The Skullspore Nexus MTG Card


Offers card advantage and strategic depth by recurring creatures from the graveyard to the hand. Acts as a resource accelerant, converting creature deaths into mana ramp opportunities. Allows for instant-speed interaction, giving tactical advantages during opponents’ turns.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Artifact

Text of card

This spell costs less to cast, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control. Whenever one or more nontoken creatures you control die, create a green Fungus Dinosaur creature token with base power and toughness each equal to the total power of those creatures. , : Double target creature's power until end of turn.


Cards like The Skullspore Nexus

The Skullspore Nexus introduces an intriguing dynamic to deck-building strategies in Magic: The Gathering. It finds company among other cards that focus on leveraging the graveyard. Cards like Crucible of Worlds offer a somewhat parallel utility by permitting you to play lands from your graveyard, a mechanic that resonates with the resource-recycling theme of The Skullspore Nexus.

Undergrowth Scavenger, another card that thrives off graveyard synergy, capitalizes on the number of creature cards in your graveyard, much like The Skullspore Nexus potentially does with its unique advantages. However, The Skullspore Nexus provides versatility by not just drawing from the graveyard but also allowing the casting of certain cards. This versatility can be a game-changer, setting it apart from its counterparts.

Exploring further, we note Golgari Thug and Stinkweed Imp, with their Dredge ability, actively fill the graveyard and create the fuel that The Skullspore Nexus requires to thrive. While they are not direct analogs, they complement the card’s strategy, and the synergy can be substantial in the right deck. Collectively, these comparisons reveal The Skullspore Nexus’s position in MTG as a card that uniquely unifies graveyard interaction with casting flexibility.

Crucible of Worlds - MTG Card versions
Undergrowth Scavenger - MTG Card versions
Golgari Thug - MTG Card versions
Stinkweed Imp - MTG Card versions
Crucible of Worlds - MTG Card versions
Undergrowth Scavenger - MTG Card versions
Golgari Thug - MTG Card versions
Stinkweed Imp - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using The Skullspore Nexus. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Naya DinosaursNaya Dinosaurs StandardNaya DinosaursStandard Preliminary 2024-05-06
Gruul DinosaursGruul Dinosaurs StandardGruul DinosaursStandard Challenge 64 2024-05-05
Gruul AggroGruul Aggro StandardGruul Dinosaurs2023Players Convention Aichi 2023 Standard Open
Golgari MidrangeGolgari Midrange StandardGolgari Fight Rigging16 Day1
DecklistDecklist Free formUOL LCI Sealed League
Naya AggroNaya Aggro StandardNaya Fight RiggingJapan Standard Cup: Murders at Karlov Manor
Gruul TempoGruul Tempo StandardGruul DinosaursJapan Standard Cup: Murders at Karlov Manor
Nykthos RampNykthos Ramp PioneerNykthos RampPioneer Challenge 64 2024-01-27
Gruul ModifiedGruul Modified StandardGruul DinosaursJaffer's Mini Mosh - Standard
Gruul MidrangeGruul Midrange StandardGruul DinosaursCommunity Turnier 4/2023

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Skullspore Nexus offers players the chance to capitalize on card advantage by potentially recurring creatures from the graveyard to the hand, seamlessly weaving past and present strategies together for a dominant board presence.

Resource Acceleration: This card equips players with a formidable resource acceleration mechanism. By converting creatures’ death into new opportunities, it enables players to swiftly ramp up their mana resources, unlocking powerful plays ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: The Skullspore Nexus stands out as a versatile tool thanks to its instant speed capability. This allows players to operate on an opponent’s turn, showcasing tactical finesse and the ability to adapt to unfolding game states, ensuring they’re always one step ahead.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Imagine you’re holding onto precious cards, each one potentially a game-changer. Now you’re faced with The Skullspore Nexus, a card that demands a sacrifice from your hand even before it graces the battlefield. Having to discard can put you at a disadvantage, especially when your arsenal is already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: The Skullspore Nexus isn’t just any mana-hungry beast; it craves a very particular flavor. Requiring a unique blend of mana types to cast, it may not slide effortlessly into every strategy or deck build, leaving some players to ponder their mana bases exhaustively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When it comes to investing mana in your plays, efficiency is key. The Skullspore Nexus comes with a hefty price tag that may seem steep when stacked against other options available to players. With a sizable amount of mana locked into this single investment, will the returns justify the outlay? This is the calculation strategic players must make when considering its place in their decks.


