Stolen Grain MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Stolen Grain grants card advantage and resource acceleration, pivotal for maintaining a strategic lead.
  2. Requires discarding and specific mana, potentially limiting its use in less flexible decks.
  3. Its versatility and meta-relevance make it a valuable choice for adaptive MTG players.

Text of card

Stolen Grain deals 5 damage to your opponent. You gain 5 life.

At the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao by raiding his grain depot, leaving him with no way to feed his troops.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Stolen Grain ensures a steady flow of options by letting you draw cards. Each card drawn represents potential tools and strategies, keeping you steps ahead of your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This spell bulks up your mana reserves by giving you access to additional resources. Casting this can speed up your gameplay, allowing you to deploy threats or answers ahead of time.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Stolen Grain at instant speed means you can adapt to the evolving battlefield. React to an opponent’s move or end their turn with a surprise that sets you up for victory.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Stolen Grain demands that players discard a card from their hand, making it a potential liability if your hand is already depleted or each card in hand is essential for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Stolen Grain includes not just any mana but a precise combination of colors. This can restrict its integration into decks that do not support such mana flexibility or those which are color-specific.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that’s on the higher end for its capabilities, Stolen Grain may fall behind in the race against cards with lower costs yet similar or better benefits, making it a less optimal choice in time-sensitive or mana-efficient game plans.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Stolen Grain shines in multiple deck archetypes. It offers a strategic advantage in ramping up mana and serves as a sneaky move against opponents, making it a flexible addition to any deck that needs a slight edge in resources.

Combo Potential: Crafting combinations with Stolen Grain can be quite rewarding. Its unique interactions enable players to leverage resource denial strategies while gaining the upper hand in mana accumulation or triggering synergies with other cards that benefit from resource exchange or control dynamics.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG meta ebbs and flows, Stolen Grain’s ability to meddle with opponent’s plays means it can be pivotal in matches where timing and resource management are key. Particularly in formats where utility and versatility are prized, Stolen Grain can play a pivotal role in outmaneuvering opponents that rely on finely-tuned strategies.


How to beat

The challenge of tackling Stolen Grain in your Magic: The Gathering matches requires strategic forethought. This card is known for its disruptive ability to pilfer crucial resources from the opponent’s hand. To effectively counter this, players must employ timely disruption or make use of protective spells that shelter their hand from such invasive actions. Spot removal becomes a powerful tool against creatures that capitalize on casting Stolen Grain, ensuring they cannot exploit its effect.

Utilizing instant-speed removal or counterspells can prevent your adversary from ever benefiting from their thieving endeavors. Another method to mitigate the setback of losing a card is to keep a robust hand size; thereby, the impact of Stolen Grain is lessened. Lastly, cards that offer graveyard retrieval capabilities can recoup value lost and ensure that crucial spells or creatures compromised by Stolen Grain return to the fray, preserving your strategy intact and your resources flowing. Remember, reactive plays and thoughtful deck construction can turn the tide against strategies that include disruptive cards like Stolen Grain.


Cards like Stolen Grain

Stolen Grain is a unique addition to the suite of card advantage spells in Magic: The Gathering. When assessing its value, it’s worth looking at cards like Concentrate, which also allows for the drawing of multiple cards. Stolen Grain stands out by potentially permitting a larger card draw based on certain game states, which Concentrate cannot do as it draws a fixed number of three cards.

Another similar sorcery to consider is Harmonize. This card, like Stolen Grain, allows players to draw three cards. However, what sets Stolen Grain apart is the potential it has to transform the tide of a game by drawing more based on specific conditions, giving it a higher ceiling in the right deck. Furthermore, unlike Windfall, which also can draw a significant number of cards, Stolen Grain doesn’t offer the same benefit to opponents, making it potentially more advantageous in one-sided card advantage.

When compared to peers in the card draw category, Stolen Grain could offer MTG fans a flexible and scalable option that rewards strategic deck building and timing, ensuring players have the cards when they most need them. Its comparison to other MTG spells underlines the strength of adaptability and possible game-changing swings in card advantage that Stolen Grain can bring to the table.

Concentrate - MTG Card versions
Harmonize - MTG Card versions
Windfall - MTG Card versions
Concentrate - Odyssey (ODY)
Harmonize - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Windfall - Urza's Saga (USG)

Cards similar to Stolen Grain by color, type and mana cost

Kiss of Death - MTG Card versions
Dark Offering - MTG Card versions
Poison Arrow - MTG Card versions
Corrupt - MTG Card versions
Morbid Hunger - MTG Card versions
Haunting Voyage - MTG Card versions
Zombie Apocalypse - MTG Card versions
Nightmare Incursion - MTG Card versions
Beseech the Queen - MTG Card versions
Essence Feed - MTG Card versions
Rain of Daggers - MTG Card versions
Hex - MTG Card versions
Grave Exchange - MTG Card versions
Assassin's Strike - MTG Card versions
Sip of Hemlock - MTG Card versions
Spiteful Blow - MTG Card versions
Endless Obedience - MTG Card versions
Deadly Tempest - MTG Card versions
Certain Death - MTG Card versions
Blood Tribute - MTG Card versions
Kiss of Death - Portal Second Age (P02)
Dark Offering - Starter 1999 (S99)
Poison Arrow - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Corrupt - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Morbid Hunger - Odyssey (ODY)
Haunting Voyage - Kaldheim Promos (PKHM)
Zombie Apocalypse - Starter Commander Decks (SCD)
Nightmare Incursion - Eventide (EVE)
Beseech the Queen - Planechase (HOP)
Essence Feed - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Rain of Daggers - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Hex - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Grave Exchange - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Assassin's Strike - Jumpstart (JMP)
Sip of Hemlock - Theros (THS)
Spiteful Blow - Journey into Nyx (JOU)
Endless Obedience - Zendikar Rising Commander (ZNC)
Deadly Tempest - The List (PLST)
Certain Death - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Blood Tribute - Commander 2017 (C17)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stolen Grain MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms and Masters Edition III, 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 Stolen Grain and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Stolen Grain Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-05-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by LHQ.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-05-01Portal Three KingdomsPTK 831997normalwhiteLHQ
22009-09-07Masters Edition IIIME3 751997normalblackLHQ

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stolen Grain has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-10-01 If the targeted opponent is an illegal target by the time Stolen Grain resolves, the ability doesn’t resolve. You won’t gain life.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks