Shire Scarecrow MTG Card
2023-06-23 - Number 700
2023-06-23 - Number 249
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Scarecrow |
| Abilities | Defender |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Shire Scarecrow enables consistent card advantage via its land-triggered draw mechanic, crucial for resource dominance.
- Flexibility and combo potential make it a valuable asset in land-centric deck strategies that leverage its scalability.
- Effective counters include exile and sacrifice effects, which are crucial to remember when facing this resilient card.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Shire Scarecrow MTG card by a specific set like The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, 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 Shire Scarecrow 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
See MTG Products
Text of card
Defender : Add one mana of any color. Activate only once each turn.
"How bright your garden looks!" —Gandalf
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Shire Scarecrow offers a unique mechanic that can potentially draw you a card whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. This naturally encourages repeatable card advantage over the course of a game, which is invaluable for any deck seeking to outpace opponents in resources.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing resource acceleration, Shire Scarecrow’s ability complements strategies that put multiple lands into play. Synergizing with landfall mechanics or cultivation spells can indirectly lead to greater acceleration by ensuring land drops and consequently additional draws.
Instant Speed: In most cases, Shire Scarecrow is a creature card designed for strategic deployment during your main phases. However, the nature of its abilities can pair well with instant speed land ramp spells, creating surprise card advantage and maintaining a threatening board presence while keeping options open for reactive play.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Shire Scarecrow introduces a challenge for players with its discard requirement, forcing a tangible sacrifice of hand advantage that can lead to difficult decisions, especially under tight game circumstances.
Specific Mana Cost: While flavorful and thematic, the specific mana cost of Shire Scarecrow demands a dedicated deck build. It is inherently restrictive, as it doesn’t easily slot into multicolored decks without a reliable mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When it comes to deploying creatures in the game, Shire Scarecrow stands on the higher end with a mana cost that could otherwise summon creatures with more impactful board presence or immediate effects, thus affecting deck tempo negatively.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Shire Scarecrow offers a flexible role across various deck types. Its ability to adapt its power and toughness in relation to the number of lands you control makes it a scalable threat in land-based strategies.
Combo Potential: Given its flexible nature, Shire Scarecrow can be an integral part of combos, especially within decks designed around landfall mechanics or those that manipulate the number of lands in play to maximize its effectiveness.
Meta-Relevance: In a MTG environment where board presence and dynamic threats are key, Shire Scarecrow can provide an evolving challenge for opponents. It is especially relevant in metas where its scalability can be fully utilized against various types of opposing decks.
How to beat
The Shire Scarecrow presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to continuously regenerate itself. It’s a remarkable defense asset, capable of dissuading opponents from attacking, thanks to its durability. Nevertheless, as with any strategy in Magic: The Gathering, there are ways to circumvent this resilient creature.
One effective approach is the use of exile effects. Cards that can exile Shire Scarecrow, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can permanently remove it from the game, leaving regeneration moot. Similarly, leveraging sacrifice effects forces your opponent to choose and sacrifice the scarecrow, bypassing its regeneration. This can be seen in actions initiated by edict effects like Diabolic Edict or Liliana of the Veil.
Board wipes that don’t specifically destroy but rather change the state of all creatures on the battlefield, like Terminus or Cyclonic Rift, can clear the way without the scarecrow’s ability to regenerate becoming an issue. Lastly, direct player effects that prevent regeneration, such as Krosan Grip or Jund Charm, can directly target the key properties that make Shire Scarecrow a formidable foe. Therefore, understanding the options available in your deck to deal with persistent threats is essential for maintaining control of the game.
Cards like Shire Scarecrow
Shire Scarecrow adds its unique charm to the roster of artifact creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It’s often likened to fellow artifact creature Pilgrim’s Eye, as both are able to fetch a crucial land card from the library, ensuring land drops remain consistent. However, while Pilgrim’s Eye provides immediate value by placing the land into your hand, Shire Scarecrow takes a slight detour, allowing you to pluck a basic land and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
Another comparable card is the Skittering Surveyor, which like the Scarecrow, searches for a basic land. Yet, here it differs; the Surveyor puts the land into your hand rather than directly into play. This nuanced difference may tilt the scale in deck strategies that favor land plays from the hand. Then there’s Walking Atlas, a creature adept at putting those lands onto the battlefield, but it requires you to have the land in hand first, providing a synergy with the previous cards rather than a direct comparison.
To sum it up, Shire Scarecrow represents a valuable tool in MTG, offering a blend of resource ramp and artifact creature presence, carving its own distinct niche in deck-building strategies that emphasize on-the-fly land optimization.
Cards similar to Shire Scarecrow by color, type and mana cost
Printings
The Shire Scarecrow Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-06-23 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by Alexander Mokhov.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-06-23 | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | LTR | 700 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alexander Mokhov | |
| 2 | 2023-06-23 | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | LTR | 249 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alexander Mokhov |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Shire Scarecrow has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |