Crumbling Necropolis MTG Card
2008-10-03 - Number 222
2011-09-02 - Number 74
2013-11-01 - Number 283
2015-11-18 - Number 138
2016-11-11 - Number 287
2017-03-17 - Number 233
2017-06-16 - Number 92
2017-08-25 - Number 244
2017-11-24 - Number 45
2019-11-07 - Number 1661
2022-04-29 - Number 397
2022-09-09 - Number 205
2022-10-07 - Number 273
2022-10-07 - Number 273★
2022-11-18 - Number 179
2023-06-23 - Number 302
2023-10-13 - Number 859
2023-10-13 - Number 268
2023-11-17 - Number 326
2020-09-26 - Number C17-244
| Card sets | Released in 20 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land |
Text of card
Crumbling Necropolis comes into play tapped. : Add , , or to your mana pool.
"They say the ruins of Sedraxis were once a shining capital in Vithia. Now it is a blight, a place to be avoided by the living." —Olcot, Rider of Joffik
Cards like Crumbling Necropolis
Crumbling Necropolis joins the roster of tri-color lands in Magic: The Gathering, offering a solid option for players running multicolor decks. This land parallels others like Arcane Sanctum, which also enters the battlefield tapped but provides a combination of different colors. Crumbling Necropolis provides access to blue, black, and red mana, accommodating a dynamic range of strategies.
Furthermore, we have Savage Lands, another land card that taps for three different mana types, but instead covers green, black, and red. Its functionality is nearly identical to Crumbling Necropolis, yet the color combination caters to a contrasting suite of decks. Frontier Bivouac serves a similar tri-color purpose for green, blue, and red decks, but like its counterparts, delays immediate use due to its tap upon entry feature.
When deciding on land cards for a three-color deck, players weigh the immediate availability of mana vs. the diversity of the mana base. While Crumbling Necropolis requires patience, its versatility in generating three types of mana makes it a valuable inclusion for commander games and multicolor strategies in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Crumbling Necropolis by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Crumbling Necropolis. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Grixis Storm | Free form | Noble Spring Quarterly |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Crumbling Necropolis enters the battlefield untapped if you control two or more basic lands, ensuring a smooth mana curve without losing tempo—a crucial aspect for decks that demand a diverse color palette. This card supports your strategy by allowing you to deploy your threats or answers on time, maintaining a strong board state.
Resource Acceleration: By tapping for three different colors of mana, Crumbling Necropolis naturally accelerates your resources, enabling you to cast multicolored spells earlier in the game. This facilitates a broader range of strategic plays and can be pivotal for decks that thrive on color diversity.
Instant Speed: While the land itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, having access to all three of its mana colors without delay allows you to respond with instant speed spells more effectively. This versatility gives you the ability to adapt to the evolving game situation, casting spells or activating abilities as needed.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Crumbling Necropolis does not force you to discard cards, it may require careful hand management when entering play tapped, effectively delaying your immediate plans for allocating mana resources.
Specific Mana Cost: Crumbling Necropolis demands a dedicated slot in tri-color decks, as it produces one of three specific mana colors. This can potentially disrupt the mana curve in decks not tailored for such specificities.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Entering the battlefield tapped means its high utility is tempered by a delay in tempo, which sometimes is a steep price compared to other lands that might offer immediate mana availability.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Crumbling Necropolis is a tri-color land that supports decks embracing Grixis colors (blue, black, and red), making it a flexible addition to enhance mana fixing in your diverse deck builds.
Combo Potential: This land enables smooth execution of combos spanning multiple colors, ensuring you have the right mana sources at the right time to play your winning cards without delay.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where three-color decks are prevalent or if you’re playing formats like Commander where color diversity is key, Crumbling Necropolis proves to be an asset by reliably providing access to the crucial mana colors needed for your strategic plays.
How to beat
Crumbling Necropolis is not a threatening card by itself in MTG, but it plays a key role in enabling tricolor mana bases, particularly in Commander and other eternal formats. The card’s purpose is to provide access to red, blue, or black mana, which can be crucial for casting spells with demanding color requirements. To effectively counteract the advantage Crumbling Necropolis offers, players should consider using land destruction cards or strategies that limit the opponent’s ability to utilize their mana, such as Stony Silence or Blood Moon.
Another strategy is to run counter spells to directly disrupt your opponent’s game plan, focusing on their key spells rather than the mana source. Cards like Wasteland or Ghost Quarter can also target Crumbling Necropolis directly, removing it from play and setting back your opponent’s mana development. Nevertheless, it’s essential to balance these reactions with the progression of your own board state to ensure that focusing on your opponent’s resources doesn’t hinder your path to victory.
Taking these approaches into account, while Crumbling Necropolis can certainly bolster an opponent’s mana pool, it can be outmaneuvered through consistent pressure and targeted resource disruption, ensuring that the foundation they rely on for their strategy crumbles just like the necropolis itself.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Crumbling Necropolis MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas, 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 Crumbling Necropolis and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
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- Card Market
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Printings
The Crumbling Necropolis Magic the Gathering card was released in 18 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by 4 different artists.
Show/hide all sets| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008-10-03 | Shards of Alara | ALA | 222 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 2 | 2011-09-02 | Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas | DDH | 74 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 3 | 2013-11-01 | Commander 2013 | C13 | 283 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 4 | 2015-11-18 | Legendary Cube Prize Pack | PZ1 | 138 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 5 | 2016-11-11 | Commander 2016 | C16 | 287 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 6 | 2017-03-17 | Modern Masters 2017 | MM3 | 233 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 7 | 2017-06-16 | Archenemy: Nicol Bolas | E01 | 92 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 8 | 2017-08-25 | Commander 2017 | C17 | 244 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 9 | 2017-11-24 | Explorers of Ixalan | E02 | 45 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Volkan Baǵa | |
| 10 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 1661 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 11 | The List | PLST | C17-244 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | ||
| 12 | 2022-04-29 | New Capenna Commander | NCC | 397 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 13 | 2022-09-09 | Dominaria United Commander | DMC | 205 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Volkan Baǵa | |
| 14 | 2022-10-07 | Warhammer 40,000 Commander | 40K | 273 | 2015 | Normal | Black | David Álvarez | |
| 15 | 2022-10-07 | Warhammer 40,000 Commander | 40K | 273★ | 2015 | Normal | Black | David Álvarez | |
| 16 | 2022-11-18 | The Brothers' War Commander | BRC | 179 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Volkan Baǵa | |
| 17 | 2023-06-23 | Tales of Middle-earth Commander | LTC | 302 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lorenzo Lanfranconi | |
| 18 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 859 | 2015 | Normal | Black | David Álvarez | |
| 19 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 268 | 2015 | Normal | Black | David Álvarez | |
| 20 | 2023-11-17 | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | LCC | 326 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Volkan Baǵa |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Crumbling Necropolis has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |