Stoic Builder MTG Card

Stoic Builder - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)

Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
2016-04-08 - Number 231

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 1342

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number SOI-231

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human
Power	2
Toughness	3

Key Takeaways

The Builder excels in decks focused on land recursion, enhancing card parity and synergistic play.
While aiding mana curve smoothing, the Builder’s land drop reliance can also constrain hand resources.
Leveraging its abilities in the right meta can subtly tip games in your favor with sustained land plays.

Text of card

When Stoic Builder enters the battlefield, you may return target land card from your graveyard to your hand.

Some have returned to Hollowhenge, the ruins of Avabruck, to restore the lost capital of Kessig.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Stoic Builder shines in decks that value card recursion, allowing you to retrieve a land card from your graveyard to your hand when it enters the battlefield. This not only contributes to maintaining card parity but also has the potential to set up powerful land-based synergies in your game.

Resource Acceleration: While not the fastest ramp option available, Stoic Builder aids in resource acceleration by effectively increasing the lands in your hand. By recuperating a land from the graveyard, you’re ensuring a land drop each turn, thus smoothing out your mana curve and helping to cast high-cost spells sooner than your opponents.

Instant Speed: Stoic Builder may not be an instant itself, but it dovetails nicely with cards that operate at instant speed. Its ability can be leveraged immediately after a land is put into the graveyard by an instant, turning a seemingly reactive play into an unforeseen advantage as you subtly build up your board state.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Stoic Builder requires a player to discard another land card to utilize its ability, which can be a considerable disadvantage when your hand is scarce in land resources. This can hinder the deck’s momentum and it’s something to consider when planning your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: A Stoic Builder’s casting cost demands both generic and green mana. This requirement means that decks without green mana sources will be unable to tap into the Builder’s potential, potentially limiting its versatility in multicolored deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a three mana value (two generic and one green), the Stoic Builder’s cost might be viewed as steep for a creature with its ability and stats. In a game where efficiency is king, there are alternatives that may provide a more impactful board presence or land recursion for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Stoic Builder slips effortlessly into various deck styles, particularly those centered around land strategies or graveyard utilization. The card’s ability to return a land from your graveyard to your hand makes it a consistent and flexible play.

Combo Potential: With this card, synergy is easily fostered. It works well with landfall abilities, helping to trigger them multiple times. It can also mesh with decks that capitalize on the played lands for various effects or bonuses.

Meta-Relevance: Given the cyclic nature of the game, Stoic Builder has moments where it shines, particularly in a meta that favors longer games and value engine decks. It’s a card that can subtly shift the tide of battle by giving you the resources you need to outlast your opponent.

How to beat

Stoic Builder is a unique creature card that’s adept at manipulating land cards within a player’s graveyard in Magic: The Gathering. Resembling the playstyle of effects seen in cards like Groundskeeper, Stoic Builder allows players to effectively recycle their lands, thus maintaining a sustainable pace of play. As with any card that leverages the graveyard, strategies to beat Stoic Builder often revolve around resource denial or graveyard disruption.

Considering cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can be powerful tools against Stoic Builder, as they eliminate the graveyard as a resource entirely. With these cards in play, the advantage that Stoic Builder provides is effectively nullified. Similarly, using targeted removal spells can ensure that Stoic Builder is removed from the battlefield before its land-returning ability can be used. Creatures such as Scavenging Ooze also serve as a direct counter, consuming the lands before Stoic Builder can retrieve them.

Ultimately, when facing a deck that employs Stoic Builder, one must be mindful of the synergies it promotes and target the core mechanic it relies on—the graveyard. By cutting off access to this resource, Stoic Builder’s value diminishes considerably, making it far less of a threat on the playing field.

Cards like Stoic Builder

The Stoic Builder from Magic: The Gathering finds its niche among cards that facilitate the return of land cards from the graveyard to the battlefield or hand. Graceful in its role, the card resonates with the functions seen in cards such as Cartographer and Tilling Treefolk. Where the Stoic Builder shines is in its sheer efficiency, allowing the player to reuse lands for an ongoing advantage which is something very appealing in the landscape of resourceful play.

When placed against Cartographer, the Stoic Builder stands out due to its immediate impact on entering the battlefield. While Cartographer offers a one-time use upon entering, it lacks the recurring value that the builder can provide. Tilling Treefolk, conversely, can return two lands to the hand rather than onto the battlefield, offering a different form of control over land retrieval and planning future land plays.

Evaluating these traits, Stoic Builder holds its ground as a valuable asset in land-focused decks within Magic: The Gathering. It not only ensures a consistent land flow but also complements strategies that revolve around maximizing land utility and recurring effects from plays.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stoic Builder MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Mystery Booster, 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 Stoic Builder and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Stoic Builder Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Howard Lyon.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2016-04-08	Shadows over Innistrad	SOI	231	2015	Normal	Black	Howard Lyon
2	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	1342	2015	Normal	Black	Howard Lyon
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	SOI-231	2015	Normal	Black	Howard Lyon