Wildfield Borderpost MTG Card

Acts as a land and mana source, helping players avoid extra land draws for card advantage. Alternative cost provides resource acceleration without using up a land drop for the turn. Can challenge opponents by requiring careful management of artifact and land interaction strategies.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact
Released	2009-04-30
Set symbol
Set name	Alara Reborn
Set code	ARB
Number	80
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Text of card

You may pay and return a basic land you control to its owner's hand rather than pay Wildfield Borderpost's mana cost. Wildfield Borderpost comes into play tapped. : Add or to your mana pool.

Get to Know Wildfield Borderpost

If strategy and mana flexibility are what you seek in your Magic: The Gathering deck, Wildfield Borderpost should not be overlooked. This versatile card serves as not just a mana source but a multifaceted tool for shaping your game. It has a distinct characteristic of being playable through its alternate cost, which involves returning a basic land you control to your hand, allowing you to circumvent the steeper casting cost and plan for future turns.

Cards like Wildfield Borderpost

Wildfield Borderpost is part of a family of artifacts known as the borderposts from the Alara Reborn set, and it echoes similarities with its cousins, particularly Fieldmist Borderpost and Firewild Borderpost. They all allow players to pay their costs by returning a basic land to the hand, offering a strategic depth that the basic lands they often replace cannot. However, Wildfield Borderpost is uniquely tuned for green or white mana, supporting decks that thrive on these colors. Its duality aligns it closer to cards like Sylvan Caryatid or Birds of Paradise, which tout the ability to tap for diverse mana. While these creatures offer immediate mana access, Wildfield Borderpost stands resilient against removals that would easily dispatch creatures, giving it a layer of durability in a long-drawn game.

Ultimately, when it comes to a reliable mana base with a bonus of tactical retreat and advance, Wildfield Borderpost is an underappreciated gem for players who value long-term plays and deck resilience in Magic: The Gathering.

Fieldmist Borderpost - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Wildfield Borderpost by color, type and mana cost

Ceremonial Groundbreaker - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Acting as both a land and mana source, Wildfield Borderpost enables you to maintain card advantage. Place it back into your hand and play it again, essentially bypassing the need for additional land draws.

Resource Acceleration: Wildfield Borderpost can be paid with the alternative cost of returning a basic land you control to your hand, then puts you a step ahead by not costing a land drop for the turn, this effectively accelerating your resource development.

Instant Speed: While Wildfield Borderpost itself is not an instant, it can be played using its alternative cost at any time you could play a standard land, affording you the adaptability to manage your other plays and resources dynamically during your game progression.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Wildfield Borderpost requires you to return a land you control to your hand as part of its alternative casting cost. This can set you back in land development, especially in the early game where tempo plays a critical role.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Wildfield Borderpost, even using its alternative cost, necessitates having a plains or a forest available. This requirement potentially limits the card’s flexibility and inclusion in multicolor decks that do not prioritize those land types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When not using its land-return ability, Wildfield Borderpost costs three mana, which is a significant investment for a mana-fixing artifact. In comparison, other mana rocks or land fetch cards come at a lower cost and can be more synergistic with various deck strategies.

Reasons to Include Wildfield Borderpost in Your Collection

Versatility: Wildfield Borderpost can be played in a variety of deck builds, particularly those looking to balance their mana spread. Its ability to be paid for with basic land types adds flexibility, allowing you to play your key spells on curve.

Combo Potential: As part of a series of Borderposts, this card is a cost-effective way to ramp up or fix your mana while setting up for bigger plays. It synergizes with landfall abilities and works well in multicolor decks that benefit from having multiple land types.

Meta-Relevance: With shifts in the meta towards efficient mana usage, Wildfield Borderpost maintains relevance by being a solid, budget-friendly option for mana fixing. This makes it a good inclusion for formats where having access to the right colors of mana quickly can give you an edge.

How to Beat Wildfield Borderpost

Wildfield Borderpost, a versatile fixer in the realm of mana artifacts, presents a unique challenge to overcome in Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to cards like Prophetic Prism, which also allows for mana filtering, Wildfield Borderpost offers the additional benefit of being a land in essence. This provides deck thinning and an alternative way to play the card outright from your hand by returning a basic land.

Countering Wildfield Borderpost effectively requires a strategic approach. Artifact removal spells like Nature’s Claim or Abrade can dispatch the Borderpost with ease, ensuring that your opponent doesn’t benefit from its mana-fixing capabilities. Moreover, since it can enter the battlefield by bouncing a land back to the player’s hand, land destruction or denial strategies, such as using Ghost Quarter or Leonin Arbiter, can disrupt this alternative casting method, further hindering your opponent’s mana base and potentially setting them back a turn.

Ultimately, recognizing the multifaceted nature of Wildfield Borderpost is key. While it may appear a simple mana-fixing artifact, it’s a card that demands prompt and smart interaction, keeping in mind both its artifact and quasi-land status to maintain the upper hand in your Magic: The Gathering matchups.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wildfield Borderpost MTG card by a specific set like Alara Reborn, 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 Wildfield Borderpost and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Wildfield Borderpost has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-05-01	As you cast a spell, you get a chance to activate mana abilities before you pay that spell’s costs. Therefore, you may tap a basic land for mana, then both spend that mana and return that land to your hand to pay this card’s alternative cost. (Of course, you can return a different basic land instead.)
2009-05-01	Casting this card by paying its alternative cost doesn’t change when you can cast it. You can cast it only at the normal time you could cast an artifact spell. It also doesn’t change the spell’s mana cost or converted mana cost. The only difference is the cost you actually pay.
2009-05-01	Effects that increase or reduce the cost to cast this card will apply to whichever cost you chose to pay.
2009-05-01	To satisfy the alternative cost, you may return any basic land you control to its owner’s hand, regardless of that land’s subtype or whether it’s tapped.