Strip Mine MTG Card

Strip Mine grants tactical edge by removing vital opponent lands, contributing to your own resource advantage. Its ability to destroy lands at a moment’s notice injects flexibility and surprise into game strategies. While powerful, using Strip Mine’s ability comes at the cost of sacrificing the card itself.
Card setsReleased in 18 setsSee all
RarityUncommon
TypeLand

Text of card

Tap to add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool or place Strip Mine in your graveyard and destroy one land of your choice.

Unlike previous conflicts, the war between Urza and Mishra made Dominia itself a casualty of war.

Cards like Strip Mine

Strip Mine from MTG holds a significant position in the realm of land destruction cards. It shares a common goal with other lands like Wasteland, which can also destroy a nonbasic land without costing any mana. However, Strip Mine is not restricted to nonbasic lands, granting it a wider range of targets and a more versatile presence in a player’s deck. When analyzing its potential, it’s crucial to factor in the absence of a mana cost associated with its activation.

Comparable to Strip Mine is Ghost Quarter; while it can demolish any land, it does offer a slight reprieve to the opponent by allowing them to search their library for a basic land to replace the destroyed one. This slight advantage can sometimes turn a disadvantageous situation for the opponent into an opportunity. Tectonic Edge is another land with a similar destruction ability, yet it imposes a threshold of at least four lands in the opponent’s control, making it a conditional choice that is often less flexible than the immediate nature of Strip Mine’s utility.

The strategic depth that Strip Mine adds to MTG gameplay is hard to ignore. Its unabridged destructive capability with no mana cost needed for activation solidifies its status as a powerful choice for disrupting opponents’ mana bases.

Wasteland - MTG Card versions
Ghost Quarter - MTG Card versions
Tectonic Edge - MTG Card versions
Wasteland - MTG Card versions
Ghost Quarter - MTG Card versions
Tectonic Edge - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The power of Strip Mine in a game cannot be understated, providing players with the tactical advantage of removing key lands from an opponent’s board. This disruption can be critical in preventing them from assembling the necessary resources for their strategy, thus indirectly contributing to a player’s own card advantage over the course of a match.

Resource Acceleration: While not a direct source of resource acceleration, the ability of Strip Mine to eliminate an opponent’s land can hamper their mana development. This sets the stage for a player to capitalize on their own lands and spells more effectively, potentially accelerating their game plan while the opponent struggles to rebuild their mana base.

Instant Speed: Despite Strip Mine not being an instant, its ability to destroy any land without tapping comes into effect practically at instant speed, since it can be used at any point in a match, barring restrictions. This allows savvy players to wait for the most opportune moment to disrupt their opponent’s plays, such as in response to the activation of a land’s ability or following the play of a land-dependent combo piece.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Strip Mine doesn’t require you to discard a card, using its land destruction ability does necessitate sacrificing it. This loss of land can set you back in the game, particularly if you don’t have sufficient land cards in hand or on the battlefield to maintain your mana curve.

Specific Mana Cost: Although it costs zero mana to play, activating Strip Mine’s ability to destroy a target land comes at the cost of sacrificing itself. This action has strategic consequences, as you must weigh the benefit of removing an opponent’s land against the loss of your own mana source, which can be particularly impactful in the early game where land resources are crucial.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its powerful effect, the need to forfeit a land can be seen as a high ‘mana’ cost in terms of resource development. In comparison, other land destruction cards or strategies might offer a more balanced approach to disrupting the opponent’s mana base without the self-sacrifice, allowing you to maintain a stronger presence on the board.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Strip Mine is a land card that has a place in any MTG deck that aims to keep their opponent’s land base in check. It can be used in multiple deck archetypes, from control to aggressive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card can be coupled with land recursion tactics to repeatedly destroy the opponent’s lands, stifling their play and securing an advantage. Its use can be a game-changer in matches where land-dependent combos are dominant.

Meta-Relevance: With a shifting MTG landscape, Strip Mine remains a relevant choice for its ability to disrupt land-reliant strategies that are prevalent in various formats. Its inclusion can be crucial in staying ahead of the meta and countering decks that are heavily dependent on specific lands.

How to Beat

Strip Mine holds a formidable reputation in Magic: The Gathering as a powerful land destruction card. With its ability to take out crucial lands from the opponent’s manabase without any mana cost, overcoming it requires a thoughtful strategy. A key tactic is utilizing lands that are resilient to land destruction or that can replace themselves upon being targeted. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can function as alternatives, albeit at a slower pace.

Another approach involves the employment of basic lands over nonbasic ones, minimizing Strip Mine’s disruption to your game plan. Further protection can be ensured by various spells that can regenerate or blink your lands in response to Strip Mine’s activation, preserving your land count and staving off a significant tempo loss.

Lastly, adaptive playstyle is vital. Considering the potential impact this card can have when facing decks equipped with Strip Mine, it can be advantageous to hold back on playing out important nonbasic lands until you have a way to protect them or until the Strip Mine has been used. Vigilance and flexibility are key elements when playing against an opponent with this powerful utility card.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Strip Mine MTG card by a specific set like Antiquities and Antiquities, 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 Strip Mine and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Strip Mine Magic the Gathering card was released in 12 different sets between 1994-03-04 and 2020-09-25. Illustrated by 5 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-03-04AntiquitiesATQ 82a1993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
21994-03-04AntiquitiesATQ 82d1993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
31994-03-04AntiquitiesATQ 82b1993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
41994-03-04AntiquitiesATQ 82c1993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
51995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 3631993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
61995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 3631993NormalWhiteDaniel Gelon
71995-08-01RinascimentoRIN 1741993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
81995-08-01RenaissanceREN 1891993NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
91996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC bl3631993NormalGoldDaniel Gelon
101996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC ll3631993NormalGoldDaniel Gelon
111996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC pp3631993NormalGoldDaniel Gelon
121996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC ml3631993NormalGoldDaniel Gelon
132009-08-28From the Vault: ExiledV09 132003NormalBlackJohn Avon
142011-01-10Masters Edition IVME4 2521997NormalBlackDaniel Gelon
152014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 3162015NormalBlackJohn Avon
162015-10-02Zendikar ExpeditionsEXP 432015NormalBlackHoward Lyon
172019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 4722015NormalBorderlessChris Ostrowski
182020-09-25Zendikar Rising ExpeditionsZNE 282015NormalBlackAdam Paquette

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Strip Mine has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyBanned
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernBanned
VintageRestricted
DuelBanned
PredhLegal