Ordered Migration MTG Card


Ordered Migration - Invasion
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Domain
Released2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set nameInvasion
Set codeINV
Number258
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byHeather Hudson

Key Takeaways

  1. Ordered Migration fuels strategies accentuating token generation and domain mechanic benefits.
  2. While empowering graveyard decks, its discard requirement can also reduce hand advantage.
  3. Diversifies deck builds with bird tokens, enabling aerial strategies in current metagames.

Text of card

Put a 1/1 blue Bird creature token with flying into play for each basic land type among lands you control.

"Birds reach all parts of the world," said Barrin. "They will make excellent scouts."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ordered Migration offers a significant edge by providing an efficient way to increase your creature count, potentially turning the tide of a game.

Resource Acceleration: This card excels in decks that benefit from the Domain mechanic, quickly escalating your board presence by leveraging the number of basic land types you control.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Ordered Migration at instant speed gives you the flexibility to surprise an opponent or optimize your strategy right before your turn begins.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ordered Migration necessitates discarding another card when played. While enabling graveyard strategies, this can deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable to an opponent’s tactics if you’re already behind on card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: With a precise mana requirement that includes white, Ordered Migration might struggle to find a home in multicolored decks or those that heavily favor other color combinations, potentially impacting deck building flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At five mana, this card’s cost can be burdensome, especially considering other cards in the metagame might provide more cost-effective creature solutions or board presence for a lower investment.


Reasons to Include Ordered Migration in Your Collection

Versatility: Ordered Migration effortlessly integrates into decks that capitalize on token generation or bird tribal themes. Whether it’s augmenting board presence or working as a key piece in a flying-centric strategy, this card is a solid pick for diversified deck construction.

Combo Potential: Its synergy with cards that boost the effects of token production or that benefit from a high creature count can lead to game-swinging scenarios. With the right combo, Ordered Migration can vastly multiply your bird tokens, creating opportunities for explosive turns.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where flying creatures can dominate, this spell has the potential to be a game changer. Adjusting your board to include a flock of birds can be an effective approach to navigate around grounded defenses, making Ordered Migration a relevant choice in current gameplay dynamics.


How to beat

Ordered Migration is a fascinating card that has the potential to significantly impact the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. It provides a way to create a flock of Bird tokens, greatly enhancing your board presence. To effectively counter this card, you need a strategy that can manage multiple creatures at once. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Doomskar can clear the board of tokens irrespective of their quantity, negating the effect of Ordered Migration. Additionally, spot removal isn’t efficient against the multitude of tokens, so cards that can prevent token generation or punish the creation of creatures, such as Tocatli Honor Guard or Rampaging Ferocidon, can serve as key preemptive measures.

Another tactic is to outpace the token generation with aggressive strategies. Since Ordered Migration comes with a substantial mana cost, deploying low-cost creatures early or ramping up your mana to play impactful cards beforehand can give you the advantage you need. Cards that grant you life for each creature like Authority of the Consuls can offset the swarm’s advantage. Lastly, leveraging graveyard-based strategies such as Scarab God can bypass the token production and manipulate the board in your favor. Understanding and predicting when Ordered Migration might be played allows for timely disruption, ensuring it won’t tip the scales against you.


Cards like Ordered Migration

Ordered Migration presents a unique twist to creature spells in the MTG universe, much like its counterparts in the strategies of token generation. Comparable to cards like Migration Path, Ordered Migration allows you to put a significant number of Bird tokens into play, which can rapidly bolster your aerial forces. While Migration Path primarily focuses on land acceleration by enabling you to search for two basic lands, Ordered Migration’s distinction lies in its ability to populate the field with fliers, giving you a potential advantage in the skies.

Murmuring Bosk is another parallel to consider, with both cards rooted in the colors of green and white. While Ordered Migration excels in creating creature tokens, Murmuring Bosk offers a multifaceted land that can tap for three different colors of mana, providing flexibility in mana bases. Despite this versatility, it doesn’t directly contribute to your creature count like Ordered Migration does.

Ultimately, Ordered Migration stands out due to its dual capacity to influence the board with tangible threats while also supporting the Selesnya guild’s love for token synergies. As a result, it provides MTG strategists with a valuable tool for decks aiming to dominate through numbers and aerial domination.

Migration Path - MTG Card versions
Murmuring Bosk - MTG Card versions
Migration Path - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)
Murmuring Bosk - Morningtide (MOR)

Cards similar to Ordered Migration by color, type and mana cost

Time Wipe - MTG Card versions
Migratory Route - MTG Card versions
Fractured Identity - MTG Card versions
Time Wipe - Doctor Who (WHO)
Migratory Route - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Fractured Identity - Doctor Who (WHO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ordered Migration MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Ordered Migration and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ordered Migration has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-02-01 A number of nonbasic lands have basic land types. Domain abilities don’t count the number of lands you control — they count the number of basic land types among lands you control, even if that means checking the same land twice. For example, if you control a Tundra, an Overgrown Tomb, and a Madblind Mountain, you’ll have a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest among the lands you control. Your domain abilities will be maxed out.
2009-02-01 How many lands you control of a particular basic land type is irrelevant to a domain ability, as long as that number is greater than zero. As far as domain is concerned, ten Forests is the same as one Forest.
2009-02-01 To determine the number of basic land types among lands you control, look at the lands you have on the battlefield and ask yourself whether the subtypes Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest appear within that group. The number of times you say yes (topping out at five) tells you how powerful your domain abilities will be.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks