Explosive Welcome MTG Card

Explosive Welcome - Strixhaven: School of Mages

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	8
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2021-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Strixhaven: School of Mages
Set code	STX
Number	100
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mathias Kollros

Key Takeaways

Explosive Welcome provides card advantage and unexpected turns through its resourceful mana and card draw.
Flexibility at instant speed allows for reactive play, adding a layer of depth to gameplay.
While powerful, it demands careful mana management and comes with a high casting cost.

Text of card

Explosive Welcome deals 5 damage to any target and 3 damage to any other target. Add .

Rowan and Will were a natural fit in Prismari College, the school of outrageous elemental arts.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Explosive Welcome gives you the upper hand by allowing you to not only deal massive damage but also adds to your card economy by letting you sift through the top three cards of your library, ultimately putting one card of your choice in your hand.

Resource Acceleration: This potent spell generates a surge of mana, effectively refunding a portion of its casting cost with an immediate boost to your resources. Precisely, it adds eight red mana to your mana pool, igniting the potential for explosive turns.

Instant Speed: The versatility of instant speed can’t be overstated. Explosive Welcome can be cast in response to your opponent’s moves, keeping you a step ahead as you react to their actions with a devastating surprise. It also means you can seamlessly integrate the spell into your strategy without having to commit mana on your own turn, offering flexibility and tactical depth to your gameplay.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When using the Explosive Welcome card, you’re faced with the tough decision of discarding another card. This trade-off can be particularly painful during those critical moments when you need to maintain a strong hand to respond to your opponent’s threats.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands precision in your mana base because it requires not just one, but two red mana. It’s not always easy to have the right colors available, especially in multi-color decks that might struggle with mana consistency. Players must plan their land plays carefully to ensure they’re able to cast it on time.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of eight mana, inclusive of the specific red mana requirements, Explosive Welcome’s gameplay impact comes into question, especially compared with other options available in the format. While powerful, the card’s efficiency bows to numerous less costly spells that activate more immediate board presence or disruptive effects for a swifter tempo shift.

Reasons to Include Explosive Welcome in Your Collection

Versatility: Explosive Welcome is a flexible addition to a variety of decks, especially those that capitalize on direct damage and late-game mana acceleration to finish opponents or cast multiple spells in a single turn.

Combo Potential: The card can churn out significant damage while refueling your hand, making it a powerful pair with mechanics that reward spell-casting or instants and sorceries in the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to sway the board state in the late game, Explosive Welcome can be a game-changer in a meta that’s heavy on control matchups or when racing against combo decks.

How to beat

Explosive Welcome is a notable card in MTG that has gained attention for its ability to deal with intricate board states. It delivers a substantial punch with its significant direct damage, capable of altering the tide of the game. To conquer this powerful spell, players need to incorporate strategies that can mitigate its impact or prevent it from being cast all together.

For starters, countering Explosive Welcome is a surefire approach. Cards with counter abilities can intercept this spell right when it’s cast, eliminating the threat before it materializes. Another effective method is to employ discard effects, influencing your opponent’s hand and ensuring the spell never reaches the battlefield. Additionally, a strategy including life gain can help cushion the blow from its effect, keeping you in a healthier position.

On a different note, employing instant-speed interaction can help navigate around the flexible aspect of Explosive Welcome by destroying key targets before its resolution. Having such responses ready can disrupt your opponent’s plans and keep you one step ahead. With these strategies, you can uphold your upper hand and undermine the potential advantage Explosive Welcome could bring to your opponent.

Cards like Explosive Welcome

The card Explosive Welcome stands out in the realm of MTG burn spells due to its sheer potential to deal damage. From the bystander’s view, this card might remind seasoned players of Blaze, a classic that also allows you to sink mana into it for a substantial amount of damage. However, Explosive Welcome pushes further with an additional aspect of drawing two cards post-damage, a trait Blaze does not offer.

Comparatively, Volcanic Geyser also shares the flexibility of dealing X damage to any target. Yet, it lacks the card draw advantage that comes with Explosive Welcome. The latter’s ability to refuel the player’s hand potentially tips the scale in its favor. Looking at a more recent addition, Fiery Emancipation triples the damage dealt to a target, which can create surprising one-shot victories. However, this enchantment stays on the battlefield requiring a different strategy compared to the one-off payload of Explosive Welcome.

Ultimately, Explosive Welcome possesses a unique blend of damage and draw capabilities, making it a versatile option for those seeking to combine offense with card advantage in their gameplay strategy.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Explosive Welcome MTG card by a specific set like Strixhaven: School of Mages, 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 Explosive Welcome and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Explosive Welcome has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Commander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Timeless	Legal