Orchard Strider MTG Card
2021-06-18 - Number 169
2023-06-23 - Number 253
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Treefolk |
| Abilities | Basic landcycling,Cycling,Food,Landcycling |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 4 |
Key Takeaways
- Orchard Strider offers land fetching on entry, enhancing card quality in later draws.
- Its landfall ability accelerates mana, enabling quicker access to high-cost spells.
- Strategically castable, it exploits landfall synergies and surprises opponents.
Text of card
When Orchard Strider enters the battlefield, create two Food tokens. (They're artifacts with ", , Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.") Basic landcycling (, Discard this card: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Orchard Strider provides key benefits when entering the battlefield by giving you the option to fetch a land from your deck, effectively thinning it and increasing the chances of drawing non-land cards in subsequent turns.
Resource Acceleration: By fetching a basic land card and putting it onto the battlefield tapped through its landfall ability, Orchard Strider enhances your mana base, helping you to ramp up and cast high-cost spells earlier than usual.
Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Orchard Strider can be played at the end of turn three or during any main phase, which allows for strategic timing, especially if you’re looking to benefit from other cards’ landfall abilities or surprise an opponent with sudden mana availability.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: For Orchard Strider, the need to discard a card to capitalize on certain abilities could deplete your hand too quickly, leaving you vulnerable in later rounds.
Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both green and another color limits the flexibility, necessitating a strong mana base which could impact deck composition and reduce adaptability.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that includes three generic and two green mana, Orchard Strider demands a significant mana investment, potentially slowing down your gameplay compared to other options that may provide similar benefits for less.
Reasons to Include Orchard Strider in Your Collection
Versatility: Orchard Strider is a flexible card that can easily find a home in green-based ramp or landfall decks. With its ability to fetch basic lands onto the battlefield and support life gain, it supports both mana development and sustainability in prolonged matches.
Combo Potential: Given its dual land tutoring ability, Orchard Strider works well with cards that capitalize on lands entering the battlefield or being in the graveyard, setting the stage for powerful land-related synergies.
Meta-Relevance: In environments dominated by aggressive or creature-heavy decks, Orchard Strider provides a sizable body for blocking as well as ensuring consistent land drops, which enables it to be a relevant choice in various matchups.
How to Beat Orchard Strider
Orchard Strider presents a unique set of abilities that can be quite advantageous for players in Magic: The Gathering. Its role as a six-mana 6/4 creature with the land-searching capability when it enters the battlefield mirrors that of other green ramp creatures. Yet, when contrasted with cards such as Solemn Simulacrum or Wood Elves, Orchard Strider offers a distinct difference. While those creatures provide some form of card advantage or map manipulation, Orchard Strider’s power lies in its contribution to landfall strategies and being a significant body on the board.
Confronting Orchard Strider effectively requires targeted removal or using creatures with higher toughness to block effectively. Players might consider efficient removal spells like Path to Exile or Murderous Rider to dispatch the Strider before it can impact the board significantly. Alternatively, leveraging counter spells like Counterspell or Mana Leak when the Strider is cast can prevent it from entering the battlefield in the first place, nullifying its land-fetching ability.
In summary, while Orchard Strider bolsters landfall strategies and creates a sizable obstacle, its effectiveness can be mitigated using strategic removal or counters. By understanding your deck and the tools at your disposal, overcoming the challenge posed by Orchard Strider is certainly achievable.
Cards like Orchard Strider
Orchard Strider presents an exciting dynamic for players who appreciate solid creature cards in MTG. In the realm of six-mana creatures, it draws close parallels to other cards like Baloth Gorger. Both share the option to be played for a larger mana cost for additional effects – Baloth Gorger gaining +4/+4 and Orchard Strider offering two Food tokens when kicked. While Baloth Gorger becomes a bigger threat on the battlefield, the food tokens from Orchard Strider provide a handy life boost and additional resources.
Another card worth mentioning is Rampaging Baloths. Despite the higher mana value, it promises a continuous advantage with its Landfall ability, creating 4/4 Beast tokens at possibly a greater frequency than Orchard Strider’s one-time Food tokens. Yet, Rampaging Baloths does not guarantee the immediate life gain that Orchard Strider can provide.
Analyzing these cards alongside Orchard Strider reveals the latter’s utility in a mid-range deck that values life gain and resource generation. Orchard Strider offers a blend of immediate advantage with Food tokens as opposed to steady power growth or token generation strategies from similar cards. Such considerations make it a versatile choice in MTG’s complex strategic landscape.
Cards similar to Orchard Strider by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Orchard Strider MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons 2 and Tales of Middle-earth Commander, 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 Orchard Strider and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Orchard Strider Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-06-18 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 2 | MH2 | 169 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Raoul Vitale | |
| 2 | 2023-06-23 | Tales of Middle-earth Commander | LTC | 253 | 2015 | Normal | Black | John Tedrick |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Orchard Strider has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Orchard Strider card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-06-18 | Typecycling is a form of cycling. Any ability that triggers on a card being cycled also triggers on a card being typecycled. Any ability that stops a cycling ability from being activated also stops a typecycling ability from being activated. |
| 2021-06-18 | Unlike the normal cycling ability, typecycling doesn't allow you to draw a card. Rather, it lets you search your library for a card with the type or types indicated by the ability name. For example, a card with basic landcycling lets you search for a basic land card, and a card with Wizardcycling lets you search for a Wizard card. |
