Soul Stair Expedition MTG Card

Grants card advantage by returning creatures, enhancing strategy and board control. Instant speed triggers offer flexibility and unexpected game shifts. Demanding specific mana costs, potentially challenging in multicolor decks.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment
Abilities	Landfall
Released	2009-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar
Set code	ZEN
Number	112
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Anthony Francisco

Text of card

Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a quest counter on Soul Stair Expedition. Remove three quest counters from Soul Stair Expedition and sacrifice it: Return up to two target creature cards from your graveyard to your hand.

Cards like Soul Stair Expedition

Soul Stair Expedition, a unique card in the MTG universe, is often measured against other deck-thinning and card advantage tools. It has a kinship with cards like Satyr Wayfinder, which also provides a method to search and potentially draw a card while manipulating the deck contents. However, Soul Stair Expedition excels by allowing the retrieval of any three cards from the graveyard to the bottom of the library, offering a strategic advantage over Satyr Wayfinder’s limitation to only creatures and lands.

Graveyard manipulation is a common theme in MTG, and cards like Morbid Curiosity also play into this space. While Morbid Curiosity provides a one-time larger card draw based on the sacrificed artifact or creature’s converted mana cost, Soul Stair Expedition presents a repeated and more controlled form of card selection and advantage over time. Another comparison can be drawn with Grapple with the Past, which dredges the library while returning a creature or land card from the graveyard to the player’s hand. Here, Soul Stair Expedition is broader in its selection, not restricting the card types it can target.

Overall, Soul Stair Expedition offers a versatile and reusable way to sift through the graveyard, proving its worth through its flexible retrieval mechanism that aligns with various game strategies and outperforms similar cards in certain aspects.

Grapple with the Past - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Soul Stair Expedition by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Motion Sensor - MTG Card versions

Phyrexian Reclamation - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Soul Stair Expedition excels in giving players an opportunity to retrieve creatures from their graveyard. This acts as a form of card advantage, as these retrieved creatures can represent additional “draws” that contribute to overarching game strategy and board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Through its quest counter mechanic, this card permits the recirculation of creatures, essentially accelerating resource availability. It allows players to bypass casting costs of creatures by returning them to play, thereby maintaining the pace against more mana-rich opponents.

Instant Speed: Its ability to be cashed in at instant speed provides a tactical advantage, giving the player flexibility to respond to threats or end-of-turn situations. This can dramatically alter the game’s momentum, providing a surprise element that can be pivotal to a match’s outcome.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Soul Stair Expedition requires a player to discard a card to trigger its land retrieval capability. This ask can set you back if your hand is already running on empty, making it less ideal when you’re hoping to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The card’s activation cost rests firmly in black mana territory, demanding double black mana which could pose a deck-building challenge. Players who run multicolor decks might find it tricky to reliably meet this specific mana requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Seeking lands is a fundamental aspect of the game, yet the investment of three mana to cast and two additional black mana to activate Soul Stair Expedition can feel steep, especially when compared to other options in the mana curve that might provide greater board presence or immediate impact.

Reasons to Include Soul Stair Expedition in Your Collection

Versatility: Soul Stair Expedition, with its quest mechanic, slides effortlessly into a variety of deck styles, particularly those that revolve around landfall triggers or graveyard strategies. Its adaptability makes it an appealing choice for deck builders seeking to exploit the quest counters mechanics.

Combo Potential: This card serves as a catalyst for combos, as it neatly integrates with decks that operate on recurring cards from the graveyard. By meeting its quest requirements, you unlock the potential to return key creatures to the battlefield, thus amplifying your deck’s overall synergy.

Meta-Relevance: Given the consistent presence of graveyard-based strategies in the current meta, Soul Stair Expedition could be a game-changer. This card proves its worth by ensuring you have the right creatures when and where you need them, keeping you one step ahead of the competition.

How to beat

Soul Stair Expedition brings intriguing graveyard manipulation to the world of MTG, reminiscent of effects seen with cards like Animate Dead or Reanimate. Yet, Soul Stair Expedition holds a unique spot for its ability to recur not one, but multiple creatures, albeit with restrictions. It banks on the quest counter mechanics, which require a build-up to trigger its effect.

Countering Soul Stair Expedition relies on proactive interference. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void excel in stripping graveyards of their resources before Soul Stair Expedition can amass the necessary counters. On the flip side, instant-speed removals like Thrashing Brontodon allow a player to destroy Soul Stair Expedition right before the quest is completed, nullifying the hard work put into piling up those counters.

Ultimately, adept players will recognize the rhythm of playing against Soul Stair Expedition, implementing grave hate strategies or timely artifact and enchantment removal to disrupt the opponent’s plans. Those who successfully navigate these waters can effectively neutralize the potential threats that this card presents, thereby securing an advantage in any game. Knowing when and how to interrupt the quest can turn the tide to your favor.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Soul Stair Expedition MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar, 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 Soul Stair Expedition and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Soul Stair Expedition has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-10-01	The landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability (such as Rampant Growth) causes you to put a land onto the battlefield under your control. It will even trigger when a spell or ability causes another player to put a land onto the battlefield under your control (as can happen with Yavimaya Dryad’s ability, for example).
2009-10-01	When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves.