Fertile Thicket MTG Card
2015-10-02 - Number 237
2016-09-02 - Number 27
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Land |
Text of card
Fertile Thicket enters the battlefield tapped. When Fertile Thicket enters the battlefield, you may look at the top five cards of your library. If you do, reveal up to one basic land card from among them, then put that card on top of your library and the rest on the bottom in any order.: Add to your mana pool.
Cards like Fertile Thicket
Fertile Thicket holds a unique spot in the plethora of land cards available in Magic: The Gathering. It bears resemblance to lands like Tranquil Thicket, both entering the battlefield tapped and offering a mana of their respective color. Fertile Thicket differs with its opening play opportunity, enabling players to examine the top five cards of their library and ensure a land is secured for future turns, which is valuable for maintaining a smooth mana curve in the game.
Seek the Wilds is another card that allows deck filtering, granting a look at the top four cards to find a land or creature, but it is a sorcery and doesn’t directly influence mana availability like Fertile Thicket. Evolving Wilds is also worth mentioning; it serves a different purpose by fetching a basic land from the deck, though it requires sacrificing itself, while Fertile Thicket stays in play offering ongoing mana.
Weaving a strategic mana base is crucial in Magic: The Gathering, and cards like Fertile Thicket are instrumental for players desiring consistency in their deck’s performance. It’s a solid choice among its peers for land-focused strategies, ensuring land drops and contributing to a stable game foundation.
Cards similar to Fertile Thicket by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Fertile Thicket allows for valuable deck filtering early on, making it easier to find the key lands or spells you need to execute your game plan.
Resource Acceleration: Enters the battlefield untapped if you control two or fewer other lands, potentially speeding up your mana curve and allowing for a faster deployment of threats or defenses.
Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Fertile Thicket’s land searching ability can be planned around instant-speed plays, optimizing your mana usage and strategy during critical turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Fertile Thicket’s entering ability requires revealing a card, which could inadvertently give the opponent an insight into your strategy, potentially affecting the element of surprise in your gameplay.
Specific Mana Cost: The requirement for green mana to utilize its full potential restricts the card mainly to green-centric or multicolored decks, potentially rendering it less versatile in mono-colored setups not aligning with green.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While its land-fixing ability is useful, the fact that Fertile Thicket enters the battlefield tapped means that the mana it provides can’t be used on the turn it’s played, which might be a setback when speed is critical.
Reasons to Include Fertile Thicket in Your Collection
Versatility: Fertile Thicket offers flexibility to decks by aiding mana fixing. Its ability to look at the top five cards of your library and potentially put a land card on top ensures that you can plan your next draw, making it a friendly addition to decks that strategize around landfall or need consistent land drops.
Combo Potential: In combination with cards that benefit from land entering the battlefield or being cycled through the library, this land has the potential to act as an enabler. Its synergy with cards that care about top-of-library manipulation or deck thinning increases its utility beyond a simple mana source.
Meta-Relevance: With an ever-evolving MTG scene, having a land that can slightly adjust your draws might be increasingly pertinent, especially in formats where mana consistency can make or break a game. Fertile Thicket is a good choice in metas where players are looking to streamline their land bases while still having access to utility lands.
How to beat
Fertile Thicket is a unique land piece within the realm of Magic: The Gathering, often providing players with a subtle yet pivotal edge in deck manipulation. When it enters the battlefield, it allows the controller to look at the top five cards of their library and potentially secure a land card among them, readying their next draw. But how do you outmaneuver this advantage?
To counteract Fertile Thicket, you must focus on land disruption tactics. Utilize spells that force shuffling of the opponent’s library, negating the deck-stacking benefit this card provides. Cards like Ghost Quarter can provide an unanticipated shuffle while removing the Thicket from play. Control decks leveraging instant-speed interaction can respond to land searches and undermine your opponent’s setup. Key to beating Fertile Thicket is staying ahead of your opponent’s strategies and using land interaction to disrupt their carefully laid plans.
Remember, while Fertile Thicket might pave the way for your opponent’s next moves, it neither accelerates their mana nor provides an immediate in-game advantage beyond the library manipulation. Maintain pressure, disrupt strategically, and the influence of Fertile Thicket can be mitigated or even turned to your advantage in the grand scheme of the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Fertile Thicket MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar and Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis, 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 Fertile Thicket and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
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- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Fertile Thicket Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2016-09-02. Illustrated by Andreas Rocha.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015-10-02 | Battle for Zendikar | BFZ | 237 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha | |
| 2 | 2016-09-02 | Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis | DDR | 27 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Fertile Thicket has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Fertile Thicket card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | You don’t have to reveal a basic land card from among the five cards you look at, even if one is there. If you don’t, you won’t put a card on top of your library. |