Smoldering Crater MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
RarityCommon
TypeLand
Abilities Cycling

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides flexibility with cycling for card draw at instant speed.
  2. Strengthens mana-intensive strategies by tapping for red mana.
  3. Delivers strategic depth with instant-speed cycling and landfall synergy.

Text of card

Smoldering Crater comes into play tapped. oc T: Add o R to your mana pool. Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Smoldering Crater can be cycled away to draw a new card, providing flexibility and helping to ensure you’re not stuck with a land when you’re in need of action.

Resource Acceleration: As part of the cycle lands, Smoldering Crater enters the battlefield tapped but can be tapped for red mana, offering a stable source for mana-intensive strategies.

Instant Speed: The ability to cycle Smoldering Crater is usable at instant speed, allowing you to wait until the end of your opponent’s turn to decide whether you need a new card, optimizing your plays and keeping your options open.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Smoldering Crater comes into play tapped unless you choose to discard it from your hand, presenting a strategic decision about whether to keep it for later use or utilize it immediately at the cost of losing the card altogether.

Specific Mana Cost: When you finally do use Smoldering Crater for mana, it only provides red mana. This specificity makes it less flexible in multi-color decks that may require different types of mana at crucial points in the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To get the benefit of cycling and replace Smoldering Crater with a new card, you must pay two mana. In many situations, there are alternative land cards that offer lower cycling costs, leading to a more efficient turnover of your deck’s resources.


Reasons to Include Smoldering Crater in Your Collection

Versatility: Smoldering Crater offers a flexible land choice in deck construction, serving both as mana acceleration when untapped and a source of card draw via the cycling ability when the land itself is not immediately needed.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with landfall mechanics or decks that capitalize on cycling. By discarding the Crater, you can trigger effects that boost your strategy or disrupt opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where land disruption is common, having Smoldering Crater can ensure you maintain mana access. Moreover, its cycling feature keeps it relevant as a utility card in various meta environments, helping players avoid mana flooding.


How to beat

Smoldering Crater is a multifaceted land card that finds a place in many MTG decks, offering both mana acceleration and cycling benefits. To gain an edge against this adaptable card, one strategy is to employ land disruption. Cards like Stone Rain can effectively remove Smoldering Crater from the battlefield, cutting off a player’s mana supply and cycle potential. Targeted spells like Ghost Quarter can serve a similar purpose, with the added benefit of replacing the destroyed land with a basic land, potentially disrupting your opponent’s color balance.

Another approach is to play around Smoldering Crater’s enters-the-battlefield tapped disadvantage. By capitalizing on the tempo loss your opponent experiences, you can deploy threats or establish board control more rapidly. Consequently, strategies that emphasize speed and efficiency can naturally outpace decks relying on tapped cycle lands.

Finally, consider that Smoldering Crater’s cycling ability can offer you indirect card advantage, as your opponent is paying a cost to replace a card rather than advancing their board state. By keeping pressure high and forcing them to cycle for better options, your opponent may find themselves at a disadvantage, using their turns to react rather than develop.


Cards like Smoldering Crater

Smoldering Crater joins a niche set of utility lands in Magic: The Gathering, offering players both mana fixing and a potential card draw late in the game. It has a close counterpart in Forgotten Cave, which also taps for red mana and can be cycled away. Yet, Smoldering Crater stands out due to its ability to provide colorless mana without entering the battlefield tapped unless you opt for the cycling feature.

Comparable as well is the Desert of the Fervent, part of the cycle of deserts from the Hour of Devastation set. This desert shares the cycling ability for a red mana, but it always enters the battlefield tapped, sacrificing immediate game tempo for future planning. Looking at a broader spectrum, we have the ubiquitous Evolving Wilds, which fetches specific basic lands but costs the user the land drop for the turn. Smoldering Crater doesn’t fix your mana as efficiently but offers greater versatility over the course of the game.

Considering utility, speed, and strategic depth, Smoldering Crater provides a blend of immediate and long-term benefits. Whether smoothing out mana in the early game or cycling for a new card later, it’s a card that quietly uplifts the potential of many deck builds in Magic: The Gathering.

Forgotten Cave - MTG Card versions
Desert of the Fervent - MTG Card versions
Evolving Wilds - MTG Card versions
Forgotten Cave - Onslaught (ONS)
Desert of the Fervent - Hour of Devastation (HOU)
Evolving Wilds - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Cards similar to Smoldering Crater by color, type and mana cost

Mountain - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Ruins - MTG Card versions
Dormant Volcano - MTG Card versions
Sandstone Needle - MTG Card versions
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - MTG Card versions
Ghitu Encampment - MTG Card versions
Vivid Crag - MTG Card versions
Blighted Gorge - MTG Card versions
Memorial to War - MTG Card versions
Snow-Covered Mountain - MTG Card versions
Forgotten Cave - MTG Card versions
Castle Embereth - MTG Card versions
Desert of the Fervent - MTG Card versions
Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs - MTG Card versions
Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge - MTG Card versions
Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave - MTG Card versions
Shivan Gorge - MTG Card versions
Flamekin Village - MTG Card versions
Goblin Burrows - MTG Card versions
Den of the Bugbear - MTG Card versions
Mountain - Bloomburrow (BLB)
Dwarven Ruins - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Dormant Volcano - Visions (VIS)
Sandstone Needle - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Ghitu Encampment - Tenth Edition (10E)
Vivid Crag - Commander 2015 (C15)
Blighted Gorge - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
Memorial to War - Dominaria (DOM)
Snow-Covered Mountain - MTG Arena Promos (PANA)
Forgotten Cave - Modern Horizons (MH1)
Castle Embereth - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Desert of the Fervent - Commander 2020 (C20)
Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Shivan Gorge - The List (PLST)
Flamekin Village - The List (PLST)
Goblin Burrows - The List (PLST)
Den of the Bugbear - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Smoldering Crater MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and Beatdown Box Set, 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 Smoldering Crater and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Smoldering Crater Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by Mark Tedin.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-10-12Urza's SagaUSG 3281997normalblackMark Tedin
22000-10-01Beatdown Box SetBTD 771997normalwhiteMark Tedin
32013-11-01Commander 2013C13 3252003normalblackMark Tedin
42014-11-07Commander 2014C14 3122015normalblackMark Tedin
52015-11-13Commander 2015C15 3082015normalblackMark Tedin
62018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 2682015normalblackMark Tedin
72020-04-17Commander 2020C20 3132015normalblackMark Tedin
82023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 2572015normalblackMark Tedin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Smoldering Crater has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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