Ore-Scale Guardian MTG Card
2019-06-14 - Number 137
2021-08-26 - Number 493
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Dragon |
| Abilities | Flying,Haste |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
Key Takeaways
- Strategic cost reduction enables a significant advantage by potentially playing a powerful creature for less mana.
- Ore-Scale Guardian synergizes well with land strategies, enhancing deck capabilities through ramp mechanics.
- Despite its strengths, the card’s initial mana investment and color specificity are limitations to consider.
Text of card
This spell costs less to cast for each land card in your graveyard. Flying, haste
A dragon's loyalty cannot be earned, but it can be bought.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ore-Scale Guardian provides a significant advantage by potentially reducing its own casting cost. This means you could have a hefty creature on the board while still keeping a full grip of cards to respond to the opponent’s moves or further your own game plan.
Resource Acceleration: This dragon not only plays well with multiple lands on the battlefield, but it can also synergize with strategies that put lands into the graveyard. This enables a form of resource acceleration as it essentially discounts the mana needed to cast it for each land card in your graveyard.
Instant Speed: While Ore-Scale Guardian itself does not have instant speed, its cost reduction ability can indirectly benefit instant-speed interactions. By allowing you to deploy a large threat for potentially less mana, it frees up resources to use on instant-speed spells during your opponent’s turn, thus keeping you flexible and reactive in the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Ore-Scale Guardian necessitates discarding a card to benefit from its lower cost feature. This could be a setback, especially when your hand is already depleted, hindering your strategic flexibility and possibly costing you valuable resources.
Specific Mana Cost: Playing Ore-Scale Guardian requires a commitment to red mana. This specification can be a challenge for decks that either don’t run red mana or those that operate on a tight color mana base, potentially restricting its inclusion only to decks that can handle the color intensity.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the Guardian’s ability can reduce its cost, its initial seven mana requirement is relatively steep. In situations where you cannot or do not wish to discard, its cost efficiency is significantly diminished, making it a less optimal choice compared to other creatures that could provide immediate board impact or have lower casting requirements.
Reasons to Include Ore-Scale Guardian in Your Collection
Versatility: Ore-Scale Guardian offers a significant advantage in decks that are dense with lands. Its reduced casting cost in land-heavy decks makes it a flexible addition, fitting into multiple strategies that value beefy creatures.
Combo Potential: Within decks that manipulate the land count on the battlefield, this card can be a powerhouse. Ore-Scale Guardian synergizes well with land ramp and retrieval mechanics, enabling powerful plays and board presence.
Meta-Relevance: In an ecosystem with prevalent Red or Green decks, having a sturdy creature like Ore-Scale Guardian can be essential. The card’s inherent attributes align well with meta trends favoring large creatures with ramp capabilities, making it a competitive choice.
How to beat
Ore-Scale Guardian is a formidable card in Magic: The Gathering. It stands out for its ability to cost less for each land you control with an activated ability. This makes it particularly dangerous in land-focused decks where such lands are commonplace. The key to countering Ore-Scale Guardian effectively is to disrupt your opponent’s land base. Strategies involving land destruction or cards that limit land abilities can be crucial in increasing its casting cost and keeping it off the battlefield.
Controlling the board is also vital. Removal spells that can target any creature, regardless of size, are highly valuable in managing the threat of an Ore-Scale Guardian. Ensuring you have instant-speed removal will help you deal with it the moment it hits the board before it can swing for damage. Lastly, be aware of your opponent’s graveyard. Ore-Scale Guardian can turn from a late-game threat to an early game one if there are multiple lands in the graveyard to reduce its cost, so graveyard disruption could also be a useful tool.
In the game of strategy and wits that is Magic: The Gathering, knowing how to tackle powerful creatures like Ore-Scale Guardian can be just as important as the spells you cast.
Cards like Ore-Scale Guardian
The Ore-Scale Guardian is a unique creature in Magic: The Gathering. It holds similarities to cards like Shivan Dragon, which also boasts a strong flying dragon presence on the battlefield. Unlike Shivan Dragon, Ore-Scale Guardian has a cost-reduction ability, allowing it to potentially be cast for less mana depending on the number of lands you control.
Another dragon to consider is the Demanding Dragon. It presents an immediate impact with its enter-the-battlefield effect, demanding a sacrifice or dealing damage to the opponent. Ore-Scale Guardian lacks this kind of direct interaction, focusing instead on setting up for hefty damage in the future. Furthermore, the Guardian’s affinity for lands plays well in land-heavy decks, which is a strategy not accommodated by Demanding Dragon.
Comparing these creatures helps highlight the Ore-Scale Guardian’s potential in decks where lands are plentiful. The Guardian not just fills the skies as a formidable flying creature but also remains a dynamic choice for players leveraging large land counts to optimize their creature costs.
Cards similar to Ore-Scale Guardian by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ore-Scale Guardian MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons and Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, 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 Ore-Scale Guardian 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 Magic products
Printings
The Ore-Scale Guardian Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Aaron Miller.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-06-14 | Modern Horizons | MH1 | 137 | 2015 | normal | black | Aaron Miller | |
| 2 | 2021-08-26 | Jumpstart: Historic Horizons | J21 | 493 | 2015 | normal | black | Aaron Miller |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ore-Scale Guardian has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