Reasons to Include The Skullspore Nexus Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: The Skullspore Nexus offers flexibility in deck construction, as it fits seamlessly into strategies focusing on sacrifice and recursion. Its ability to generate creature tokens and increase the power of your graveyard synergies makes it a useful addition to a variety of deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: With its intrinsic ability to produce saproling tokens, The Skullspore Nexus can fuel engine combos that revolve around creatures entering the battlefield or dying. This enables you to execute powerful interactions and turn tide in games.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to create and benefit from a large number of tokens, The Skullspore Nexus can become a key player in metas dominated by creature-based strategies and decks that leverage abundant board presences to overwhelm opponents.


How to Beat

The Skullspore Nexus demands tactical prowess to overcome in Magic: The Gathering. This formidable card can rapidly tilt the battlefield in favor of your adversary by granting them the power to harness their graveyard’s full potential. To counteract this, focusing on graveyard disruption is key. Consider using cards such as Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void which can exile cards as they hit the graveyard, rendering Skullspore Nexus’s abilities ineffective.

Another avenue is to employ instant-speed removal spells that can target The Skullspore Nexus directly before it starts creating a significant impact. Cards like Nature’s Claim or Disenchant provide efficient and inexpensive options to remove enchantments and artifacts, thus hindering the Nexus from accumulating value. Additionally, you should manage your removal wisely, waiting for your opponent to invest resources into activating The Skullspore Nexus, and then responding with removal, maximizing the impact of your play and potentially leaving them with fewer options.

Strategically, adjusting your playstyle to be more aggressive can also prove effective. By putting pressure on your opponent early in the game, you can force them to defend rather than setting up their Nexus. With the right balance of disruption and pressure, The Skullspore Nexus’s influence can be significantly diminished, allowing you to steer the game toward victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Balancing the pros and cons of The Skullspore Nexus is essential for MTG players who aim to optimize their decks. Understanding the delicate interplay of card advantage, resource acceleration, and instant speed capabilities against the challenges of specific mana requirements and discard dilemmas shapes the tactical landscape. We encourage players to explore the strategic possibilities The Skullspore Nexus provides—whether it’s fitting it into a new combo, adjusting mana bases, or harnessing its potential in the current meta. Dive deeper into the synergies and strategies of this fascinating card with us and discover how it can reshape your gameplay and enrich your collection.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase The Skullspore Nexus MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 The Skullspore Nexus and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The The Skullspore Nexus Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-11-17 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12023-11-17The Lost Caverns of IxalanLCI 3402015NormalBorderlessMónica Robles Corzo
22023-11-17The Lost Caverns of IxalanLCI 2122015NormalBlackDaarken

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where The Skullspore Nexus has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2023-11-10 Once you determine the cost to cast The Skullspore Nexus, you may activate abilities to pay that cost. If the greatest power among creatures you control changes while activating mana abilities, the cost to cast The Skullspore Nexus remains what you previously determined.
2023-11-10 The first step of casting a spell is to move it to the stack. If this causes the greatest power among creatures you control to change (for example, if you control a creature with "This creature's power is equal to the number of cards in your hand"), that new power will be used to determine the cost reduction.
2023-11-10 To double a creature's power, that creature gets +X/+0, where X is that creature's power as The Skullspore Nexus's activated ability resolves.
2023-11-10 Use the power of the nontoken creatures that died as they last existed on the battlefield to determine the base power and toughness of the token created by the middle ability.