Steppe Lynx MTG Card
2009-10-02 - Number 36
2022-12-02 - Number 251
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Cat |
| Abilities | Landfall |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Steppe Lynx excels in early-game aggression but requires strategic land drops to maintain its threat level.
- It’s versatile in landfall-based decks, but the need for consistent land play can limit deck flexibility.
- Despite its potential, the Lynx’s power is conditional, challenging its inclusion over other consistent creatures.
Text of card
Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Steppe Lynx gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Nothing quickens the predator's blood like the unfamiliar scents of new hunting grounds and the mewling cries of new prey.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Steppe Lynx itself doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, its low cost and high potential power make it an efficient creature card to maintain early-game pressure, enabling you to conserve other resources in your hand for later threats or answers.
Resource Acceleration: As a one-mana creature, Steppe Lynx allows for an aggressive start, indirectly accelerating your resource advantage by requiring responses from your opponent early on and paving the way for more potent mid-to-late-game plays.
Instant Speed: While Steppe Lynx doesn’t have abilities that operate at instant speed, its potency grows when paired with landfall triggers which often come from instant-speed spells that put lands onto the battlefield during your opponent’s turn, thus boosting its power unexpectedly and allowing for tactical surprises during combat.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Steppe Lynx doesn’t inherently require a card discard to be played, it can often find itself outclassed by other creatures if you’re not consistently playing lands. This can lead to a necessary pivot of strategy, discarding other cards in your hand just to trigger landfall and make Steppe Lynx valuable on the battlefield.
Specific Mana Cost: As a creature that thrives on a landfall mechanic, Steppe Lynx demands a consistent influx of lands to be effective. This can be limiting as those precious land plays may be needed elsewhere, especially in multicolored decks where mana base is crucial and diversification of land plays is key.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Steppe Lynx’s initial mana cost is low, the cost of investment to make it a persistent threat can be high. Without additional land drops, its stats don’t justify the slot in a deck. When considering the mana spent on extra land-returning mechanics, that cost effectiveness diminishes even further compared to other creatures that are powerful without such conditions.
Reasons to Include Steppe Lynx in Your Collection
Versatility: The Steppe Lynx excels in decks that utilize landfall mechanics, adapting well in various strategies ranging from aggressive to controlling builds. It’s a low-cost creature that can become a considerable threat with minimal investment, fitting seamlessly into many deck archetypes.
Combo Potential: Its ability to grow with each land drop makes it a perfect pair for effects that put multiple lands into play on the same turn. This enables explosive turns where the Lynx can suddenly become a massive creature, pressuring your opponent out of nowhere.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where efficient creatures are key, Steppe Lynx holds its ground. With the right landfall support, it’s a card that can consistently apply early game pressure and retain its usefulness as the game progresses, challenging the board presence of many popular decks in the format.
How to beat
Steppe Lynx is a creature card with the landfall ability that can quickly become a threat in Magic: The Gathering due to its potential power increase each time a land enters the battlefield under its controller’s side. With just one land drop, this 0/1 creature transforms into a 2/3 until end of turn, making it a formidable force in early game scenarios, especially in land-heavy decks.
To counter this feline force efficiently, removal spells that deal with small creatures can be highly effective, as they often have low casting costs and can be used before the Lynx’s power spikes. Strategic land destruction is another method to mitigate the landfall triggers, though it is usually less common. Additionally, since Steppe Lynx’s strength is in its early game presence, playing creatures that have a higher toughness than two can also halt its progress, preventing it from inflicting significant damage. Engaging removal and control strategies while maintaining a solid defensive line-up will often lead in taming the Steppe Lynx and securing your position on the battlefield.
In sum, while the Steppe Lynx can initially pose a real challenge on the board, players armed with swift removal, effective control measures, and a solid defense are well-equipped to stand their ground against this agile adversary.
Cards like Steppe Lynx
Steppe Lynx, a creature card in MTG, is known for its potential to become a powerful force on the battlefield with the right land synergy. Like Plated Geopede, another landfall creature, Steppe Lynx can quickly grow in power and toughness with each land entering the battlefield. However, while Plated Geopede receives a more significant boost of +2/+2, Steppe Lynx’s increase is +2/+2 until end of turn, rewarding short-term tactical plays rather than sustaining board presence.
Considering other similar cards, we have cards like Akoum Warrior, which also leverages land mechanics but with a different twist. It doubles as a land itself, providing versatility although it lacks the explosive potential of Steppe Lynx’s landfall ability. Then there’s the Snapping Gnarlid, a creature that gains a consistent +1/+1 with landfall but doesn’t quite reach the same power peaks that the Lynx might achieve on a crucial turn.
Steppe Lynx stands out in decks built around landfall mechanics, providing an aggressive one-drop option that can exert early pressure on opponents. Its similarities and differences with other cards of this type make it an interesting choice for players who aim to optimize their landfall strategies in MTG.
Cards similar to Steppe Lynx by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Steppe Lynx MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Steppe Lynx and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Steppe Lynx Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2009-10-02 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Nic Klein.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009-10-02 | Zendikar | ZEN | 36 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Nic Klein | |
| 2 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 251 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Nic Klein |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Steppe Lynx 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 Steppe Lynx card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2009-10-01 | The landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability (such as Rampant Growth) causes you to put a land onto the battlefield under your control. It will even trigger when a spell or ability causes another player to put a land onto the battlefield under your control (as can happen with Yavimaya Dryad’s ability, for example). |
| 2009-10-01 | When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves. |
