Alpine Meadow MTG Card


Alpine Meadow - Kaldheim
RarityCommon
TypeSnow Land — Mountain Plains
Released2021-02-05
Set symbol
Set nameKaldheim
Set codeKHM
Number248
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byPiotr Dura

Key Takeaways

  1. Alpine Meadow provides crucial mana fixing in Boros decks, optimizing game tempo and color availability.
  2. Lack of entry effects and tap condition can slow down gameplay, challenging early game momentum.
  3. Key in snow synergies and landfall strategies, enhancing combo potential and meta relevance.

Text of card

(: Add or .) Alpine Meadow enters the battlefield tapped.

"Here perished Rognar the Reckless after his hundred-day battle with the Ironmaw Dragon. We raised these stones to mark his resting place." —Iskene, Kannah storyteller


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Alpine Meadow doesn’t directly provide card advantage in the traditional sense. However, as a land card that also doubles as a snow land, it allows for more consistent access to mana and can enable synergies with cards that benefit from snow lands without taking up additional card slots in your deck.

Resource Acceleration: This dual land enters the battlefield tapped, which can be a minor setback, but the fact that it taps for both red and white mana gives a significant boost to resource acceleration. This can be especially crucial in two-color decks where mana fixing is key to casting your spells on time.

Instant Speed: Although Alpine Meadow doesn’t function at instant speed, it supports strategies that do. Having access to both colors of mana the land provides can be the difference between casting an instant speed interaction or missing the opportunity, making it a reliable asset in a game where timing is everything.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Alpine Meadow requires a card to be discarded for repeated cycling benefits, potentially depleting valuable hand options for players.

Specific Mana Cost: This land enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or more other lands, impacting mana curve and game tempo negatively when drawn early on.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the necessity of both red and white mana, utilizing Alpine Meadow can be less efficient than basic lands for players not running a dedicated Boros deck.


Reasons to Include Alpine Meadow in Your Collection

Versatility: Alpine Meadow enters the battlefield as a source for both red and white mana, crucial for Boros decks or others that need a stable mana foundation. Its flexibility supports multicolor deck construction and strategy adaptability.

Combo Potential: As a land with a basic land type, Alpine Meadow can be searched with cards that specifically fetch Mountains or Plains. This enhances landfall strategies and works well with cards that untap lands or benefit from land types.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where land interactions are significant, Alpine Meadow shines. It’s useful in formats like Commander where it supports mana fixing in two colors while being an eligible target for land-based synergies.


How to beat

Alpine Meadow is a unique land card representing a fusion of what forest and mountain lands offer in the realm of Magic: The Gathering. Bringing this card into play tapped may initially seem like a setback. However, its ability to tap for both red and white mana makes it a strategic asset for multicolored decks in formats like Commander or Modern.

Dismantling the benefit of Alpine Meadow comes from prioritizing speed. Employing land destruction strategies can be a simple yet effective method. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can replace Alpine Meadow with a basic land, slowing down your opponent’s mana development. Alternatively, anti-land cards such as Blood Moon can transform Alpine Meadow into a basic mountain, negating its multicolor utility and disrupting your opponent’s strategy. Another approach is to use enchantments like Containment Priest which can hinder the graveyard synergies often associated with this card’s typical deck archetypes.

Ultimately, when facing off against Alpine Meadow, it is essential to assault the mana base and control the game’s pace. Applying pressure early can prevent your opponent from leveraging the duel mana benefits and using their more mana-intensive spells to their advantage.


Similar Cards to Alpine Meadow

Alpine Meadow carves out its niche in the world of Magic the Gathering as a dual land card, a trusty fundamental for many decks that require both red and white mana. In direct comparison, cards like Temple of Triumph offer a similar color mana supply, with the extra advantage of scrying to possibly smooth out future draws. The scrying element is absent in Alpine Meadow, but it makes up for it with its presence in the snow land subtype, which can be crucial in strategies that capitalize on snow synergies.

Another comparable card is Boros Guildgate. Both enter the battlefield tapped, a minor setback for players aiming for a quick mana boost. However, Alpine Meadow’s snow status can integrate with cards like Skred, adding potential for additional damage based on the count of snow lands. It’s a unique leverage that standard dual lands like Boros Guildgate lack. Conversely, Wind-Scarred Crag adds a small life gain on entry, offering a slight but potentially significant advantage in lifetotal that Alpine Meadow does not provide.

Considering the aspects of mana fixing, entry effects, and compatibility with snow-centric mechanics, Alpine Meadow aligns well within its cohort, with distinct traits making it a valuable option depending on a player’s deck strategy in Magic the Gathering.

Temple of Triumph - MTG Card versions
Boros Guildgate - MTG Card versions
Wind-Scarred Crag - MTG Card versions
Temple of Triumph - Theros (THS)
Boros Guildgate - Gatecrash (GTC)
Wind-Scarred Crag - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)

Cards similar to Alpine Meadow by color, type and mana cost

Plateau - MTG Card versions
Scabland - MTG Card versions
Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway - MTG Card versions
Sundown Pass - MTG Card versions
Boros Garrison - MTG Card versions
Sacred Foundry - MTG Card versions
Temple of Triumph - MTG Card versions
Furycalm Snarl - MTG Card versions
Battlefield Forge - MTG Card versions
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - MTG Card versions
Rugged Prairie - MTG Card versions
Boros Guildgate - MTG Card versions
Wind-Scarred Crag - MTG Card versions
Needle Spires - MTG Card versions
Inspiring Vantage - MTG Card versions
Stone Quarry - MTG Card versions
Clifftop Retreat - MTG Card versions
Sunbaked Canyon - MTG Card versions
Slayers' Stronghold - MTG Card versions
Spectator Seating - MTG Card versions
Plateau - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Scabland - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Sundown Pass - Doctor Who (WHO)
Boros Garrison - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Sacred Foundry - Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)
Temple of Triumph - Fallout (PIP)
Furycalm Snarl - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Battlefield Forge - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC)
Rugged Prairie - Double Masters (2XM)
Boros Guildgate - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Wind-Scarred Crag - March of the Machine (MOM)
Needle Spires - Oath of the Gatewatch Promos (POGW)
Inspiring Vantage - Kaladesh Promos (PKLD)
Stone Quarry - Rivals of Ixalan (RIX)
Clifftop Retreat - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Sunbaked Canyon - Doctor Who (WHO)
Slayers' Stronghold - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Spectator Seating - Commander Masters (CMM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Alpine Meadow MTG card by a specific set like 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 Alpine Meadow and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Alpine Meadow has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-05 Snow is a supertype, not a card type. It has no rules meaning or function by itself, but spells and abilities may refer to it.
2021-02-05 Snow isn’t a type of mana. If an effect says you may spend mana as though it were any type, you can’t pay for {S} using mana that wasn’t produced by a snow source.
2021-02-05 Some cards have additional effects for each {S} spent to cast them. You can cast these spells even if you don’t spend any snow mana to cast them; their additional effects simply won’t do anything.
2021-02-05 The Kaldheim set doesn’t have any cards with mana costs that include {S}, but some previous sets do. If an effect says such a spell costs less to cast, that reduction doesn’t apply to any {S} costs. This is also true for activated abilities that include {S} in their activation costs and effects that reduce those costs.
2021-02-05 The {S} symbol is a generic mana symbol. It represents a cost that can be paid by one mana that was produced by a snow source. That mana can be any color or colorless.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks