from your opponent’s library with a single attack.
Ingest was introduced in the Battle for Zendikar set as a cost-effective means to empower Processors, which thrive on having cards in exile to function effectively. While several spells featuring Eldrazi may exile your opponents’ cards, they tend to be expensive, making ingest an efficient way to create repeatable exile triggers for limited formats like drafts.
How to Utilize Ingest
This ability is relatively rare and is generally attached to smaller, budget-friendly blue or black Eldrazi Drones. It was designed to complement the Processor draft archetype but may not compete with the power level seen in many constructed formats.
Despite this, ingestors can still find niche roles in various settings. They shine especially in limited formats like drafts, where players have only 40 cards in their decks and possess just one or two copies of their most potent spells. This aspect makes them valuable additions in cube drafts, particularly for those looking to support a mill strategy or build an Eldrazi theme.
In formats like Commander and Oathbreaker, ingestors provide a steady stream of affordable exile and mill effects. They work exceptionally well in an Ashiok, Nightmare Muse deck, increasing the pool of spells available for casting from her ultimate ability before she even hits the battlefield.
Notable Cards Featuring Ingest
The card pool featuring the ingest keyword is limited, and according to Mark Rosewater, the head designer of Magic, it’s unlikely we’ll see more cards with this mechanic in future sets. Nonetheless, there are a few standout cards worth mentioning.
Fathom Feeder
Fathom Feeder is the top ingestor, easily outperforming the rest. For just two mana (one blue and one black), you get a 1/1 creature with deathtouch and ingest. The ingest mechanic is not formidable enough for opponents to be concerned, so they often don’t block this creature effectively, allowing you to attack freely.
Fathom Feeder serves as a solid early attacker, but it also has a useful later-game ability. For three generic mana, one blue, and one black, you can draw a card while forcing your opponents to exile a card from the top of their library. This ability is particularly valuable against opponents using scry and tutor effects to manipulate their decks.
Vile Aggregate
Vile Aggregate is an intriguing card due to its combination of ingest and a red color identity. It’s unique in that it has trample and often holds the highest power among the Eldrazi at the time you play it.
Since most Eldrazi creatures are colorless or devoid, Vile Aggregate makes a great fit in any Eldrazi deck that includes red. Coupled with Eldrazi Spawn and Scions, its power can increase rapidly, even at instant speed, and the red color identity allows for effective use of Fling effects.
Ruination Guide
Ruination Guide is a beneficial addition for both Eldrazi and blue artifact decks. While its ingest ability is not its main draw, this card functions as a colorless "lord," providing a static +1/+0 bonus to all your colorless creatures, like Advisors and Zombies.
Eldrazi decks typically leverage bigger creatures, but for those that include many small creatures (like Eldrazi Spawn or Thopters), this bonus can significantly enhance your strategy.
Benthic Infiltrator
Benthic Infiltrator, although it only has one power, features a sturdy four toughness, making it a great blocker against most damage-based removal while also being unblockable. It may not deal much damage by itself, but it can fit nicely into a "toughness matters" deck, where you can combine it with abilities that assign damage based on toughness.
In conclusion, while ingest may not dominate competitive play, it offers fun synergies and interactions, particularly in draft environments or certain casual formats.
