Quarum Trench Gnomes MTG Card

Turn foes’ lands into mere mana sources, impairing their strategy and skewing the match to your favor. Instantly decide when to hamper a land, offering supremacy in resource competition and tempo control. Though potent, the requirement to discard and specific mana cost demands thoughtful deck integration.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Gnome
Released	1994-06-01
Set symbol
Set name	Legends
Set code	LEG
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	162
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Dan Frazier

Text of card

oc T: Target plains produces o1 instead of o W until end of game. Use counters.

"O Great Captain, all is lost. They tunneled, they burrowed, they trenched. They sapped the strength of our defenses." —Sorgus, *Chronicles of the Quarum Plains*

Cards like Quarum Trench Gnomes

Looking into the intricate world of land disruption within MTG, Quarum Trench Gnomes hold a unique position. Parallel to cards like Icequake or Rain of Tears, which both destroy a land, the Trench Gnomes specialize in incapacitating lands without outright demolishing them. This targeted approach avoids triggering land death effects, which can be pivotal in certain matchups.

In a close comparison, we also encounter Rishadan Port. The Port can tap down a land but, unlike Quarum Trench Gnomes, it doesn’t lock the land out indefinitely and requires a consistent mana investment each turn. Further noting the contrast, we see that Trench Gnomes requires an activation cost but ensures that the chosen land stays dormant for as long as they remain on the battlefield.

It’s evident when you map out the various options available for land suppression, the Gnomes offer a sustained and potentially game-altering effect. Although they might not guarantee instant impact like some destruction spells, the permanent effect they provide can be more nuisance over the length of a game, challenging opponents with long term resource denial strategies.

Cards similar to Quarum Trench Gnomes by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Quarum Trench Gnomes offer consistent utility, enabling players to consistently thwart land-based strategies turn after turn. This level of disruption can lead to significant card advantage as your opponent’s resources are rendered ineffective.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing resource acceleration, the Quarum Trench Gnomes can indirectly contribute to this. By disabling your opponent’s lands, especially those which tap for multiple mana, you’re effectively advanced in the race for resource dominance, allowing you to utilize your untapped lands to their full potential.

Instant Speed: The Quarum Trench Gnomes’ abilities are activated at instant speed, providing you the flexibility to decide the optimal moment to interfere with your opponent’s land during their turn. This can drastically shift the tempo of the game and lead to surprising plays that can catch an opponent off guard.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Quarum Trench Gnomes’ effect mandates the discard of other cards, which can deplete your hand, leaving you at a strategic disadvantage, especially if you’re not prepared to leverage graveyard mechanics or if crucial spells are lost in the process.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires red mana to play, which confines it to red-inclusive decks, potentially restricting deck-building options. Players intending to include the gnomes in a multicolor deck must ensure they have a reliable mana base to consistently fulfill this requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a need for multiple mana to bring into play, Quarum Trench Gnomes come with a cost that can be considered steep when compared to other options available within the same range. This cost-to-advantage ratio is a key consideration when determining the card’s role in your overall strategy.

Reasons to Include Quarum Trench Gnomes in Your Collection

Versatility: Quarum Trench Gnomes offer a unique ability to disrupt land-based strategies, making them a flexible sideboard choice in a variety of decks, especially where land control is crucial.

Combo Potential: These gnomes synergize with effects that capitalize on land tap triggers or abilities that punish opponents for nonbasic lands, providing players with creative ways to hinder their adversaries.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where land-centric decks dominate, including Quarum Trench Gnomes could give you an unexpected edge by turning critical lands into liabilities for your opponents.

How to beat

The MTG card known as Quarum Trench Gnomes holds a distinctive place in the game. This niche card comes with a set of abilities that could pose a challenge to many players. Its primary ability revolves around land denial, causing particular lands to lose all abilities except for mana generation. To counter this particular strategy, you’ll want to consider a few vital tactics.

Firstly, the use of instant-speed land untapping effects can be crucial to circumvent the Trench Gnomes’ disruptive power, ensuring your mana base remains unaffected. Flexible mana sources can also be quite useful. Cards like chromatic lantern enable your lands to tap for any color of mana, mitigating the impact of Quarum Trench Gnomes’ ability.

Furthermore, employing swift removal spells can also dismantle the Gnomes’ presence on the battlefield, allowing your lands to regain full functionality. Ultimately, smart deck building and understanding the various ways to respond to land disruption tactics will keep you ahead in the game when facing this peculiar card. In this way, Quarum Trench Gnomes, while potentially formidable, is not insurmountable.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Quarum Trench Gnomes MTG card by a specific set like Legends, 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 Quarum Trench Gnomes and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Quarum Trench Gnomes has restrictions

Format	Legality
Oldschool	Legal
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-08-01	The ability only replaces white mana produced by the Plains. If a Plains somehow tries to produce mana of a different color (for instance, if you control a Joiner Adept), this effect will not cause it to produce colorless mana.