Shoreline Salvager MTG Card


Shoreline Salvager - Worldwake
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Surrakar
Released2010-02-05
Set symbol
Set nameWorldwake
Set codeWWK
Power 3
Toughness 3
Number67
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byIgor Kieryluk

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage during stalemates, enhancing your strategic plays and hand options.
  2. Instant speed effects offer flexibility and surprise, disrupting opponents’ plans effectively.
  3. Demands discard for activation, posing a risk of depleting your hand if not managed well.

Text of card

Whenever Shoreline Salvager deals combat damage to a player, if you control an Island, you may draw a card.

"They search for treasures that wash up from the depths. Tracking one could lead you to riches. Or in circles." —Javad Nasrin, Ondu relic hunter


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Shoreline Salvager cleverly leverages your card pool by encouraging you to capitalize on drawing extra cards whenever you and your opponent are at a stalemate.

Resource Acceleration: As a savvy addition for decks focusing on maximizing value from artifacts, this card can quickly ramp up your available resources when synergizing with other artifact strategies.

Instant Speed: The ability to activate key effects at instant speed gives Shoreline Salvager an edge by allowing strategic plays that can adapt to and disrupt your opponent’s plans.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Shoreline Salvager card’s ability is contingent on a discard mechanism. Players must discard a card to trigger certain effects, which might deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable to opponent’s strategies and without enough options for your next moves.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a specific mana cost which includes blue mana. It narrows down its integration to mainly blue-inclusive or multicolor decks, potentially limiting its versatility across a broad range of deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that is on the higher end for its ability effects, players may find the initial mana investment substantial. In a game where tempo can be crucial, other alternatives might provide a similar or greater impact on the battlefield with a lesser mana investment, which could make Shoreline Salvager a less attractive option in certain deck builds.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Shoreline Salvager works well across a broad spectrum of blue-based strategies due to its inherent ability to exploit benefits from numerous card types, such as artifacts and lands.

Combo Potential: With this formidable ally, you can easily set up card combinations that involve artifacts or landfall triggers, perpetuating more potent plays and powerful synergies in your gameplay.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right environment where artifacts play a key role, Shoreline Salvager can become a significant threat by transforming ordinary game actions like land drops into strategic advantages.


How to beat

The Shoreline Salvager is a tactical card that can bolster your battlefield presence in Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to utilize both the power of your lands and its prowess in multi-color matches, it’s known for empowering players with additional card draw advantage when you or a teammate plays a land from anywhere other than their hand. However, all cards have their Achilles’ heel, and savvy opponents can outmaneuver the Salvager’s strengths.

Disrupting the opponent’s land play is a key strategy against Shoreline Salvager. Employing land destruction or land bounce spells can impede the advantages offered by the Salvager, thereby minimising its impact. Additionally, since the Salvager relies on playing lands from unusual zones, graveyard removal spells or cards that limit land card movement from the graveyard or library directly to the battlefield can stifle the Salvager’s card advantage mechanism. Creature removal is also effective; spot removal spells can eliminate the Salvager before its ability is triggered. Lastly, countering multi-color spells or actions that trigger off land plays may render the Salvager less effective. By considering these approaches, an MTG player can more successfully contend with the particular set of challenges posed by the Shoreline Salvager.


Cards like Shoreline Salvager

Shoreline Salvager enters the arena of Magic: The Gathering as a unique creature card, offering a distinct blend of abilities. When examining creatures with similar functions, Looter il-Kor immediately comes to mind. Both creatures reward players for dealing combat damage to an opponent, yet Looter il-Kor has a lower mana cost and the benefit of having shadow, making it harder to block. While Shoreline Salvager requires being equipped or enchanted to trigger its ability, Looter il-Kor does not.

Comparably, Wharf Infiltrator presents another interesting parallel. Like Shoreline Salvager, it emphasizes a discard and draw mechanic upon dealing damage to an opponent. Wharf Infiltrator stands out because of its skulk ability, ensuring it can often evade larger creatures when attacking. However, Shoreline Salvager potentially draws more cards if controlling multiple Equipment or Auras.

Lastly, there’s Rogue Refiner, which straightaway draws a card and provides energy counters upon entering the battlefield, without needing to connect with an opponent. Although Rogue Refiner gives immediate value, Shoreline Salvager has the potential for repeated card advantage across multiple turns.

Each of these cards exhibits their own advantages and playstyles, positioning Shoreline Salvager in a space that favors longer games and synergy with Equipment and Auras, providing a robust card advantage engine for players who set up the board to maximize its potential.

Looter il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Wharf Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Rogue Refiner - MTG Card versions
Looter il-Kor - Time Spiral (TSP)
Wharf Infiltrator - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Rogue Refiner - Aether Revolt (AER)

Cards similar to Shoreline Salvager by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Deathgazer - MTG Card versions
Dirty Wererat - MTG Card versions
Faceless Butcher - MTG Card versions
Crowd of Cinders - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - Chronicles (CHR)
Rag Man - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Phyrexian Debaser - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Slinking Skirge - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Gravedigger - The List (PLST)
Scandalmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Urborg Shambler - Invasion (INV)
Whispering Shade - Odyssey (ODY)
Filth - Judgment (JUD)
Demon of Catastrophes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Bold Plagiarist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Toxin Sliver - Legions (LGN)
Vampiric Spirit - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Nim Shambler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scourge of Numai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Deathgazer - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Dirty Wererat - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Faceless Butcher - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Crowd of Cinders - Shadowmoor (SHM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shoreline Salvager MTG card by a specific set like Worldwake, 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 Shoreline Salvager and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shoreline Salvager has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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