Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway MTG Card


Ensures you make vital plays with its seamless white or black mana access, despite not allowing direct card drawing. Facilitates efficient gameplay by smoothing mana curves, critical for decks needing a consistent color balance. Versatility makes it a valuable addition to dual-color MTG decks, fueling strategies without coming into play tapped.
Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLand

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Cards like Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway

Brightclimb Pathway is an indispensable land card in Magic: The Gathering that enhances deck flexibility, similar to the role of Branchloft Pathway. Both are modal double-faced cards offering the choice between two types of mana. The key difference lies in the color pairs – Brightclimb Pathway provides access to both white and black mana, while Branchloft Pathway supplies white and green mana. This subtle but significant variance equips players to tailor their mana base according to their deck’s strategy.

Another comparable land is Clearwater Pathway, which, like Brightclimb Pathway, presents two mana options. The distinction here is in the mana colors provided; Clearwater offers both blue and black instead of white and black. This alternate color pairing can be crucial for enabling different multicolor synergies. Both these pathways share the feature of entering the battlefield untapped, thus allowing for immediate mana availability, elevating the tempo for the player.

Understanding the nuances and utilities of these land cards can greatly influence gameplay efficiency. Brightclimb Pathway stands out particularly well for those aiming to build Orzhov (white-black) decks, providing seamless mana fixing and ensuring that the rhythm of play is maintained without pause.

Clearwater Pathway - MTG Card versions
Clearwater Pathway - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway by color, type and mana cost

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Shattered Sanctum - MTG Card versions
Orzhov Basilica - MTG Card versions
Fetid Heath - MTG Card versions
Isolated Chapel - MTG Card versions
Tainted Field - MTG Card versions
Orzhov Guildgate - MTG Card versions
Vault of the Archangel - MTG Card versions
Salt Flats - MTG Card versions
Scoured Barrens - MTG Card versions
Forsaken Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Concealed Courtyard - MTG Card versions
Godless Shrine - MTG Card versions
Temple of Silence - MTG Card versions
Vault of Champions - MTG Card versions
Shineshadow Snarl - MTG Card versions
Snowfield Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Sunlit Marsh - MTG Card versions
Restless Fortress - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Although Brightclimb Pathway doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, it ensures consistent land drops which indirectly contributes to maintaining card advantage. Seamless access to both of its sides means you’re less likely to miss key plays due to color requirements.

Resource Acceleration: This dual-faced card excels in smoothing out your mana curve by offering the option of choosing between two mana colors. Access to both white and black mana without entering the battlefield tapped accelerates your resource development, allowing for a more efficient game plan.

Instant Speed: While land cards can’t be played at instant speed, the flexibility of Brightclimb Pathway in a deck means you are always prepared to respond to an evolving game state. You can decide which land type you need more urgently as the game unfolds, much like having an instant response to your mana needs.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Brightclimb Pathway doesn’t specifically mandate discarding cards, it can put players in a position where discarding might be necessary. For instance, if you need to balance different mana needs in a multi-colored deck but Brightclimb Pathway only provides one color at a time, this limitation might force a discard to draw into more flexible mana sources.

Specific Mana Cost: Brightclimb Pathway taps for either white or black mana, but not both simultaneously. This means that while it’s versatile within its two colors, it can’t help in situations where another color is urgently needed. Thus, it might not always be the optimal land choice for decks running more than two colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card itself does not have a mana cost, being a land card, but the cost of playing a tapped land can be high in fast-paced games. Brightclimb Pathway enters the battlefield without the option to tap for mana immediately unless you opt for its reverse side, which also comes into play tapped. This can slow your tempo significantly, especially in the early game when swift mana ramping is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brightclimb Pathway provides a flexible mana base for any deck, enabling you to switch between white and black mana as the game progresses without losing any tempo. This is particularly crucial in decks that demand a consistent color balance to play smoothly.

Combo Potential: With the ability to supply either of its two colors, Brightclimb Pathway can be critical in enabling combo decks to assemble their pieces more efficiently. It ensures that essential spells have the right color mana on crucial turns.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where dual-color decks are prevalent, having a land that doesn’t enter the battlefield tapped and gives access to two colors is highly advantageous. Brightclimb Pathway keeps you competitive, ensuring that your plays aren’t delayed by your mana sources.


How to beat

Brightclimb Pathway is a versatile land that presents itself as a deck-building boon in Magic: The Gathering, offering dual mana flexibility without entering the battlefield tapped. This quality of land cards is an essential facet, making them an asset for any player who seeks an unaffected pace in their gameplay. To effectively contest this, denial of mana-based strategy is key.

Land destruction spells can act as a direct countermeasure against Brightclimb Pathway. These cards strategically remove an opponent’s land, which can disrupt their mana curve and delay pivotal plays. Cards such as Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can force the exchange of Brightclimb Pathway for a basic land, diluting its advantage.

Beyond destruction, playing cards that restrict or penalize the use of lands can also be an efficient strategy. Using cards like Blood Moon to limit a land’s capabilities or imposing additional costs with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, can create obstacles for opponents reliant on versatile lands like Brightclimb Pathway.

Ultimately, to surmount the challenges posed by a card as synchronized with player strategies as Brightclimb Pathway, players need to integrate a resource interdiction plan into their decks, enabling control over the battlefield’s resources.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2020-05-29 and 2023-05-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 838482015Modal DFCBlackDonato Giancola
22020-05-29Secret Lair: Ultimate EditionSLU 142015Modal DFCBorderlessPaul Scott Canavan
32020-09-25Zendikar RisingZNR 2852015Modal DFCBorderlessDonato Giancola
42020-09-25Zendikar Rising PromosPZNR 259s2015Modal DFCBlackJohannes Voss
52020-09-25Zendikar RisingZNR 2592015Modal DFCBlackJohannes Voss
62023-05-08From Cute to BrutePCTB 652015Modal DFCBlackJohannes Voss

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2020-09-25 A modal double-faced card can’t be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than “play”) a specific modal double-faced card, you can’t play it as a land.
2020-09-25 If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face’s name.
2020-09-25 If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can’t be put onto the battlefield, it doesn’t enter the battlefield.
2020-09-25 In the Commander variant, a double-faced card’s color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered.
2020-09-25 The mana value of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that’s being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the mana value of a transforming double-faced card is determined.
2020-09-25 There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face.
2020-09-25 To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you’re playing and ignore the other face’s characteristics.