Tomb Robber MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tomb Robber offers a repeatable means of filtering through your deck, allowing you to discard unwanted cards in hopes of finding crucial ones. This tactic is a form of card advantage as it improves the quality of the cards in your hand while potentially filling your graveyard with beneficial targets for other graveyard interactions within your strategy.

Resource Acceleration: Although Tomb Robber itself does not directly generate mana or Treasure, its explore ability is a form of resource acceleration in that it often places additional lands into your hand. This can increase the number of lands you play, thus boosting your overall mana resources in the course of a match.

Instant Speed: The ability to activate Tomb Robber’s explore mechanic at instant speed gives you the flexibility to use it at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to certain actions. This can allow you to maintain open mana for interaction or bluffing, thereby adding a tactical layer to your gameplay that can keep opponents guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Tomb Robber demands the player to pitch a card in order to activate its explore ability. This can sometimes deplete your hand, particularly during the late game when resources are precious and each card discarded represents a significant loss of potential.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature requires one black mana, binding it predominantly to black or multicolored decks. Players focusing on color consistency in their deck construction might find incorporating Tomb Robber a bit restrictive.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its initial 1/1 stats, requiring three mana might seem steep, especially when you compare it to other creatures at the same cost that could provide immediate board presence or impact. Considering you also have to pay additional mana and discard to utilize its ability, the initial investment can feel inefficient for aggressive or synergy-based strategies.

Reasons to Include Tomb Robber in Your Collection

Versatility: Tomb Robber’s adaptability shines in decks focusing on card selection and graveyard strategies. As a creature, it can be a useful blocker, while its ability to discard a card gives you the control to shape your hand and graveyard simultaneously.

Combo Potential: Utilizing Tomb Robber’s explore mechanism can work wonders in combinations that hinge on filling the graveyard. It pairs well with abilities that are triggered by creatures entering the battlefield or by certain cards being put into a graveyard from anywhere.

Meta-Relevance: In a game that values graveyard synergy and managing hand resources, Tomb Robber can easily find its place. If the meta shifts to favoring these kinds of mechanics, having Tomb Robber in your arsenal can give you an edge over opponents.

How to beat Tomb Robber

Tomb Robber presents a unique challenge on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering with its ability to explore and potentially improve a player’s deck consistency. To counter this elusive menace, strategic removal is key. Spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can effectively remove Tomb Robber from play before it begins sculpting the opponent’s hand and graveyard. It’s also less impactful if you can maintain a board presence that outpaces the incremental advantage Tomb Robber provides. To mitigate its ability to disrupt your strategy, consider cards that can recycle your graveyard or ones that benefit from having creatures in it, rendering the Robber’s deck manipulation less effective.

Aside from removal, playing creatures with a strong defensive stature can nullify Tomb Robber’s board impact since it requires a mana investment to become a threat. By deploying cards like Tarmogoyf or Thraben Inspector, you showcase robust blockers that can withstand the Robber’s attack while offering value. Additionally, adjusting your game to be more aggressive can force a Tomb Robber player to use their resources defensively, thereby limiting their capacity to use its explore ability. When facing Tomb Robber, remember that a proactive stance and efficient use of removal can often thwart its advantages.