Active Volcano MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Active Volcano can delay your opponent, giving you a tempo advantage in fast-paced games.
  2. Instant speed allows for flexible play, potentially disrupting opponent strategies.
  3. While restrictive, it still has its place in red-centric decks for targeted disruption.

Text of card

Destroy target blue permanent or return target island to owner's hand. Enchantments on target land are destroyed.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: By forcing a player to return a mountain to their hand, Active Volcano disrupts your opponent’s land resources while giving you indirect card advantage. This utility can set back an adversary relying on red mana.

Resource Acceleration: While Active Volcano doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it can hinder your opponent’s development, effectively giving you a tempo boost. Slowing them down could be pivotal in fast-paced matches, as it gives you more time to deploy your own threats.

Instant Speed: The capability to cast Active Volcano at instant speed provides flexibility, allowing you to respond to your opponent’s plays, particularly in the case of nonbasic mountain lands that might have abilities utilized during their turn. Waiting until the last convenient moment can give you the element of surprise, possibly disrupting intricate plays or mana-intensive strategies.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Active Volcano obliges you to discard a card, which could reduce your hand advantage, compromising your positional strength during the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding one red mana restricts it to red-centric or multicolor decks, potentially excluding it from a variety of deck strategies that don’t incorporate red mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of one red mana, it may appear affordable, but when considering its narrow effect—eliminating Island cards or untapping a mountain—other cards could potentially provide more impact or flexibility for your mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Active Volcano offers a straightforward yet effective tool for red decks to disrupt opponents’ strategies, particularly in formats where land destruction can be crucial. It also serves as a flexible response to many enchantments when they prove to be a nuisance on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card holds the capacity to pave the way for game-winning combos by clearing out potential blockers or removing troublesome enchantments that hinder your strategy.

Meta-Relevance: Its usefulness rises in a meta where multi-colored decks are prevalent, as removing a key dual land can set an opponent back significantly, disrupting their tempo and giving you the upper hand.


How to beat

Understanding how to tackle Active Volcano within the world of Magic: The Gathering is essential for maintaining an edge on the battlefield. This red instant, notorious for its ability to destroy blue permanents, can be quite formidable when used strategically. To beat it, consider diversifying your deck to minimize reliance on blue permanents or incorporate counterspells to prevent Active Volcano from resolving. Moreover, employing cards that offer hexproof or shroud abilities can shield your valuable assets from targeted removal effects that a card like Active Volcano presents.

Another approach is to engage in a more aggressive gameplay to pressure the Active Volcano user before they can establish a threatening board presence. This can often force them to use their removal prematurely, or better yet, keep them on the defense instead of using their instants offensively. Lastly, remember that Active Volcano is limited by its specificity and is less efficient in a match where blue permanents do not play a significant role, so shaping your deck to be versatile and resilient against such targeted spells can significantly increase your odds of prevailing over this fiery threat.


Cards like Active Volcano

Active Volcano continues to serve as a viable option for players looking to manage land threats within Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to cards like Stone Rain, which also targets lands, Active Volcano takes things a step further by allowing the addition of instant speed. This gives players the strategic edge of responding during an opponent’s turn, in contrast to Stone Rain’s sorcery speed.

In the same realm, Molten Rain presents itself as another alternative. Though it has a higher mana cost than Active Volcano, it compensates with direct damage upon destroying a nonbasic land. Another interesting parallel can be drawn with Boil, which targets multiple islands at once, amplifying the potential impact on games against decks running heavy blue mana bases.

While Active Volcano offers the specialties of instant speed and blue land control, these other cards provide their unique advantages, whether it be additional damage or broader land disruption. Deciding on which card to include often depends on the specific needs of the deck and the opposing strategies anticipated in the play environment.

Stone Rain - MTG Card versions
Molten Rain - MTG Card versions
Boil - MTG Card versions
Stone Rain - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Molten Rain - Mirrodin (MRD)
Boil - Tempest (TMP)

Cards similar to Active Volcano by color, type and mana cost

False Orders - MTG Card versions
Chaoslace - MTG Card versions
Red Elemental Blast - MTG Card versions
Tunnel - MTG Card versions
Artifact Blast - MTG Card versions
Shock - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Panic - MTG Card versions
Vertigo - MTG Card versions
Hearth Charm - MTG Card versions
Pyroblast - MTG Card versions
Fighting Chance - MTG Card versions
Shower of Sparks - MTG Card versions
Heat Ray - MTG Card versions
Overload - MTG Card versions
March of Reckless Joy - MTG Card versions
Burst Lightning - MTG Card versions
Fever Charm - MTG Card versions
Electrostatic Bolt - MTG Card versions
Unnatural Speed - MTG Card versions
False Orders - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Chaoslace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Red Elemental Blast - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Tunnel - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Artifact Blast - Antiquities (ATQ)
Shock - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
Lightning Bolt - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Panic - Ice Age (ICE)
Vertigo - Ice Age (ICE)
Hearth Charm - Visions (VIS)
Pyroblast - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Fighting Chance - Exodus (EXO)
Shower of Sparks - Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters (DDL)
Heat Ray - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Overload - Invasion (INV)
March of Reckless Joy - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Burst Lightning - Zendikar (ZEN)
Fever Charm - Onslaught (ONS)
Electrostatic Bolt - Mirrodin (MRD)
Unnatural Speed - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Active Volcano MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Chronicles, 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 Active Volcano and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Active Volcano Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by Justin Hampton.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-06-01LegendsLEG 1301993normalblackJustin Hampton
21995-07-01ChroniclesCHR 431993normalwhiteJustin Hampton
32009-09-07Masters Edition IIIME3 851997normalblackJustin Hampton

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Active Volcano has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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