Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway MTG Card
2021-02-05 - Number 254
2021-02-05 - Number 292
2021-02-06 - Number 254s
2020-09-26 - Number KHM-254
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land |
Key Takeaways
- Serves as a pivotal land for Golgari decks, offering vital mana flexibility without entering tapped.
- Excels in synergy with landfall and graveyard mechanics, aiding both early and late game strategies.
- Competitive viability is strong, being a staple in specific meta decks due to its adaptability.
Text of card
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"The Cosmos Serpent carved these tunnels, and his echo remains, a twisting aura of ferocity and boundless growth." —Haugar, Kannah wayfinder
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway does not directly allow you to draw additional cards, it aids in maintaining card advantage by fulfilling land drops consistently. This ensures you have the necessary mana sources to cast the spells in your hand.
Resource Acceleration: As a modal double-faced card, this land provides an immediate benefit of choice, allowing you to accelerate your resources based on what mana color you need at the moment—black or green. This flexibility can be crucial for casting key spells on curve.
Instant Speed: The ability to play a land isn’t at instant speed, but the flexibility of this dual land functions similarly by adapting to the demands of the game as they unfold. This ensures you’re never off tempo and can respond to the changing board state with the right color of mana when you need it.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While this doesn’t apply to the land itself, any card that asks you to discard as a part of its cost could lead you to consider whether holding onto a versatile land like Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway is worth potentially missing out on other spells.
Specific Mana Cost: As a modal double-faced card, this land provides either black or green mana but not both at the same time, which may not always align with your immediate mana needs especially in multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although not inherently costly, when weighed against utility lands that offer additional abilities, Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway’s lack of an extra effect can be a notable drawback in some scenarios where maximizing mana efficacy is crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway offers seamless mana fixing essential in Golgari decks. It’s a flip land that adapts to your mana needs, enhancing consistency across various build strategies.
Combo Potential: This card excels in combinations with landfall triggers or graveyard synergies, leveraging both of its sides to maximize the impact on the board state.
Meta-Relevance: In a constantly evolving competitive scene, having access to such a high utility land can be the difference between a win and a loss. This card slots into key decks, holding its ground within the meta.
How to beat
Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway represents a valuable tool in building mana consistency for players in MTG. This modal double-faced card offers a choice between a black or green mana source without the need to reveal or wait, a definite edge for decks utilizing these colors. While flexible, it’s not insurmountable.
Overcoming the utility of Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway hinges on strategic land disruption. Cards like Field of Ruin can force a shuffle, potentially disrupting your opponent’s mana base when they are relying on this modal land. Blood Moon stands as another solid countermeasure, turning all non-basic lands into basic Mountains, negating the Pathway’s dual utility. Furthermore, direct land destruction spells or effects, such as those found in Ghost Quarter or Assassin’s Trophy, can remove this land from play, forcing your opponent back to their deck for a basic land substitute.
Therefore, successfully challenging an opponent using Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway involves foresight and appropriate tech choices. Integrating land interaction tools into your deck can ensure that you’re prepared to dismantle their strategic mana advantage and maintain an even playing field.
Cards like Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway serves a crucial role in Magic: The Gathering as a flexible land card that can tap for two different types of mana without entering the battlefield tapped. In comparison, cards such as Temple of Malady also offer access to black and green mana, but with the drawback of entering the battlefield tapped; albeit, it does provide a scry 1 benefit.
On the other hand, we have Overgrown Tomb, an option that can either come into play tapped or you can pay 2 life to have it enter untapped, providing immediate mana access of both types. Similarly, Woodland Cemetery provides both mana types but only enters the battlefield untapped if you control a Swamp or a Forest, making it somewhat conditional.
In essence, Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway stands out due to its unconditional and immediate mana utility, which is paramount for maintaining tempo in games. It showcases its superiority over alternatives by combining versatility without compromising on speed, ensuring that players can stay ahead in the mana curve game.
Cards similar to Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway MTG card by a specific set like The List and Kaldheim, 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 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-06. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The List | PLST | KHM-254 | 2015 | Modal DFC | Black | Johannes Voss | ||
| 2 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 254 | 2015 | Modal DFC | Black | Johannes Voss | |
| 3 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 292 | 2015 | Modal DFC | Borderless | Alayna Danner | |
| 4 | 2021-02-06 | Kaldheim Promos | PKHM | 254s | 2015 | Modal DFC | Black | Johannes Voss |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-05 | A modal double-faced card can’t be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than “play”) a specific modal double-faced card, you can’t play it as a land. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face’s name. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can’t be put onto the battlefield, it doesn’t enter the battlefield. |
| 2021-02-05 | In the Commander variant, a double-faced card’s color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered. |
| 2021-02-05 | The converted mana cost of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that’s being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the converted mana cost of a transforming double-faced card is determined. |
| 2021-02-05 | There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face. |
| 2021-02-05 | To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you’re playing and ignore the other face’s characteristics. |