Junk Diver MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Bird
Abilities Flying
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Junk Diver excels in artifact retrieval, granting strategic resilience and card advantage in gameplay.
  2. It supports resource acceleration and intricate combos in artifact-heavy decks, enhancing board state progression.
  3. Though restricted by mana cost and a need for graveyard play, its versatility makes it a strategic asset.

Text of card

Flying When Junk Diver is put into a graveyard from play, return another target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.

Garbage in, treasure out.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Junk Diver offers a unique form of card advantage by retrieving any artifact from your graveyard when it’s put into a graveyard from play itself. This effectively turns any artifact you have into a potential resource you can use again, enhancing your strategic options and card economy.

Resource Acceleration: In decks that utilize artifacts heavily, Junk Diver can be an engine for resource acceleration. As it brings back artifacts that may produce mana or enable combos, it helps advance your board state and can often be the linchpin in setting up game-winning turns.

Instant Speed: While Junk Diver itself is not an instant, its ability to recover artifacts can be exploited at instant speed. Combining it with sacrifice outlets or other effects that operate on the fly allows players to recuperate key artifacts right when they are most needed, whether that’s during your turn or in response to an opponent’s actions, ensuring strategic flexibility and resilience.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Junk Diver’s ability necessitates itself being put into the graveyard to utilize its function, potentially hindering plays if you’re aiming to maintain board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Costing one generic and two colorless mana may restrict its integration in multicolored decks that prioritize colored mana for other essential plays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the ability to retrieve an artifact from your graveyard is certainly useful, there are cards available that accomplish this at a lower mana cost, leaving Junk Diver to be a potentially inefficient choice in fast-paced games.


Reasons to Include Junk Diver in Your Collection

Versatility: Junk Diver boasts a flexible nature, easily integrating with artifact-centric builds or serving as a utility piece in a variety of deck styles. Its ability to retrieve crucial artifacts from the graveyard after it dies makes it a recurring asset in game play.

Combo Potential: With this artifact creature, players can orchestrate powerful loops, particularly in conjunction with cards that facilitate sacrifice and recursion. This enables the creation of intricate combos that can lead to significant advantages or even game-winning conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments that frequently see valuable artifacts hit the graveyard, or where recursion strategies are prevalent, Junk Diver secures its place as a competent and strategic choice. Its place in your deck ensures resilience against removals and offers continuous access to key artifacts throughout the match.


How to beat

Junk Diver offers a unique blend of utility and recursion in MTG, allowing players to retrieve essential artifacts from their graveyard when it dies. To effectively counter this card, it’s crucial to take a strategic approach that minimizes its recycling capability. Implementing graveyard disruption tools, such as Scavenging Ooze or Relic of Progenitus, can impede the retrieval process before the Junk Diver’s ability triggers. It’s also beneficial to remove artifacts from play that your opponent might want to recollect, thereby reducing Junk Diver’s impact.

Another effective strategy is to control the battlefield by limiting the number of artifacts present. Cards that destroy multiple artifacts, like Shatterstorm or Vandalblast, can ensure that even if Junk Diver is successful in its mission, the value gained remains minimal. Lastly, making use of exile effects avoids triggering Junk Diver’s death ability altogether. Employing instant-speed exile spells when it enters the battlefield or before its death trigger resolves will ensure it never gets the chance to recycle anything from the graveyard.

While Junk Diver has the potential to be a potent force in artifact-centric decks, a prepared player with the right tactics can neutralize its effect and maintain control over the game’s pace and resource flow.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deep into the nuances of MTG gameplay with Junk Diver, your versatile ally in artifact-focused strategies. Whether you’re orchestrating combative maneuvers or cleverly managing your resources, Junk Diver is a card that rewards thoughtful planning and adaptability. Its potential to recover vital artifacts makes it an indispensable tool in the challenging environment of competitive play. By implementing this card, you ensure a dynamic aspect to your deck, capable of turning the tide of the match. Enhance your collection, harness the power of Junk Diver, and watch as your strategies unfold with precision. Curious to explore more? Learn how to optimize Junk Diver for your deck and take your gameplay to new heights with us.


Cards like Junk Diver

Junk Diver is a unique artifact creature within the vast library of MTG cards. It’s often measured against similar cards, such as Myr Retriever, which also retrieves an artifact from the graveyard to a player’s hand upon its demise. However, Junk Diver brings added versatility with its ability to fly, providing not just a retrieval service but also an aerial defense mechanism.

Another parallel can be drawn with Workshop Assistant, which extends a similar graveyard retrieval effect. Though Workshop Assistant offers this ability at a lower casting cost, it doesn’t have the added advantage of flight that Junk Diver possesses. Furthermore, Scrap Trawler presents a more dynamic recursion capability, allowing for retrieval of lower-cost artifacts when higher-cost ones hit the graveyard—a refined mechanism that Junk Diver and its counterparts do not offer.

Even though there are subtle differences in mechanics and abilities, Junk Diver holds its ground in MTG as a reliable artifact creature. Its combination of utility and versatility, with the added functional bonus of evasive flying, cements its place as a staple for players who value artifact synergy and strategic graveyard manipulation.

Myr Retriever - MTG Card versions
Workshop Assistant - MTG Card versions
Scrap Trawler - MTG Card versions
Myr Retriever - MTG Card versions
Workshop Assistant - MTG Card versions
Scrap Trawler - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Junk Diver MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny and Commander 2014, 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 Junk Diver and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Junk Diver Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1999-06-07 and 2018-06-08. Illustrated by Eric Peterson.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-06-07Urza's DestinyUDS 1321997NormalBlackEric Peterson
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 2442015NormalBlackEric Peterson
32018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 1952015NormalBlackEric Peterson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Junk Diver has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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