Map MTG Card
2023-11-17 - Number 17
2024-04-19 - Number 7
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Type | Token Artifact — Map |
| Abilities | Explore |
Text of card
, , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Cards like Map
The Map card enriches the world of land utility spells in Magic: The Gathering. When examining its uses, it is instinctively paired with other fixtures such as Expedition Map, a staple for fetching crucial lands directly into your hand. Yet, our Map card diverges by allowing a deeper dig into the top cards of your library, thus affording a more flexible but less targeted approach to land acquisition.
Akin to Journeyer’s Kite, both utilities strengthen a player’s land drops consistency, though Journeyer’s Kite requires repeated activation costs, contrasting with the single use nature of the Map card. Another analogue is Armillary Sphere, which bypasses the library by directly tutoring basic lands into your hand, offering immediate certainty at a comparable mana investment.
Through this comparison, the Map card emerges as a contender that blends the advantages of library manipulation with the potential for a more immediate land drop, situating it as an intriguing option for players crafting decks that hinge on land-based strategy.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Map card provides an effective way to sift through your deck, getting you to your most impactful cards more efficiently. It’s like having a compass that always points to your best plays.
Resource Acceleration: By aiding in land drops or ramping mana, the Map card can be essential for getting ahead on resources. It’s the jet fuel to your strategy, propelling you forward at an accelerated pace.
Instant Speed: The flexibility to interact with the Map card at instant speed means you can adapt to the fluid battlefield, responding to threats or opportunities in the blink of an eye. It’s like having a secret ace up your sleeve, ready at a moment’s notice.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Often card mapping requires the player to toss a valuable card from their hand, presenting a strategic setback, especially when your hand size diminishes.
Specific Mana Cost: Navigating a map card means dedicating specific mana types in your deck’s construction, which can pigeonhole your strategy and leave you vulnerable to mana shortages.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When deploying a map card, a hefty mana investment is expected. This can slow your gameplay tempo, making it less attractive compared to other easily castable options that could further your board state with less resource commitment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Map cards can be integrated across a variety of deck builds, serving pivotal roles in land manipulation and strategic planning, which are crucial in multiple game phases.
Combo Potential: These cards can interact synergistically with landfall mechanics or other cards that benefit from land tutoring, thus enhancing gameplay through powerful combinations.
Meta-Relevance: Given the evolving landscape of the competitive scene, having map cards in your arsenal ensures readiness to adapt to land-centric strategies that may dominate play.
How to Beat
Map cards in MTG offer a specific challenge due to their ability to manipulate the game through strategic exploration and terrain advantages. A prime example is crackling with potential, setting up victories through careful play. However, to beat a map card, disrupting the opponent’s land-based plans is key. Artifact removal spells like Fragmentize can eliminate the map, hindering the player’s path to victory. Additionally, countering the spells that seek to exploit the map, such as countering a key expedition-triggering sorcery, can effectively neutralize the advantage.
Denying resources is another effective strategy. Cards that restrict land searches or untapping can halt the map’s momentum, as with Thalia, Heretic Cathar, who slows down opponents’ lands entering the battlefield. Hand disruption, like Thoughtseize, can pre-emptively address map cards by removing key components before they ever hit the board.
In essence, the best approach to beating a map card in MTG is through early disruption, targeted removal, and keeping a tight rein on their resource development. Attacking their strategy on these fronts can navigate you to a position of dominance on the battlefield.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Map MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan and The Big Score, 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 Map and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Map Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2023-11-17 and 2024-04-19. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-11-17 | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | LCI | 17 | 2015 | Token | Black | Francesca Baerald | |
| 2 | 2024-04-19 | The Big Score | BIG | 7 | 2015 | Token | Black | Camille Alquier |