Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory MTG Card


Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory - Zendikar Rising
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Fight
Released2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set nameZendikar Rising
Set codeZNR
Number192
Frame2015
Layoutmodal_dfc
Borderblack
Illustred byGrzegorz Rutkowski

Key Takeaways

  1. Doubles as an efficient land and removal, making it an excellent pick for green-centric decks.
  2. Instant speed of Ambush side offers tactical surprise during combat phases.
  3. Its unique utility can challenge opponents, demanding strategic plays to counter.

Text of card

Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)

"The difference between life and death in Ora Ondar is about three seconds of startled screaming." —Raff Slugeater, goblin shortcutter


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Khalni Ambush, as a modal double-faced card, provides both a land and a spell in one. This versatility gives players an edge by effectively offering two cards in the slot of one—thus providing card advantage in tight deck-building decisions.

Resource Acceleration: When played as Khalni Territory, the card can tap for green mana, ensuring you don’t fall behind on your mana curve. This allows for smoother gameplay, as it grants the capacity to deploy creatures and spells on schedule, or even ahead of time when played early.

Instant Speed: The Ambush side of the card is an instant, which gives players the flexibility to surprise opponents with a creature removal during their turn, or in response to an attack. The instant speed feature of Khalni Ambush means it can be a game-changer during combat or crucial turns, disrupting the opponent’s strategy without sacrificing your turn to do so.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Khalni Ambush can put you in a tight spot by taking up a card slot without providing card advantage. As a modal double-faced card, choosing to play it as a land early means you lose access to its spell effect when you might need it later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a green mana cost, Khalni Ambush may not fit smoothly into multicolored decks, potentially restricting its play to mono-green or green-heavy decks where its mana requirement is easier to meet.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of three green mana, it ranks on the higher side for instant-speed creature removal. This cost can be a drawback when faster, cheaper removal options are available, even within green’s slice of the color pie.


Reasons to Include Khalni Ambush in Your Collection

Versatility: Khalni Ambush serves dual purposes as both a land and a removal spell. It can seamlessly fit into green decks that appreciate maintaining mana consistency while having access to instant-speed creature interaction.

Combo Potential: In decks that capitalize on landfall mechanics or that benefit from having lands with additional utility, Khalni Ambush can become a key component, enhancing your board state while disrupting opponents.

Meta-Relevance: With creatures often dominating the battlefield in many MTG formats, having an instant-speed removal like Khalni Ambish can prove crucial. It keeps decks competitive by allowing players to remove threats without falling behind on land drops.


How to beat

Khalni Ambush presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, notably providing a land card that doubles as a creature removal in MTG. As a modal double-faced card, it offers both versatility and surprise, allowing players to set it as a land early and surprise opponents with a creature takedown later in the game. When confronting this multitalented card, the key is identification and timing.

To effectively navigate around Khalni Ambush, it’s crucial to recognize the potential for an instant-speed creature fight as you approach your own attack phase. Playing around it can involve holding back key attackers when mana is left untapped by an opponent who has the potential to cast Khalni Ambush. Tactical baiting can also be employed, using less critical creatures to draw out the Ambush before committing more valuable creatures to the board. Lastly, countering the Ambush or utilizing hexproof and indestructible features can nullify its threat, reinforcing the need for a cautious and strategic approach to maintain the upper hand.

Through anticipation and strategic plays, players can mitigate the impact of Khalni Ambush, ensuring it doesn’t disrupt their path to victory in a game of MTG. Prioritizing creature protection and board state awareness can turn this potential threat into a manageable aspect of the match.


BurnMana Recommendations

The intriguing Khalni Ambush card stands as a testament to the strategic depths of MTG. Offering both a land to progress your mana and an instant to disrupt opponents, this card exemplifies the cunning necessary to thrive in the game. As you’ve learned its strengths, limitations, and how it stacks up against similar cards, the value it can bring to your green-centered decks is clear. Advance your collection and gameplay by considering Khalni Ambush’s unique dual utility. For those looking to navigate the complexities and ever-changing dynamics of MTG, we invite you to deepen your knowledge and strategies with us. Elevate your deck and outmaneuver the competition—one card at a time.


Cards like Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory

Khalni Ambush offers a unique spin on removal spells in Magic: The Gathering, with a twist that it’s also a land. Comparable to other modal double-faced cards like Bala Ged Recovery, Khalni Ambush provides the flexibility of being a land on one side and a spell on the other. Bala Ged Recovery brings back any card from your graveyard, while Khalni Ambush focuses on removing threats by turning a creature you control into a surprise blocker that fights an opponent’s creature.

Another similar card is Clear Shot, which allows for a target creature you control to get a minor power boost and then deal damage equal to its power to another target creature. Unlike Khalni Ambush, Clear Shot isn’t a land and requires a green mana. However, it does give the creature you control a beneficial power increase.

Nature’s Way also bears similarities by enabling a creature to deal damage without being hurt itself. It’s cheaper than Khalni Ambush, ignoring land versatility, and grants vigilance and trample. Yet, it lacks the ability to double as a land, a strategic utility that Khalni Ambush packs. When evaluating these options, Khalni Ambush stands out for its dual functionality, accommodating both land drops and impactful player actions.

Clear Shot - MTG Card versions
Nature's Way - MTG Card versions
Clear Shot - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Nature's Way - Kaladesh (KLD)

Cards similar to Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory by color, type and mana cost

Touch of Vitae - MTG Card versions
Foxfire - MTG Card versions
Verdigris - MTG Card versions
Team Spirit - MTG Card versions
Refresh - MTG Card versions
Vivify - MTG Card versions
Chord of Calling - MTG Card versions
Primal Boost - MTG Card versions
Sprouting Vines - MTG Card versions
Natural Affinity - MTG Card versions
Ferocious Charge - MTG Card versions
Graphic Violence - MTG Card versions
Remodel - MTG Card versions
Roar of Jukai - MTG Card versions
Rending Vines - MTG Card versions
Early Harvest - MTG Card versions
Wildsize - MTG Card versions
Hail Storm - MTG Card versions
Harrow - MTG Card versions
Invigorate - MTG Card versions
Touch of Vitae - Ice Age (ICE)
Foxfire - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Verdigris - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Team Spirit - Unglued (UGL)
Refresh - Odyssey (ODY)
Vivify - Odyssey (ODY)
Chord of Calling - Explorer Anthology 3 (EA3)
Primal Boost - Onslaught (ONS)
Sprouting Vines - Scourge (SCG)
Natural Affinity - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Ferocious Charge - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Graphic Violence - Unhinged (UNH)
Remodel - Unhinged (UNH)
Roar of Jukai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rending Vines - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Early Harvest - The List (PLST)
Wildsize - Commander Legends (CMR)
Hail Storm - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Harrow - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Invigorate - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-09-25 A modal double-faced card can’t be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than “play”) a specific modal double-faced card, you can’t play it as a land.
2020-09-25 If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face’s name.
2020-09-25 If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can’t be put onto the battlefield, it doesn’t enter the battlefield.
2020-09-25 If either target is an illegal target as Khalni Ambush resolves, no creature will deal or be dealt damage.
2020-09-25 In the Commander variant, a double-faced card’s color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered.
2020-09-25 The converted mana cost of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that’s being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the converted mana cost of a transforming double-faced card is determined.
2020-09-25 There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face.
2020-09-25 To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you’re playing and ignore the other face’s characteristics.

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