Crystal Quarry MTG Card

Odyssey (ODY)
2001-10-01 - Number 318

Crystal Quarry - Dominaria United Commander (DMC)

Dominaria United Commander (DMC)
2022-09-09 - Number 206

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Rarity	Rare
Type	Land

Key Takeaways

Crystal Quarry enables powerful plays by fixing mana for multicolored spells in certain MTG decks.
It poses a deckbuilding challenge with its specific mana cost and discard requirements.
Countering it involves early pressure and targeted land destruction or resource restriction.

Text of card

oc T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. o5, oc T: Add o Wo Uo Bo Ro G to your mana pool.

"How tragic that greed eclipses beauty." —Seton, centaur druid

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crystal Quarry doesn’t directly provide card advantage, but it serves as a key component in decks that aim to cast spells with high color requirements, ultimately leading to powerful plays that can change the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: This land has the potential to accelerate your resource availability by converting one mana of any color into all five. This can be crucial for activating abilities of certain cards or casting spells that require diverse mana inputs much earlier than usual.

Instant Speed: While Crystal Quarry doesn’t function at instant speed itself, it enables the casting of your most impactful spells potentially at instant speed by providing the necessary mana in one go, giving you the edge during critical turns.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When you’re strategizing to get the most out of your Crystal Quarry, take into account that it requires discarding other potential plays. A steep requirement if your hand is already stretched thin.

Specific Mana Cost: Allocating five distinct mana colors to activate Crystal Quarry’s ability could be a deckbuilding puzzle, challenging especially for mono or dual-color strategies unprepared for such a diverse mana demand.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With so many lands providing mana fixing and ramping capabilities, the Crystal Quarry’s cost to convert colorless to colored mana may feel burdensome, overshadowed by less demanding alternatives that synergize more fluidly with your deck’s gameplan.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Crystal Quarry offers a unique mana-fixing ability, enabling players to activate abilities requiring multiple colors of mana or cast multicolored cards smoothly. Its ability to convert five colorless mana into one of each color makes it fit into a diverse range of decks, especially those that run costly multicolored spells.

Combo Potential: With decks that revolve around activating costly abilities or playing high-impact spells with heavy multicolored requirements, Crystal Quarry becomes a vital component. It can be a combo enabler, allowing players to unleash powerful plays ahead of schedule.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where control and combo decks may rely on casting significant multicolored spells to secure a win, Crystal Quarry provides the color diversity needed. Its place in the current gameplay dynamics enhances its value and usefulness in responsive and proactive strategies alike.

How to beat

The Crystal Quarry card presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering, primarily due to its ability to convert colorless mana into a diverse spectrum of colored mana. This mana-fixing capability makes it a valuable asset in decks that require multiple colors to cast powerful spells. Similar to other lands like City of Brass or Mana Confluence, Crystal Quarry lets players access multiple colors of mana at once, albeit with the necessity of having five mana available.

When looking to counter Crystal Quarry and the strategies it enables, consider using land destruction cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, which can handle this nonbasic land effectively before it becomes a major threat. Artifact removal spells can also be useful if the Quarry is being paired with mana-generating artifacts. Another approach is to impose resource restrictions through cards like Blood Moon, which can neutralize the benefit Crystal Quarry provides by turning it into a basic Mountain, thereby significantly hindering the opponent’s mana base and strategy.

Ultimately, when up against a deck that utilizes Crystal Quarry, the emphasis should be on early game pressure to prevent your opponent from reaching the critical mass of mana needed to fully leverage Crystal Quarry’s benefits. Anticipate their endgame, disrupt their manabase, and seize control of the pace of the game.

Cards like Crystal Quarry

Crystal Quarry holds a unique position among land cards in Magic: The Gathering. It’s comparable to cards like Cascading Cataracts, which also offer the ability to convert mana into a rainbow assortment necessary for various strategies. However, Crystal Quarry differs as it requires five mana of any color and taps, providing five mana in any combination of colors. This mirrors Cascading Cataracts’ indestructible trait and its five mana activation cost, yet without the need to tap.

Another card in the discussion is Chromatic Lantern which not only modifies lands to produce any color mana but itself can be tapped for any color, ensuring a more flexible mana base without a heavy activation cost. While not a land itself, its influence on land mechanics and gameplay mirrors the facilitative role of Crystal Quarry.

In the realm of versatile mana production, Crystal Quarry may not offer the indestructibility of Cascading Cataracts or the immediate utility of Chromatic Lantern, yet for decks that capitalize on big plays and extensive color requirements, Crystal Quarry can be an essential component in achieving complex and game-winning combos.

Cards similar to Crystal Quarry by color, type and mana cost

Fabled Path of Searo Point - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crystal Quarry MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey and Dominaria United 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 Crystal Quarry and other MTG cards: