Pinecrest Ridge MTG Card

Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Land
Released	2004-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Champions of Kamigawa
Set code	CHK
Number	281
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Avon

Key Takeaways

Enables card filtering for consistent game progression, especially in multi-colored decks.
Can accelerate resources, crucial for early deployment of impactful spells.
Supports instant-speed actions, aiding in versatile and timely plays.

Text of card

: Add to your mana pool. : Add or to your mana pool. Pinecrest Ridge doesn't untap during your next untap step.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pinecrest Ridge has the capability to filter your draw, allowing for more consistent access to the cards needed to advance your game plan. Its unique ability to generate specific mana combinations can effectively smooth out a deck’s performance, especially in multi-color decks.

Resource Acceleration: This card provides a boost in the form of its mana-generating capacity, which can be critical in swiftly deploying high-impact spells or key strategic plays earlier in the match. The flexible mana source aids in fulfilling the diverse casting costs that come with dynamic MTG battles.

Instant Speed: While Pinecrest Ridge doesn’t inherently act at instant speed, it supports instant-speed plays by ensuring the required colors of mana are available when needed, allowing you to respond to opponents’ actions effectively and efficiently without compromising your mana base. This supports a strategic depth for decks that rely on timeliness and adaptability.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Pinecrest Ridge asks players to part with a card from their hand, which may prove costly when hand size is essential to maintain strategic advantage or when every card in hand is a pivotal piece of the player’s game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: This land taps for colorless mana or can be sacrificed for a combination of red, green, and white mana. This specificity necessitates a deck that aligns with these exact colors, potentially limiting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The alternative cost of sacrificing Pinecrest Ridge coupled with tapping an untapped creature you control can be steep, considering the card offers a once-off mana boost that forfeits both a land and a creature’s potential combat capabilities or other abilities for the turn.

Reasons to Include Pinecrest Ridge in Your Collection

Versatility: Pinecrest Ridge offers a flexible mana base for multicolored decks, allowing players to adapt to various play styles and strategies seamlessly.

Combo Potential: The card’s ability to produce different types of mana enhances its synergy with multicolored spells and promotes powerful combo plays in decks that capitalize on diverse mana requirements.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame that favors decks with multiple colors, Pinecrest Ridge becomes an invaluable addition, providing the necessary mana consistency to keep up with the demands of ever-shifting competitive play.

How to beat

Pinecrest Ridge serves as a utility land in MTG, presenting an option for mana fixing by providing one mana of any color to your mana pool. While it doesn’t require a mana to tap, its downside is that it can’t be used again until your next turn. Think of lands such as City of Brass or Mana Confluence, which offer similar benefits but at the cost of life points, and without the waiting period.

Defeating a strategy that includes Pinecrest Ridge relies on land disruption. Cards like Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin can target and eliminate Pinecrest Ridge from the battlefield, stalling the opponent’s mana curve. Furthermore, Blood Moon can turn all non-basic lands into basic mountains, nullifying the advantage Pinecrest Ridge offers.

The inclusion of Pinecrest Ridge requires a balance between its benefits and its limitations in a player’s deck. Land destruction can effectively counter decks that overly rely on such non-basic lands. Thus, a well-prepared player will consider the vulnerability that Pinecrest Ridge introduces to their strategy and plan their game accordingly.

Cards like Pinecrest Ridge

Pinecrest Ridge offers a versatile mana fix for Magic: The Gathering players, providing a twist on land utilization. Comparable in function to cards like Shivan Oasis and Timber Gorge, Pinecrest Ridge enters the battlefield untapped, an advantage over many dual lands. Its ability to tap for colorless or give the option to pay life for colored mana mirrors that of City of Brass or Mana Confluence. Yet, unlike these, Pinecrest Ridge can only produce one of two colors and requires a life payment each time.

Exploring further, we find cards like Karplusan Forest, which similarly enables players to choose between taking pain for a splash of color or sticking with a safer colorless tap. However, Karplusan Forest offers instant access to its dual colors without a life payment for its default mana. Pinecrest Ridge stands out in decks where life totals are less of a concern and the dual mana option outweighs the benefit of a pain-free colorless land.

Assessing Pinecrest Ridge against its parallels, its immediate utility makes it a considerable option for players who value speed and flexibility in their mana base, at the expense of a negligible life cost. It’s tailored to decks where the right color at the right time could turn the tides of the game.

Cards similar to Pinecrest Ridge by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pinecrest Ridge MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa, 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 Pinecrest Ridge and other MTG cards: