Excavator MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact
Released	1997-10-14
Set symbol
Set name	Tempest
Set code	TMP
Number	287
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tom Kyffin

Key Takeaways

Excavator allows effective land recycling, offering a solid card advantage on the battlefield.
Instant-speed land access through Excavator’s ability enables quick strategies and surprise maneuvers.
While versatile, the Excavator’s high mana cost and color specificity can limit its deck compatibility.

Text of card

oc T, Sacrifice a basic land: Target creature gains that landwalk ability until end of turn. (If defending player controls any lands of that type, this creature is unblockable.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Excavator card has the renowned ability to bring lands from your graveyard back to your hand. This continuous recycling of resources gives players an exceptional edge, maintaining a robust presence on the battlefield through ongoing card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: This card offers a distinctive form of resource acceleration. By recovering lands from the graveyard, Excavator enables you to consistently make land drops and optimize mana utilization. This process bolsters your potential for casting more spells and deploying larger threats ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: Although the Excavator itself does not operate at instant speed, the lands retrieved using its ability can oftentimes unlock the potential for instant-speed plays. The efficiency of having access to resources precisely when needed should not be underestimated, as it can lead to victorious turns and unexpected comebacks.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Some iterations of Excavator cards require discarding as part of the cost to utilize their land retrieval abilities. This stipulation can lead to strategic drawbacks when your hand is depleted or when holding onto key cards is critical.

Specific Mana Cost: Excavator cards often come with a specific mana color requirement for casting. This can potentially restrict their inclusion in multi-colored decks or decks that struggle with mana fixing, which could hinder your gameplay strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Retaining a balance of efficiency versus impact is pivotal in MTG. The Excavator’s ability, while useful, comes at a comparatively high mana cost. There are cards available that may return lands from the graveyard to the battlefield or hand for less, enabling players to execute other plays alongside their land retrieval strategy within the same turn.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Excavator card is a dynamic addition to any deck that values a recurring resource strategy. Its ability to play lands from the graveyard ensures that you can continuously make land drops and maintain pace with your opponent.

Combo Potential: This card can seamlessly integrate with engines that interact with the graveyard, opening up possibilities for various potent interactions and synergies within graveyard-focused decks

Meta-Relevance: Given that land destruction or graveyard interaction can be prevalent in various metagames, incorporating the Excavator into your lineup can help to mitigate these strategies while capitalizing on consistent land plays throughout the match.

How to Beat

The Excavator card in Magic: The Gathering is known for its persistent ability to recur land cards from the graveyard, making it a valuable asset for land-focused strategies. However, countering this card can be crucial to maintain a strong stance in the game. A strategic approach involves suppressing graveyard interactions. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void remove the possibility of retrieving lands or any other cards from the graveyard, rendering the Excavator’s ability ineffective.

Dire tactics such as removal spells are also effective. Swift removal options like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can dispose of the Excavator before it becomes a recurring problem on the battlefield. Additionally, countering the card before it hits the field with spells like Counter spell or Mana Leak can ensure that the Excavator’s ability never becomes a factor.

Maintaining pressure on the opponent’s resources is another tactic. Aggressive strategies that reduce the opponent’s life total rapidly can force them to use lands sub-optimally, limiting the value they gain from Excavator’s land retrieval. Prioritizing swift and direct confrontation can often prolong your advantage against decks that seek to maximize value from the graveyard with cards like the Excavator.

Cards like Excavator

In Magic: The Gathering, Excavator takes its place among the pantheon of graveyard-utilizing cards. Think of it alongside the esteemed Crucible of Worlds, another crucial piece that grants players the ability to play lands from their graveyard. While Excavator might not have the broad application of Crucible, given its creature status, it presents an interesting dynamic as a more vulnerable yet versatile option. Creatures can attack and block, after all, which artifacts cannot.

Then there’s the praiseworthy Ramunap Excavator, which offers a similar benefit as Excavator, allowing you to play land cards from your graveyard without any cost. The Excavator isn’t as easy to remove compared to Ramunap Excavator since creatures can be more susceptible to certain removal spells in contrast to artifacts. Finally, there’s Life from the Loam. This dredge card not only brings lands back to your hand but also fills your graveyard, paving the way for a delightful synergy with Excavator.

To sum up, while each of these cards has its unique strengths in utilizing the graveyard, Excavator’s duality as a creature capable of advancing your board and fueling your land plays makes it a valuable player in decks centered around land strategies.

Cards similar to Excavator by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Excavator MTG card by a specific set like Tempest, 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 Excavator and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Excavator has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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