Daring Archaeologist MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Human Artificer
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Daring Archaeologist excels at retrieving artifacts, offering card advantage and strategic board presence.
  2. Its synergy with historic spells enables growth, making it a robust addition to artifact-themed decks.
  3. Despite a restrictive mana cost, it remains a versatile and powerful option for tailored MTG strategies.

Text of card

When Daring Archaeologist enters the battlefield, you may return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand. Whenever you cast a historic spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Daring Archaeologist. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Daring Archaeologist has the distinct ability to return a target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand when it enters the battlefield, ensuring that you maintain valuable resources and card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: This creature not only helps with card retrieval but also grows stronger whenever you cast a historic spell, effectively speeding up your board presence and resource utilization with incremental power increases.

Instant Speed: While Daring Archaeologist itself isn’t an instant, its ability to retrieve artifacts can set you up for powerful plays at instant speed later on. Having access to artifacts that can be activated or cast at instant speed becomes significantly more advantageous with the Archaeologist on your side.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Daring Archaeologist requires a significant commitment to artifacts in order to maximize its potential. Without a consistent stream of artifacts to play, you may not fully capitalize on its ability to gain +1/+1 counters, potentially rendering it less impactful on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost necessitates a white mana, which can restrict its integration into multicolored decks. Players will need to consider their mana base carefully to ensure they can reliably cast Daring Archaeologist on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Daring Archaeologist competes with other powerful four-drop creatures and spells. In a game where tempo can be crucial, its cost may slow you down, particularly if you’re unable to immediately trigger its historic artifact synergy.


Reasons to Include Daring Archaeologist in Your Collection

Versatility: Daring Archaeologist is a dynamic addition to decks that capitalize on artifact synergy. Not only does this creature recover an artifact from your graveyard upon entering the battlefield, but it also grows stronger with each historic spell you cast, giving it a multipurpose role in gameplay.

Combo Potential: This card carries significant combo potential in artifact-centric strategies. Its ability to get larger with the casting of historic spells—artifacts, sagas, or legendary spells—enables it to become a formidable threat while complementing your overall board presence.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where artifacts play a critical role, Daring Archaeologist provides resilience against removal and card advantage. Establishing a strong presence by salvaging key artifacts and progressively amplifying its power makes it a relevant choice for competitive play.


How to beat

Daring Archaeologist is a unique creature card that brings both a historic angle and a self-building mechanism to MTG tables. This formidable card adds to your arsenal by returning target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand when it enters the battlefield. Moreover, it gets bigger each time another historic spell is cast. To tackle this growing threat, one efficient strategy is removal on entry. Preventing the initial artifact retrieval and stopping the Archaeologist from snowballing can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Silencing spells or abilities that counter creatures can be exceptionally powerful tools against Daring Archaeologist. Given it thrives on synergy with historic spells, disrupting this synergy with negating effects or utilizing instant-speed removal before the Archaeologist’s abilities trigger can keep the board in your favor. Additionally, graveyard manipulation can hinder its recursion potential. Cards that exile from graveyards negate the retrieval perk and can permanently cripple the expected card advantage. In short, swift and decisive action is paramount when facing the escalating power of the Daring Archaeologist.


Cards like Daring Archaeologist

Daring Archaeologist has carved its own niche within the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. When weighing it against other cards with graveyard interaction, its closest relative might be Restoration Specialist. Both cards retrieve valuable artifacts from the graveyard; however, Daring Archaeologist takes it a step further by also offering a +1/+1 counter whenever you cast a historic spell, thus enhancing your board presence.

Another card worth considering is Trusty Packbeast, which also returns an artifact card from your graveyard to your hand. Unlike Daring Archaeologist, the Packbeast doesn’t receive counters or provide the potential for long-term growth but does come in at a lower mana cost. Then there’s Salvage Scout, a one-cost creature with the ability to sacrifice itself to perform a similar retrieval function, albeit at a smaller scale compared to the Archaeologist’s recurring potential.

Among creatures that interact with artifacts, Daring Archaeologist provides a certain versatility and scaling power that can be instrumental in artifact-centric decks. While other cards might offer simpler or more immediate benefits, the Archaeologist’s unique set of abilities secures its place in MTG as a noteworthy option for long-term value and strategic artifact recovery.

Restoration Specialist - MTG Card versions
Trusty Packbeast - MTG Card versions
Salvage Scout - MTG Card versions
Restoration Specialist - Aether Revolt (AER)
Trusty Packbeast - Core Set 2019 (M19)
Salvage Scout - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

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Mangara, the Diplomat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Akroma's Devoted - Legions (LGN)
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Kami of Old Stone - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Aven Cloudchaser - Ninth Edition (9ED)
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Seht's Tiger - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Valor - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Guardian Seraph - Magic 2010 (M10)
Lightkeeper of Emeria - Worldwake (WWK)
Cho-Manno, Revolutionary - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Hero of Bladehold - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Mausoleum Guard - Innistrad (ISD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Daring Archaeologist MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria and Dominaria Promos, 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 Daring Archaeologist and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Daring Archaeologist Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-04-27 and 2018-04-27. Illustrated by Sidharth Chaturvedi.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-04-27DominariaDOM 132015normalblackSidharth Chaturvedi
22018-04-27Dominaria PromosPDOM 13s2015normalblackSidharth Chaturvedi

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Daring Archaeologist has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-04-27 A card, spell, or permanent is historic if it has the legendary supertype, the artifact card type, or the Saga subtype. Having two of those qualities doesn’t make an object more historic than another or provide an additional bonus—an object either is historic or it isn’t.
2018-04-27 An ability that triggers “whenever you cast a historic spell” doesn’t trigger if a historic card is put onto the battlefield without being cast.
2018-04-27 Lands are never cast, so abilities that trigger “whenever you cast a historic spell” won’t trigger if you play a legendary land. They also won’t trigger if a card on the battlefield transforms into a legendary land, as the Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan double-faced cards do.
2018-04-27 Some abilities trigger “whenever you cast a historic spell.” Such an ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered.

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