"Nath of the Gilt-Leaf" is a 4/4 green and black elf warrior printed as a rare for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Lorwyn." This is one of the cards printed in the Lorwyn block that encourage players to build around a theme of creatures. In this respect, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf encourages players to build around elves in a deck that uses black and green cards.

The converted mana cost for Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is five. You will need one black mana, one green mana, and three colorless mana to bring Nath of the Gilt-Leaf from your hand and onto the battlefield. For what Nath of the Gilt-Leaf can do, the casting cost seems to be pretty worth it. Keep in mind that Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is a legendary creature and is subject to the "legendary rule." Should there be at least two cards on the battlefield named Nath of the Gilt-Leaf at the same time, they both get sent to the graveyard. It is both a green creature and a black creature at the same time. Thus, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is susceptible to spells and abilities that affect both black and green permanents let alone creatures.

What does Nath of the Gilt-Leaf do in the first place?

The first ability of Nath of the Gilt-Leaf lets you pick an opponent at the start of your upkeep. Doing so makes the target opponent discard a card at random from his/her hand. This is a good ability because you do not want your opponents to have a card advantage at all.

The second ability allows you to put a 1/1 green elf warrior token onto the battlefield whenever an opponent discards a card.

There are ways to abuse the second ability. With Nath of the Gilt-Leaf, you have to play green and black. In regards to black, you can use the enchantment known as "Larceny." Larceny allows your creatures to make opponents discard cards from their hands whenever they deal combat damage. In this respect, you attack with your creatures while Larceny is on the battlefield. Your opponents discard cards should they get dealt damage. For those cards discarded, you get to put that many green elf tokens onto the battlefield via Nath of the Gilt-Leaf.

You can combine the second ability of Nath of the Gilt-Leaf with "Bramblewood Paragon." Since those elves are also warriors, they get an additional +1/+1 counter via Bramblewood Paragon. You can use "Rhys the Redeemed" to make copies of all of your token creatures. You can use "Elvish Promenade" to make X elf tokens equal to the number of elves on the battlefield under your control. In this respect, you have amassed an army of elves. With Larceny on the battlefield, you can attack and make opponents constantly discard cards. Nath of the Gilt-Leaf will spawn more tokens in the process.

Overall, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is an impressive card. Make sure you built an elf-themed deck for the most part. Also, be sure to add in "Megrim" to punish opponents for discarding their cards. In any elf deck, Nath of the Gilt-Leaf is an impressive card to have.

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