Crosis's Catacombs MTG Card
2001-02-05 - Number 136
2023-01-13 - Number 242
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land — Lair |
Key Takeaways
- Crosis’s Catacombs can shift battlefield dynamics, enabling unexpected mana resource availability and deck thinning.
- This land accelerating resources balances immediate mana access with a potentially disruptive discard requirement.
- The card’s flexibility and combo potential make it a strategic addition to multicolor or tribal decks.
Text of card
Crosis's Catacombs is a Lair in addition to its land type. When Crosis's Catacombs comes into play, sacrifice it unless you return a non-Lair land you control to its owner's hand. oc T: Add o U, o B, or o R to your mana pool.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Crosis’s Catacombs allows for a tactical shift in battlefield presence by swapping a land you control with the card itself from your hand. This ability not only thins your deck to draw more impactful cards but also surprises opponents with unexpected mana resources.
Resource Acceleration: This land is part of the lair cycle that untaps another land when it comes into play. Even though it replaces the played land, it effectively accelerates your resources by ensuring that you have access to your mana immediately, thus optimizing your plays.
Instant Speed: While the card itself isn’t an instant, its ability to enter the battlefield at instant speed due to being a land gives you the flexibility to adapt swiftly to your adversaries’ moves, keeping up the momentum and making resourceful decisions on the fly.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing Crosis’s Catacombs requires the player to sacrifice it unless they discard a card, which could disrupt hand balance and strategy, especially in longer games where each card in hand is vital.
Specific Mana Cost: Its activation cost demands a specific combination of black, blue, and red mana, which can be a limiting factor for decks that aren’t tailored to this particular mana base, reducing its versatility across different deck types.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a higher mana cost for the land type, there are competitive options that command less mana and offer similar, if not greater, utility or impact on the board, making Crosis’s Catacombs a potentially less efficient choice in a mana-curve-conscious deck build.
Reasons to Include Crosis’s Catacombs in Your Collection
Versatility: Crosis’s Catacombs offers a unique land choice that can be beneficial in decks that leverage the Domain mechanic or ones that need mana fixing for multicolor spells.
Combo Potential: This card works well when combined with effects that return lands to your hand, allowing you to repeatedly take advantage of its “comes into play tapped unless you return a non-Lair land you control to its owner’s hand” feature for tactical advantages.
Meta-Relevance: For strategies against opponents who utilize lots of nonbasic land destruction or who play with land interaction, having Crosis’s Catacombs can provide an edge since it can dodge those effects by returning to your hand and be replayed.
How to beat Crosis’s Catacombs
Crosis’s Catacombs card poses a unique challenge for players in MTG. To navigate this situation, understanding the card’s abilities is crucial. Typically, this card disrupts your strategy by altering land dynamics. To effectively counter this, focus on maintaining a flexible mana base. Include cards that can untap lands or that aren’t as affected by land return to the hand.
Another effective approach is using land destruction or land bounce spells to mitigate the impact of Crosis’s Catacombs. Cards with landfall abilities can also be an asset, turning a potential setback into an advantage each time a land returns to your hand. Lastly, consider incorporating instant speed spells and abilities that can be activated anytime. This prepares you for unexpected changes in mana availability, ensuring your game plan remains uninterrupted.
Overcoming the challenges presented by Crosis’s Catacombs requires strategic adjustments and an adaptable deck build. By incorporating these counters, you position yourself well to outmaneuver opponents who rely on this card’s disruptive capabilities. It’s about staying one step ahead and turning their strategies to your advantage.
Cards like Crosis's Catacombs
Crosis’s Catacombs is an intriguing land card that offers subtle yet strategic utility in Magic: The Gathering, easily stackable with other lands for those who favor multicolored decks. It stands in comparison to the Rupture Spire, which also requires the player to pay one mana when it comes into play. However, unlike the Spire that provides mana of any color without further conditions, Crosis’s Catacombs necessitates the presence of a certain creature type to unlock its full potential.
Another relative in the world of versatile mana sources is the Exotic Orchard, which offers access to any color that a land an opponent controls could produce. While Exotic Orchard doesn’t charge mana for this benefit, it’s dependent on opponents’ lands, which can be less reliable. Similarly, Command Tower poses itself as a competitor, giving unconditional access to any color of mana in a commander’s color identity – a stable choice for multi-color commander decks without the creature-based limitation of Crosis’s Catacombs.
Assessing these comparisons highlights that while Crosis’s Catacombs may not provide the same level of immediate mana flexibility as its counterparts, it carves out its niche by synergizing with tribal decks, enhancing strategies that already rely on specific creature types.
Cards similar to Crosis's Catacombs by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Crosis's Catacombs MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift and Dominaria Remastered, 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 Crosis's Catacombs 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
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Printings
The Crosis's Catacombs Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2001-02-05 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2001-02-05 | Planeshift | PLS | 136 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Edward P. Beard, Jr. | |
| 2 | 2023-01-13 | Dominaria Remastered | DMR | 242 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Kasia 'Kafis' Zielińska |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Crosis's Catacombs has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Crosis's Catacombs card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | If you don't want to unsummon a land, you can play this card then tap it for mana before the enters the battlefield ability resolves. You may then choose to sacrifice it instead of unsummoning a land. |
| 2004-10-04 | You can return a land that is tapped or untapped. |
| 2005-08-01 | This land is of type “Lair” only; other subtypes have been removed. It is not a basic land. |
