Slab Hammer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact — Equipment
Abilities	Equip
Released	2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Battle for Zendikar
Set code	BFZ
Number	227
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Joseph Meehan

Key Takeaways

Slab Hammer enables repeated landfall triggers, enhancing strategies that benefit from land plays.
While versatile, it requires bouncing lands back, demanding careful board management.
Outmatch Slab Hammer users by focusing on creature and artifact removal tactics.

Text of card

Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may return a land you control to its owner's hand. If you do, the creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Equip

Neither subtle nor pretty.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Slab Hammer offers a unique opportunity to recycle lands to your hand, which can collaborate with landfall triggers or cards that benefit from lands being played multiple times.

Resource Acceleration: While not a direct source of mana acceleration, the ability to return a land to your hand can be synergistically used with cards that produce additional mana when they are replayed.

Instant Speed: While Slab Hammer is not an instant itself, it grants additional utility because you can choose to return a land to your hand whenever you attack with a creature. This ability can be used strategically during the combat phase, keeping opponents guessing about your available resources until the last moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Slab Hammer demands you to return a land to your hand to activate its ability. This can deplete your board presence, impede your land drops, and hinder your mana ramp, especially in land-focused strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Despite its colorless mana cost, the equipment falls into a niche category where decks that can maximize its potential are limited. It is not universally beneficial due to its particular interaction with landfall or bounce mechanics.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At two mana to cast and two to equip, the cost of getting Slab Hammer operational can be steep. Considering the tempo loss from bouncing lands back to your hand, the investment sometimes outweighs the returns when faster and more mana-efficient alternatives are available.

Reasons to Include Slab Hammer in Your Collection

Versatility: Slab Hammer offers flexibility to a range of deck builds, aligning well with strategies that prioritize land drops or aim to harness landfall abilities multiple times within a turn.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in a synergistic puzzle, enabling combos that revolve around returning lands to your hand. With the right setup, Slab Hammer can repeatedly trigger landfall, amplifying effects across your board.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where aggressive land-based strategies have a foothold, Slab Hammer can help those decks maintain a consistent landfall trigger, giving players an edge in maintaining board presence and applying pressure.

How to beat

Slab Hammer is an equipment artifact that has found a niche in Magic: The Gathering for its ability to enhance a creature’s power while recycling lands. This quirky tool can be challenging to face, especially in landfall-centric decks where returning a land to its owner’s hand triggers beneficial effects with each attack.

To outmaneuver someone wielding the Slab Hammer, card removal spells are your first line of defense. By focusing on eliminating the equipped creature, you reduce the threat and limit your opponent’s ability to trigger landfall repeatedly. Artifact removal is also effective, as dismantling the equipment itself will cut off the synergy it provides to the deck. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can disrupt this strategy and leave your opponent without the recurring power boosts.

Additionally, avoid leaving your creatures vulnerable to being picked off by the powered-up attackers. Instead, present enough blockers to deter attacks or use instant-speed tricks to neutralize the threat mid-combat. Understanding the pacing of your opponent’s play and being prepared to disrupt their land-equipment synergy is crucial for maintaining control of the game. By using these tactics, facing a Slab Hammer in play becomes a manageable challenge.

Cards like Slab Hammer

The Slab Hammer is a unique equipment card that offers players a tactical advantage in Magic: The Gathering. Its effect is reminiscent of other equipment cards like Adventuring Gear. However, the Slab Hammer shines in its ability to return a land to its owner’s hand whenever the equipped creature attacks, offering potential landfall triggers. Unlike Adventuring Gear, which primarily boosts a creature’s power based on landfall, Slab Hammer provides a more strategic land reutilization.

Explorer’s Scope is another card that bears some similarities. Both cards are low-cost equipment that can manipulate lands, but Explorer’s Scope has a chance to put a land from the top of your deck onto the battlefield upon attacking. This can potentially speed up your mana acceleration, something that Slab Hammer doesn’t directly offer. Lastly, consider the Prying Blade as a comparative card, which, like the Slab Hammer, allows the equipped creature to affect a player’s resources when they attack, by creating Treasure tokens instead of bouncing lands back.

In essence, Slab Hammer might be a strategic fit for decks that capitalize on landfall abilities or seek to maximize the utility of their lands in Magic: The Gathering. Its unique function sets it apart from other similar equipment cards by opening up various deck-building strategies and synergies with land-based mechanics.

Cards similar to Slab Hammer by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Slab Hammer MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Slab Hammer and other MTG cards: