Excavation Mole MTG Card

Excavation Mole - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Mole
Abilities	Mill,Trample
Released	2020-04-24
Set symbol
Set name	Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Set code	IKO
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	150
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lars Grant-West

Key Takeaways

Self-mill from Excavation Mole can act as card advantage, fueling graveyard-based strategies.
Its trample and self-milling are assets for decks built around graveyard synergies.
Direct graveyard loading sets up impactful plays, making it valuable for specific strategies.

Text of card

Trample When Excavation Mole enters the battlefield, mill three cards.

It makes molehills out of mountains.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Excavation Mole might not let you draw cards directly, but its ability to put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard can stock your graveyard with fuel for other strategies. For decks that capitalize on cards in the graveyard, this effectively translates to a form of card advantage, readying resources for future plays.

Resource Acceleration: With its trample ability, Excavation Mole can be a surprise asset on the battlefield. Its primary contribution towards resource acceleration is through its self-milling mechanic. This can rapidly populate your graveyard, indirectly accelerating your strategy if your deck synergizes with graveyard play mechanics such as delve, flashback, or threshold.

Instant Speed: While Excavation Mole itself doesn’t function at instant speed, its presence can complement instant-speed plays. By loading the graveyard with potential instant-speed spell targets or key cards, Excavation Mole sets the stage for dynamic responses during any phase of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Excavation Mole mandates you to discard the top three cards of your library upon entering the battlefield, which can lead to a significant loss of potential resources. For players who run decks with a limited amount of recursion or ways to utilize their graveyard, this downside is particularly noticeable as you might inadvertently discard crucial spells or creatures without a way to retrieve them.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that exclusively requires green mana, Excavation Mole can be less versatile in multicolored decks, potentially causing mana base complications. Players who run a deck with a diverse pool of spells across various colors might struggle to consistently provide the required green mana, thereby limiting the Mole’s immediate playability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Clocking in at three mana might not seem steep at first glance, but considering its ability is a one-time trigger that could negatively affect your card advantage, some players may find the cost-to-benefit ratio less appealing. There are numerous creatures and spells within the same mana range that offer more control over your deck’s synergy or present a greater immediate or long-term threat to opponents.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Excavation Mole is a solid choice for a variety of deck types, particularly those focusing on self-mill strategies by placing cards into your graveyard for bigger plays later on.

Combo Potential: As a creature that mills three cards upon entering the battlefield, Excavation Mole synergizes with graveyard mechanics, setting the stage for powerful reanimation spells or enabling delve and threshold abilities.

Meta-Relevance: With graveyard-based strategies often present in the current meta, Excavation Mole becomes a useful tool for enabling these potent decks without investing heavily in high-cost cards.

How to beat

Excavation Mole can be a tricky creature to contend with in Magic: The Gathering due to its ability to potentially alter the battlefield with its self-milling ability – a tool that can be advantageous for graveyard-focused decks. This creature, with its trample ability, allows it to push through defenders, although it’s important to note that the three cards it puts into the graveyard could come back to haunt you if the opponent is leveraging graveyard synergies.

However, not all hope is lost when facing the burrowing beast. Players can employ graveyard disruption to mitigate the benefits provided by the mole’s self-mill. Spells such as Tormod’s Crypt can exile the opponent’s graveyard, eliminating the advantages gleaned from cards like Excavation Mole. Silent Gravestone is another excellent artifact for stopping strategies that target cards in the graveyard. Focused removal spells can also keep the mole at bay, ensuring it doesn’t provide the opponent with additional value-over-time through its milling ability.

Taking these tactics into account is crucial. They disrupt the potential positive impact Excavation Mole might have for your opponent, and highlight proactive measures to secure your position on the battlefield. Controlling the graveyard is key to dulling the mole’s excavation efforts.

Cards like Excavation Mole

The Excavation Mole is a unique creature card that digs through a player’s library in MTG. It shares this mechanic with cards like Satyr Wayfinder, which also allows a look at the top few cards of your library and can put a land card into your hand. However, Excavation Mole places the top three cards of your library into your graveyard without the option to retrieve a land, potentially setting up future plays with its trample ability.

Autumnal Gloom is another relevant comparison, which doesn’t place cards into the graveyard directly but transforms into a creature with trample if there are enough card types in your graveyard, triggered by the delirium mechanic. While the Gloom offers the potential for a stronger creature, the Mole is immediate in effect and doesn’t require a variety of card types to be impactful. Moldgraf Scavenger, with its delirium-powered strength increase, provides yet another parallel but still lacks the Mole’s straightforward deposit into the graveyard and the trample feature.

Analyzing these cards side by side shows that Excavation Mole has a distinct position in the game, combining self-mill action with trample, making it a valuable component for decks that capitalize on graveyard strategies and aggressive playstyles.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Excavation Mole MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, 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 Excavation Mole and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Excavation Mole has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal