Dromar's Cavern MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
RarityUncommon
TypeLand — Lair

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card selection and advantage through scry and ETB triggers, pivotal for game strategy.
  2. Grants tactical flexibility with instant speed activation, crucial for defense and disruption.
  3. Demanding discard and specific mana costs can constrain gameplay, affecting deck utility.

Text of card

Dromar's Cavern is a Lair in addition to its land type. When Dromar's Cavern comes into play, sacrifice it unless you return a non-Lair land you control to its owner's hand. oc T: Add o W, o U, or o B to your mana pool.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Dromar’s Cavern, the potential to regain card superiority is significant. Not only does it provide a selection mechanic to your strategy by its scry ability, but it can also enable the reuse of potent ETB (Enter the Battlefield) effects, which can tip the scales in your favor during pivotal moments in gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: Dromar’s Cavern acts as a dual-purpose land, facilitating both mana production and tactical plays. Its ability to bounce a creature back to your hand is more than a mere safety net—it’s a strategic move that can reset cool-downs or save your key assets from removal, keeping your resource game strong and adaptable.

Instant Speed: The capacity to activate Dromar’s Cavern at instant speed grants you the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions. This not only allows for a well-timed defense but also offers a window to disrupt your opponent’s strategy, all while keeping mana available for other responses or end-of-turn surprises.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dromar’s Cavern commands you to part with another card from your hand upon activation, presenting a potential setback when your hand is already dwindling in options and sizes. The necessity to discard can impinge on your momentum, particularly if you’re trying to maintain a grip on the game with a fuller hand.

Specific Mana Cost: This land’s activation is not free of constraints as it requires a particular blend of mana—blue, black, and white. This requisite makes it less seamless to incorporate into a multi-colored deck that might not consistently produce the exacting mana combination to unlock Dromar’s Cavern’s power.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The utility provided by Dromar’s Cavern comes at the steep price of a mana investment equal to many spells in the game. With other lands or cards that could offer similar or enhanced effects for less, or with no such stern mana demands, its potential seems undercut, particularly in faster-paced matches where efficiency reigns supreme.


Reasons to Include Dromar’s Cavern in Your Collection

Versatility: Dromar’s Cavern offers flexibility in deck building, allowing for color fixing in multicolored decks that include blue, white, or black. Its ability to tap for colorless or to cycle for a new card makes it a useful land in various game situations.

Combo Potential: By returning a creature you control to your hand, this card can re-trigger enter-the-battlefield effects or save key creatures from removal. It can also work with cards that have tap or untap synergies, making it a valuable component in intricate combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where utility lands can make the difference in a tightly contested match, Dromar’s Cavern can offer strategic depth. It can help maintain card flow and manage board presence, especially in decks that thrive on adaptability and timing.


How to beat

Dromar’s Cavern is a strategic land card that adds a layer of versatility to your deck in Magic: The Gathering. When facing this card, it’s essential to understand its role in enabling color fixing and landfall mechanics. A proactive way to counteract Dromar’s Cavern’s advantages is to utilize land destruction or denial strategies. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can directly target and eliminate Dromar’s Cavern, disrupting your opponent’s mana base and their plans.

Another effective tactic is to employ counter spells that prevent your opponent from gaining the upper hand with Dromar’s Cavern’s utility. Disallow and Negate are excellent examples of spells that can be used strategically to counter actions triggered by the Cavern. By staying vigilant and ready to interrupt your opponent’s plays, you can minimize the impact Dromar’s Cavern has on the game.

Lastly, consider incorporating cards that punish nonbasic lands, such as Blood Moon or Alpine Moon, to reduce Dromar’s Cavern’s effectiveness. These cards can transform the Cavern into a basic land, neutralizing its ability to provide various color mana and thus limiting your opponent’s flexibility. Through careful planning and the right card choices, overcoming the challenge posed by Dromar’s Cavern is entirely feasible.


Cards like Dromar's Cavern

Dromar’s Cavern is a unique addition to the deck-building options in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the flexibility of other lair lands such as Treva’s Ruins and Crosis’s Catacombs. What sets Dromar’s Cavern apart is its specific interaction with legendary Dragons, especially Dromar, the Banisher. While Treva’s Ruins and Crosis’s Catacombs also cater to their respective Dragons, Dromar’s Cavern is revered for the tactical advantage it provides in decks focused on returning creatures to the hand.

When comparing to more conventional land cards, it’s essential to consider the bounce-back feature that all lairs possess. Other non-basic lands like Command Tower provide mana fixing without this downside. However, they lack the thematic and mechanical synergies that the lairs present with their indigenous Dragons. The strategic implication of choosing Dromar’s Cavern over a different non-basic land comes down to the deck’s overarching strategy and the value placed on the ability to bounce permanents as a form of control or resource management.

With these considerations in mind, for players who value synergy with legendary creatures and enjoy the intricacies of manipulating the battlefield, Dromar’s Cavern can be a compelling choice in a Magic: The Gathering collection. Its distinct attributes offer nuanced advantages that can be leveraged in the right deck composition.

Treva's Ruins - MTG Card versions
Crosis's Catacombs - MTG Card versions
Dromar, the Banisher - MTG Card versions
Command Tower - MTG Card versions
Treva's Ruins - Planeshift (PLS)
Crosis's Catacombs - Planeshift (PLS)
Dromar, the Banisher - Invasion (INV)
Command Tower - Commander 2011 (CMD)

Cards similar to Dromar's Cavern by color, type and mana cost

Wizards' School - MTG Card versions
Ancient Spring - MTG Card versions
Raffine's Tower - MTG Card versions
Arcane Sanctum - MTG Card versions
Wizards' School - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Ancient Spring - Invasion (INV)
Raffine's Tower - Streets of New Capenna (SNC)
Arcane Sanctum - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dromar's Cavern MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift and The List, 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 Dromar's Cavern and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dromar's Cavern Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2001-02-05 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by Franz Vohwinkel.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-02-05PlaneshiftPLS 1381997normalblackFranz Vohwinkel
22020-09-26The ListPLST PLS-1381997normalblackFranz Vohwinkel
32023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 2462015normalblackFranz Vohwinkel

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dromar's Cavern has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dromar's Cavern card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
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.
2005-08-01 This land is of type “Lair” only; other subtypes have been removed. It is not a basic land.

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