Wandering Fumarole MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLand

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers strategic adaptability by combining land utility with creature combat roles, enhancing gameplay versatility.
  2. Instant speed transformation allows for unexpected plays, optimizing both attack and defense strategies.
  3. While powerful, it’s held back by mana specificity and a mana-intense activation cost.

Text of card

Wandering Fumarole enters the battlefield tapped. : Add or . : Until end of turn, Wandering Fumarole becomes a 1/4 blue and red Elemental creature with ": Switch this creature's power and toughness until end of turn." It's still a land.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wandering Fumarole offers the tactical benefit of switching its power and toughness to maximize potential damage or defense, capitalizing on board states for strategic advantage.

Resource Acceleration: As a land, it contributes to your mana base without sacrificing a spell slot. This dual land not only aids in color fixing but also turns into a creature to apply pressure or block when necessary.

Instant Speed: The ability to animate Wandering Fumarole at instant speed provides flexibility, allowing you to adapt to the flow of the game and surprise opponents with an unanticipated blocker or attacker.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Wandering Fumarole doesn’t have a direct discard condition, but it could cause you to discard your strategy if it requires early game momentum. Its utilitarian nature means you might have to forsake other plays to benefit from its transformation ability.

Specific Mana Cost: Being a land card, Wandering Fumarole requires both blue and red mana to activate its ability. This specific mana cost can be restrictive, particularly in multicolored decks that don’t focus on blue and red.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To take advantage of its ability, you must spend four mana. While this cost is allocated for transformation and not directly for playing the card, it is still high when you need a quick defense or offensive creature on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Wandering Fumarole in Your Collection

Versatility: Wandering Fumarole offers a dual-role performance in many deck builds. As a land, it provides mana fixing for blue and red spells. Additionally, it transforms into a creature that can adapt to different combat roles, making it a dynamic choice for any collection.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to become a creature with power and toughness swapping opens up opportunities for unique combos. It can synergize with cards that track the number of creatures you control or that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or changing power.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where land flexibility can mean the difference between victory and defeat, the adaptability of Wandering Fumarole is unmatched. Its resilience against sorcery-speed removal when in land form, and its potential as an unexpected blocker or attacker, keeps it relevant in various match-ups.


How to beat

Wandering Fumarole presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to become a creature with power and toughness that you can switch during combat. To effectively counter this versatile land, consider using instant-speed removal spells while it’s a creature. This avoids it dodging sorcery-speed removal by reverting to a land in your opponent’s next turn. Cards like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can be particularly effective since they can take out the Fumarole regardless of its current stats.

Another strategy is to employ land destruction or land-dimming effects. By using cards such as Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, you can target Wandering Fumarole specifically, removing the threat permanently from the game. Controlling the number of lands your opponent has can limit their ability to transform Wandering Fumarole into a creature, thus keeping it in its benign state. Additionally, watch for counterplay; smart opponents will be on the lookout for ways to protect their key land. Prepare to handle reactive measures they might deploy to safeguard their Fumarole.

The key to triumphing over a card like Wandering Fumarole is to be proactive and ready to adapt. Knowing when to hold your removal spells and when to strike can turn this seemingly formidable card into a manageable aspect of your opponent’s arsenal.


Cards like Wandering Fumarole

Wandering Fumarole stands out in the Magic: The Gathering landscape as a land with a unique twist – it has the ability to become a creature. When looking at similar transformative lands, one immediately thinks of Raging Ravine. Both can turn into creatures, but while Raging Ravine grows stronger with each attack, Wandering Fumarole does not. However, Wandering Fumarole offers flexibility in combat with its power and toughness swapping ability.

Another comparable card is Stirring Wildwood. It also transforms into a creature, with the added advantage of having reach, which can be crucial for blocking flying creatures. Yet, it lacks the power modification feature of Wandering Fumarole. Finally, there’s Lumbering Falls, a land-creature with hexproof, offering a level of protection that Wandering Fumarole doesn’t possess. However, Lumbering Falls does not provide the same degree of adaptability in combat statistics.

Each land has its strengths, but Wandering Fumarole excels in versatility during combat, making it a valuable choice for players seeking strategic flexibility on the battlefield.

Raging Ravine - MTG Card versions
Stirring Wildwood - MTG Card versions
Lumbering Falls - MTG Card versions
Raging Ravine - Worldwake (WWK)
Stirring Wildwood - Worldwake (WWK)
Lumbering Falls - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wandering Fumarole MTG card by a specific set like Oath of the Gatewatch Promos and Oath of the Gatewatch, 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 Wandering Fumarole and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Wandering Fumarole Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-01-22 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by Florian de Gesincourt.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-01-22Oath of the Gatewatch PromosPOGW 182s2015normalblackFlorian de Gesincourt
22016-01-22Oath of the GatewatchOGW 1822015normalblackFlorian de Gesincourt
32020-09-26The ListPLST OGW-1822015normalblackFlorian de Gesincourt
42022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 9282015normalblackFlorian de Gesincourt

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Wandering Fumarole has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wandering Fumarole card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2016-01-22 A land that becomes a creature may be affected by “summoning sickness.” You can't attack with it or use any of its abilities (including its mana abilities) unless it began your most recent turn on the battlefield under your control. Note that summoning sickness cares about when that permanent came under your control, not when it became a creature nor when it entered the battlefield.
2016-01-22 An ability that turns a land into a creature also sets that creature's power and toughness. If the land was already a creature (for example, if it was the target of a spell with awaken), this will overwrite the previous effect that set its power and toughness. Effects that modify its power or toughness will continue to apply no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change its power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness. For example, if Wandering Fumarole has been made a 0/0 creature with three +1/+1 counters on it, activating its last ability will turn it into a 4/7 creature that's still a land.
2016-01-22 This land is colorless until the last ability gives it colors.
2016-01-22 When a land becomes a creature, that doesn't count as having a creature enter the battlefield. The permanent was already on the battlefield; it only changed its types. Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won't trigger.
2021-03-19 Because damage remains marked on a creature until the damage is removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to a creature may become lethal if you switch its power and toughness during that turn.
2021-03-19 Effects that switch a creature's power and toughness apply after all other effects, regardless of when those effects began to apply. For instance, if you target a 1/2 creature then give it +2/+0 later in the turn, it's a 2/3 creature, not a 4/1 creature.
2021-03-19 Switching a creature's power and toughness twice (or any even number of times) effectively returns the creature to the power and toughness it had before any switches.

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