Cradle of the Accursed MTG Card
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Land — Desert |
| Released | 2017-04-28 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Amonkhet |
| Set code | AKH |
| Number | 241 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Noah Bradley |
Key Takeaways
- Offers card advantage by providing a creature without using additional cards from your hand.
- Accelerates resources by producing colorless mana, fitting smoothly into mana curves.
- Instant speed transformation into a 2/2 Zombie adds flexibility in response to threats.
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice Cradle of the Accursed: Create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Many such monuments dot the wasteland known as Ifnir.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When transformed into a 2/2 black Zombie creature token, Cradle of the Accursed allows you to bolster your side of the battlefield without dipping into your hand, thus maintaining card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: This land taps for colorless mana, aiding in casting diverse spells in your deck and acts as a resource accelerator by seamlessly fitting into your mana curve.
Instant Speed: The ability to transform Cradle of the Accursed at instant speed provides flexibility, allowing you to create a creature token at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to a threat, keeping your options open.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Cradle of the Accursed asks you to sacrifice it as part of its activation. This requirement means you lose a land permanently, a significant drawback when land resources are crucial to your game strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: To harness Cradle of the Accursed’s ability, spending one generic and two colorless mana is necessary. Decks that heavily rely on colored mana may find this cost restrictive and difficult to accommodate within their mana base, potentially causing disruptions in their play sequence.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Activating its ability costs three mana and the land itself, which is a steep price for a single 2/2 black Zombie creature token. In light of the many other options available for creature generation, this cost seems high, especially when other cards could produce multiple tokens or larger threats for a similar or even lesser investment.
Reasons to Include Cradle of the Accursed in Your Collection
Versatility: Cradle of the Accursed offers a unique advantage by being a land card with an alternative use. It’s a flexible pick, able to churn out a creature when you’re in a pinch or function as a standard land when you’re not.
Combo Potential: This card presents opportunities to synergize with strategies that capitalize on creature tokens or self-sacrifice for larger rewards. It’s also an enabler for various deck archetypes that thrive on having creatures enter or leave the battlefield.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where every spell and land counts towards victory, Cradle of the Accursed can be a game-changer. It’s especially relevant when creature presence is key, offering deckbuilders a means to press an advantage without sacrificing crucial mana resources.
How to beat
Cradle of the Accursed holds unique utility as a land card that transforms into a creature in Magic the Gathering. Players frequently leverage this transformation to create an additional blocker or an unforeseen attacker. To effectively neutralize this card, consider strategies that restrict land’s transformative capabilities. Efficient land destruction cards, like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, dismantle the Cradle before it can activate its creature birthing ability.
Another tactic involves grave manipulation. By utilizing cards such as Bojuka Bog or Leyline of the Void, you can prevent the Cradle of the Accursed from reentering the battlefield through recurring mechanics. Keeping the graveyard clean lessens the impact of this particular land card. It’s also essential to manage the board state; swift removal spells or countermeasures targeting creatures can easily handle the 2/2 black Zombie creature token, ensuring minimal disruption to your strategy.
Understand that the key to mastering control over Cradle of the Accursed lies in timing your responses smartly and maintaining a preparedness for those crucial moments when your opponent seeks to transform their land into a tactical game piece.
Cards like Cradle of the Accursed
In the vast library of Magic: The Gathering, Cradle of the Accursed is a unique land card offering strategic versatility. Its closest equivalents could be seen in cards such as Dunes of the Dead. Both share the ability to transform into creatures, yet Cradle of the Accursed doesn’t require the land to be sacrificed to unleash a creature. It instead asks for a mere three mana to morph into a valuable 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
Another relative is Hostile Desert which can also turn into a creature. However, Hostile Desert requires you to exile a land card from your graveyard to become a 3/4 elemental creature until end of turn. It’s a transient transformation contrasting with Cradle of the Accursed’s permanent creature creation. Desolate Lighthouse, although not a creature-creating land, provides value through card filtering. It allows players to draw and discard cards, a very different utility from Cradle’s offering.
Each of these lands presents a tactical angle to MTG gameplay, yet Cradle of the Accursed stands out for its simplistic yet effective creature generation, providing a long-lasting impact on the board without the need for sacrificing the land itself.
Cards similar to Cradle of the Accursed by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Cradle of the Accursed MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet, 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 Cradle of the Accursed and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Cradle of the Accursed has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cradle of the Accursed card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | Desert is a land subtype with no special meaning. It doesn’t grant the land an intrinsic mana ability. Other cards may care about which lands are Deserts. |
