Buried Ruin MTG Card
2011-07-15 - Number 224
2014-11-07 - Number 286
2016-11-11 - Number 284
2018-06-08 - Number 241
2018-08-09 - Number 239
2020-07-17 - Number 491
2020-08-07 - Number 312
2022-11-18 - Number 177
2023-02-03 - Number 147
2024-03-08 - Number 782
2024-03-08 - Number 254
2020-09-26 - Number 2XM-312
| Card sets | Released in 12 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land |
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice Buried Ruin: Return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.
History has buried its treasures deep.
Cards like Buried Ruin
Buried Ruin is an interesting utility land in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering. It shares its fundamental purpose with other lands that also retrieve cards from the graveyard, such as Academy Ruins. While Academy Ruins focuses on retrieving only artifacts at the upkeep stage for a blue mana, Buried Ruin offers a more immediate advantage, though it sacrifices itself in the process.
Another card that resonates with Buried Ruin’s functionality is Inventors’ Fair. This land has the added bonus of gaining life and an ability to search for an artifact card. However, it’s tied to having a substantial number of artifacts on the battlefield. Hall of Heliod’s Generosity also shows a resemblance in utility by returning enchantments from the graveyard, showing how cards like Buried Ruin have tailored effects specific to card types.
Amidst the spectrum of land cards with reanimating capabilities, Buried Ruin stands out due to its simplicity and low activation cost. It is a testament to the card’s utility and flexibility within artifact-centric decks where immediate access to key components can be game-changing.
Cards similar to Buried Ruin by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Buried Ruin. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Prison Shops | Vintage | Prison Shops | Vintage Challenge 32 2023-12-10 (1) |
 | Colorless Prison | Modern | Prison Tron | DEN24 Sat 9:00 - U.S. Regional Championship - presented by Laughing Dragon |
 | Azorius Midrange | Gladiator | Sword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 06 2024 | |
| Prison Tron | Modern | Prison Tron | Modern League 2024-02-28 |
| Colorless | Legacy | Legacy Preliminary 2024-04-01 | |
 | Mono-Green Tron | Modern | Mono-Green Tron | Modern Challenge 64 2024-03-24 |
 | Decklist | Simic Titan | The Arena Coliseum - Timeless Trials $1K #001 | |
 | Colorless Combo | Modern | Dice Factory | Grand Open Qualifier Prague 2024 |
 | Five-color Combo | Gladiator | Sword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 08 2024 | |
| Colorless Shops | Vintage | Prison Shops | 2023 NA Vintage Champs |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Buried Ruin offers utility beyond being just a mana source. It enables you to retrieve an important artifact from your graveyard, essentially replacing itself with another card from your deck and maintaining your hand resources.
Resource Acceleration: By bringing back artifacts that generate or cost less mana than they are worth, Buried Ruin can lead to significant mana efficiency, enabling you to play more costly spells ahead of curve or activate potent abilities earlier than expected.
Instant Speed: Although Buried Ruin’s ability isn’t at instant speed itself, it interacts well with artifacts that have instant-speed capabilities, giving you the flexibility to adapt your plays according to the state of the game while keeping up the pressure or defenses as needed.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: With Buried Ruin, you’re faced with the sacrifice of the land itself. This can put you at a notable disadvantage, especially if you are tight on land resources or require a specific land count for other cards in your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: The activation cost of Buried Ruin requires colorless mana, which may not be as easily accessible for decks that heavily rely on colored mana sources or those that are more focused on multicolored strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing the cost and benefit, although the two mana activation of Buried Ruin might seem manageable, the requisition for an additional land sacrifice makes the total cost steeper, especially when considering other cards that might retrieve artifacts without such a steep land investment.
Reasons to Include Buried Ruin in Your Collection
Versatility: Buried Ruin offers a unique flexibility as a land card – it taps for colorless mana, and it can also recover an important artifact from your graveyard. This makes it a seamless inclusion in decks reliant on artifacts or those that need a way to recoup vital pieces after they’ve been destroyed.
Combo Potential: This card can be a linchpin in artifact-centric combos, offering a way to return key artifacts to your hand, thus enabling recurring interactions or simply retrieving a central combo piece that has been disrupted by your opponent.
Meta-Relevance: With constantly evolving metagames that occasionally favor artifact strategies, having Buried Ruin can give players an upper hand. In formats like Commander, where artifacts often play a significant role, the ability to bring them back from the graveyard can be game-defining.
How to beat
Buried Ruin offers a strategic advantage in Magic: The Gathering due to its ability to return an artifact from a player’s graveyard to their hand. This can tip the scales in a game, especially in artifact-heavy decks that lean on powerful artifact synergies to dominate the board. Nonetheless, defeating a strategy centered around Buried Ruin involves a few thoughtful tactics.
To mitigate the impact of Buried Ruin, consider using land destruction or graveyard disruption spells. Cards like Ghost Quarter can target and eliminate Buried Ruin, preventing the retrieval of key artifacts. Alternatively, graveyard manipulation spells like Tormod’s Crypt can exile artifacts from the graveyard before Buried Ruin has a chance to act. Ensuring you have answers like these in your deck will increase your resilience against decks utilizing Buried Ruin and similar strategies. Always be aware of your opponent’s graveyard and the potential for an artifact’s return when Buried Ruin is in play.
Counteracting Buried Ruin requires not only the right cards but also a keen sense of timing. Keep pressure on your opponent and maintain control over the graveyard to successfully neutralize Buried Ruin’s influence in the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Buried Ruin MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2012 and Commander 2014, 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 Buried Ruin and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Buried Ruin Magic the Gathering card was released in 11 different sets between 2011-07-15 and 2024-03-08. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-07-15 | Magic 2012 | M12 | 224 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 2 | 2014-11-07 | Commander 2014 | C14 | 286 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 3 | 2016-11-11 | Commander 2016 | C16 | 284 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 4 | 2018-06-08 | Commander Anthology Volume II | CM2 | 241 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 5 | 2018-08-09 | Commander 2018 | C18 | 239 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 6 | 2020-07-17 | Jumpstart | JMP | 491 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 7 | 2020-08-07 | Double Masters | 2XM | 312 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 8 | The List | PLST | 2XM-312 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | ||
| 9 | 2022-11-18 | The Brothers' War Commander | BRC | 177 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 10 | 2023-02-03 | Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander | ONC | 147 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Franz Vohwinkel | |
| 11 | 2024-03-08 | Fallout | PIP | 782 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Arthur Yuan | |
| 12 | 2024-03-08 | Fallout | PIP | 254 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Arthur Yuan |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Buried Ruin has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |