Cartographer's Companion MTG Card

Card advantage: deepens your library interaction, optimizing game control. Increases mana resources, ensuring faster access to powerful spells. Instant speed interaction grants flexibility and a competitive edge.

Cartographer's Companion - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact Creature — Gnome
Abilities	Explore
Released	2023-11-17
Set symbol
Set name	The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Set code	LCI
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	248
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chuck Lukacs

Text of card

When Cartographer's Companion enters the battlefield, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with ", , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")

Ever since the Fomori's attempt long ago to extinguish Chimil's light, the Oltec have taken extensive measures to never get lost in the Core.

Cards like Cartographer's Companion

Cartographer’s Companion stands out in the current lineup of creature spells in MTG. It shares similarities with utility creatures like Elvish Visionary, which also allows you to draw a card upon entering the battlefield. However, the unique ability of Cartographer’s Companion to draw a card whenever you play a land card for the third time each turn emphasizes repeatable value over the course of the game.

Another creature that echoes this land-centric synergy is Tireless Tracker. Similar to Cartographer’s Companion, it rewards you with clues for playing land cards. While clues provide value over time, Cartographer’s Companion offers the draw immediately, which can be a crucial advantage. Yet, Tireless Tracker has the potential for growth with its power and toughness increasing with each clue sacrificed, providing a cumulative threat in addition to card advantage.

Ultimately, Cartographer’s Companion may appeal to players who are looking for consistent draw mechanisms in land-heavy decks. Its ability to integrate with strategies that manipulate land plays can make it a worthwhile consideration in formats where drawing and playing additional lands drive the deck’s engine.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage:When you have the Cartographer’s Companion in your deck, you’re looking at an excellent source of card advantage. This particular card digs you deeper into your library, increasing the likelihood of drawing into the solutions or threats you need to control the game.

Resource Acceleration:Resource acceleration is a critical aspect of gameplay and Cartographer’s Companion offers a unique way to bolster this. By potentially flipping into a land, it ensures that your mana resources keep flowing, helping you to play your more powerful spells sooner than usual.

Instant Speed:The versatility of instant speed interaction can’t be overstated, and Cartographer’s Companion brings this to the table in an elegant way. Being able to play at instant speed means you can adapt to the board state on the fly, giving you an edge over opponents who are stuck with sorcery-speed plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of the Cartographer’s Companion, you’re often required to discard a card, which may not be ideal when your hand is already dwindling and you are in need of maintaining options during gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a particular blend of mana to play. For decks that don’t synchronize with its mana requirements, including Cartographer’s Companion might not be the most strategic move.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering the cost to get Cartographer’s Companion on the field, it’s important to weigh whether its abilities are cost-effective compared with other cards that could occupy the slot, especially in competitive play where mana efficiency is key.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cartographer’s Companion shines across a variety of decks, especially those that leverage the power of land cards. Its ability to sift through the deck for land ensures that you keep hitting your land drops and stay ahead in the game.

Combo Potential: As a creature that helps you secure land cards from your deck, Cartographer’s Companion can trigger landfall abilities multiple times or be an integral part of combos that capitalize on having a certain number of lands in play or in hand.

Meta-Relevance: Given the card’s inherent utility in fetching lands, it maintains relevance in many meta environments. It can support strategies aimed at consistently getting key lands into play, making it a steadfast choice for players looking to strengthen their mana base in competitive play.

How to Beat Cartographer’s Companion

Overcoming Cartographer’s Companion in the world of Magic: The Gathering requires a strategic approach. This creature card offers its controller the advantage of possible card draws every turn, which can rapidly lead to an information and resource gap. To counteract this, employing spot removal when the Companion is tapped out for its ability can be an effective measure. Instant-speed spells such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile are perfect for dealing with the Companion before the controller reaps the full benefits of the extra cards.

Another method is to utilize effects that prevent card drawing or to replace drawing with a less advantageous action. Cards like Narset, Parter of Veils or Spirit of the Labyrinth will restrict the draw potential, neutralizing what Cartographer’s Companion brings to the table. Additionally, graveyard disruption can also be disruptive tactics against decks relying on the Companion’s ability, as those decks often plan to utilize the graveyard as an extended hand.

Key to victory is maintaining pressure and not allowing the opponent to freely manipulate their deck and graveyard. Consistently applying this pressure can lead to misplays or force suboptimal uses of Cartographer’s Companion. Understanding the rhythm of your opponent’s play and being proactive with interference will often guide you to success against this card.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cartographer's Companion MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 Cartographer's Companion and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cartographer's Companion has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cartographer's Companion card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2023-11-10	If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate.
2023-11-10	If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard.
2023-11-10	If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter.
2023-11-10	In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.)
2023-11-10	Map tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one is a colorless artifact with the artifact subtype Map and the ability ", , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery."
2023-11-10	Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter.
2023-11-10	Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again.