Shaleskin Plower MTG Card

Provides tactical control by bouncing opponent’s lands and potentially disrupting their game plan. Requires a land card discard, making it a costly option for activating its ability. Limits deck construction to red and green mana, affecting its adaptability in various archetypes.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Beast
Abilities	Morph
Released	2003-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Legions
Set code	LGN
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	110
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Daren Bader

Text of card

Morph (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for . Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) When Shaleskin Plower is turned face up, destroy target land.

Cards like Shaleskin Plower

Shaleskin Plower is a unique piece in the arsenal of creature-based land destruction available to Magic: The Gathering players. This card is overshadowed by the likes of Raze and Seismic Spike. Raze, for example, destroys a land at the low cost of one mana but at a steep price—sacrificing one of your own lands. In contrast, Seismic Spike also takes out a land, but it compensates the caster with two red mana, injecting a bit of ramp into the land destruction theme.

Comparing Shaleskin Plower to creatures with a similar objective, we can look at cards like Avalanche Riders and Fulminator Mage. Avalanche Riders feature land destruction with the added advantage of haste, allowing it to act immediately but requires four mana and an echo cost. On the other hand, Fulminator Mage can be used for a wider range of tactical plays due to its ability to destroy any nonbasic land without targeting only tapped lands, offering greater flexibility at the same mana cost as Shaleskin Plower.

While Shaleskin Plower may not be the most efficient card in its niche, for players needing land disruption with a creature presence on the board, it could be considered for specific deck builds. Its limitations in speed and flexibility must be weighed against the entire strategy of the deck in which it’s included.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Shaleskin Plower offers you the ability to clear a path for your creatures to attack by bouncing land back to your opponent’s hand, potentially disrupting their plans and giving you a tactical edge.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing mana, the act of sending an opponent’s land back can set their resource progression back by a turn, giving you a subtle form of resource acceleration as you maintain or even advance your board state relative to theirs.

Instant Speed: The convenience of instant speed applies to Shaleskin Plower as well, affording you the flexibility to decide during your opponent’s end step whether to disrupt their land-base, thus keeping your options open and being able to respond to threats or actions your opponent takes during their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Shaleskin Plower demands that you discard a land card to use its land destruction ability, which could deplete valuable hand assets perhaps needed for crucial plays later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost mandates both green and red mana, potentially restricting it to decks that run these colors, thereby decreasing its versatility across the broader spectrum of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a converted mana cost of four, Shaleskin Plower is an investment, particularly when considering other available spells that can disrupt opponents at a lower cost – making it a less optimal choice in a fast-paced metagame where efficiency is key.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Shaleskin Plower offers flexibility in its ability to handle problematic lands. This advantage makes it an interesting choice for decks focusing on land interaction or needing to remove key pieces of an opponent’s strategy.

Combo Potential: With the right setup, Shaleskin Plower can be part of a land destruction combo to systematically dismantle an opponent’s mana base, disrupting their game plan entirely.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where utility lands play a critical role or land-based strategies are prevalent, having a Shaleskin Plower in the sideboard or main deck could give you the upper hand against such decks by targeting their key resources.

How to beat

Shaleskin Plower presents an interesting challenge when facing an opponent in MTG. This creature card requires strategic planning and tactical awareness for an effective counter. It has the land returning ability that can be disruptive to your game flow, setting back your mana development.

One effective strategy to overcome Shaleskin Plower is to utilize removal spells that can target it before the land bounce ability triggers. Instant speed removal such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently deal with the card, as they remove the creature with minimal mana expenditure. Moreover, counterspells like Counterspell or Mana Leak can prevent Shaleskin Plower from hitting the battlefield in the first place, maintaining your land presence and progression.

Additionally, it helps to be mindful of your land drops when playing against a deck that features the card. Keeping extra lands in hand to discard when needed can mitigate the tempo loss. Remember, the key to outplaying Shaleskin Plower lies in being prepared with removals and strategically pacing your land plays, ensuring the disruption it causes is kept to a minimum.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shaleskin Plower MTG card by a specific set like Legions, 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 Shaleskin Plower and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shaleskin Plower has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Shaleskin Plower 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	The trigger occurs when you use the Morph ability to turn the card face up, or when an effect turns it face up. It will not trigger on being revealed or on leaving the battlefield.