Excavation Explosion MTG Card

Excavation Explosion - The Brothers' War

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2022-11-18
Set symbol
Set name	The Brothers' War
Set code	BRO
Number	132
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Campbell White

Key Takeaways

Card draw and mana acceleration make it a potent and flexible card for dynamic gameplay.
Requires discarding and specific mana, limiting its use to certain decks and strategies.
Despite its cost, its versatility and combo potential make it a valuable collection addition.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Excavation Explosion MTG card by a specific set like The Brothers' War, 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 Excavation Explosion and other MTG cards:

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Text of card

Excavation Explosion deals 3 damage to any target. Create a tapped Powerstone token. (It's an artifact with ": Add . This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell.")

Urza's engineers could take weeks to dig out a powerstone. The goblins weren't so painstaking.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Excavation Explosion shines in granting players access to extra card draws. This not only helps maintain a solid hand size but can provide that crucial card you need to tip the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: The card also serves as a resource accelerator. By generating a considerable amount of mana through its effect, it opens the door for casting high-cost spells or activating abilities that could be game-changers.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Excavation Explosion means it can be a surprise factor during gameplay. This flexibility allows players to decide the best tactical moment to unveil their strategy, keeping opponents guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Excavation Explosion requires players to discard a card in addition to its other costs. This can be a downside for players who are already struggling to maintain a substantial hand size, reducing their future play options.

Specific Mana Cost: With red in its casting cost, Excavation Explosion necessitates a mana base that can reliably produce red mana. This requirement could restrict the card’s inclusion to red-centric or two-color decks, potentially excluding it from a wider variety of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding a total of five mana, with two of those being red, makes Excavation Explosion a significant investment in a game’s mid- to late stage. Considering its effect, there are alternative cards that can deliver similar or better performance at a lower cost, allowing players to utilize their mana more efficiently throughout the game.

Reasons to Include Excavation Explosion in Your Collection

Versatility: Excavation Explosion is a card that can adapt to various deck styles, particularly those that capitalize on direct damage and land interaction. It can serve as both removal and a game finisher.

Combo Potential: This card works well in synergistic plays, especially with land recursion or graveyard mechanics, allowing you to repeatedly leverage its destructive power.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right circumstances, for instance, in a meta that prioritizes value over time, Excavation Explosion’s ability to remove key threats and apply pressure is tremendously effective.

How to beat Excavation Explosion

Overcoming Excavation Explosion in an MTG game can be a strategic hurdle, given its dual-purpose nature as both a removal tool and a means of digging through your deck for cards. A direct approach to countering this spell is to prioritize the protection of your valuable creatures. Consider using spells that grant hexproof or indestructible abilities, effectively neutralizing its removal aspect. Another tactic is to employ counterspells. By keeping mana open, you can intercept and negate Excavation Explosion before it ever impacts the board.

Don’t underestimate the advantage of deck manipulation to thwart an opposing Excavation Explosion. Utilize effects that allow you to shuffle your deck or draw cards, potentially minimizing the impact of your opponent’s strategic card search. This can help dilute the effectiveness of their card advantage. It’s also worth adapting your playstyle, possibly conserving resources until after your opponent has exhausted their explosive plays. Crafting a late-game strategy that accounts for recovery after an Excavation Explosion can turn the tables in your favor.

By integrating these countermeasures into your strategy, you can effectively challenge Excavation Explosion’s capabilities, ensuring that your own game plan remains undisturbed while mitigating your opponent’s advancement.

Cards like Excavation Explosion

Excavation Explosion brings a unique twist to spell cards that deal damage to creatures or players. Looking at cards like Banefire and Demonfire, both offer X-cost damage abilities, allowing players to tap as much mana as they can afford for a powerful strike. Excavation Explosion differentiates itself by introducing an additional cost – sacrificing a land. This not only enables the control of board state through land destruction but potentially scales the damage output significantly.

When considering utility and strategy, we also see parallels with cards like Star of Extinction. Similarly, Star of Extinction delivers a devastating blow to both creatures and lands. However, while Star of Extinction has a fixed cost and damage, Excavation Explosion’s flexibility in mana spending can adapt to various game situations, offering diverse tactical approaches.

Between the versatile mana expenditure of Excavation Explosion and the set parameters of its counterparts, players are given a strategic choice. Such a tool exhibits the trade-offs players will weigh regarding resource management and impact timing, emphasizing its value in customizable MTG strategies.

Cards similar to Excavation Explosion by color, type and mana cost

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Excavation Explosion has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2022-10-14	Although all the cards in The Brothers' War that create Powerstone tokens create a tapped Powerstone token, entering the battlefield tapped isn't part of the token's definition. Notably, if you create a token that is a copy of a Powerstone token, the token copy won't enter the battlefield tapped.
2022-10-14	Powerstone tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one has the artifact subtype "Powerstone" and the ability ": Add . This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell."
2022-10-14	You can use the added by a Powerstone token on anything that isn't a nonartifact spell. This includes paying costs to activate abilities of both artifact and nonartifact permanents, paying ward costs, and so on.