Tomb of the Spirit Dragon MTG Card
2014-09-26 - Number 245
2023-08-04 - Number 1048
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land |
Key Takeaways
- Consistent life gain is possible with Tomb of the Spirit Dragon by leveraging colorless creatures in your deck.
- Instant speed activation offers tactical flexibility, making the most of your mana and turns.
- Despite advantages, the mana investment and creature type requirement limit its universal applicability.
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , : You gain 1 life for each colorless creature you control.
"The voice calls me here, yet I see only bones. Is this more dragon trickery?" —Sarkhan Vol
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Tomb of the Spirit Dragon stands out by offering consistent life gain whenever you capitalize on its ability. By activating this land’s properties during your turns, you can recover health, which can tip the scales in your favor during prolonged matches. Especially effective in decks with numerous colorless creatures, it can help you maintain an edge in life total over your adversary.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing extra mana or ramping capabilities, the added life points gained with Tomb of the Spirit Dragon can be seen as a resource that potentially allows for more aggressive gameplay. This can indirectly accelerate your game plan by supporting strategies that might otherwise be too risky without a stable life buffer.
Instant Speed: Arguably one of the most advantageous aspects of this land is its ability to be activated at instant speed. This allows for tactical flexibility, by enabling you to respond to combat situations, strategically time your life gain, or simply make use of mana that would otherwise go unused at the end of your opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Tomb of the Spirit Dragon demands that you commit mana every turn to get any benefit from it. This constant mana investment can lead to resource depletion, especially in tight games where every mana point is crucial for maintaining board presence or casting game-changing spells.
Specific Mana Cost: This colorless land boasts an ability restricted by a specific requirement: the control of colorless creatures. In decks that are dense with colored creatures, the Tomb’s ability becomes essentially obsolete, pushing it towards the sidelines in favor of lands that cater to more general strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: To activate its life-gaining ability, it requires tapping two mana in addition to itself. In many gaming scenarios, this can be considered a steep cost, particularly when you compare Tomb of the Spirit Dragon with other lands or cards that can provide life gain, creature control, or other abilities at a lower or no cost attached.
Reasons to Include Tomb of the Spirit Dragon in Your Collection
Versatility: Tomb of the Spirit Dragon offers unique utility in various deck builds. Its ability to provide life gain can be critical for stabilizing in games that go long. Not to mention, decks utilizing colorless creatures can benefit greatly from the incremental life boosts.
Combo Potential: For decks that revolve around colorless creatures such as artifact or Eldrazi decks, this land can become a key component. It can fuel intricate combos by maintaining a high life total, ensuring you stay in the game long enough to execute your strategy.
Meta-Relevance: Given the diverse archetypes present in the MTG landscape, including powerful colorless creatures, Tomb of the Spirit Dragon can find a place in many sideboards. It’s especially powerful in metas where incremental life gain can outpace the damage output of aggressive decks.
How to beat
Tomb of the Spirit Dragon is a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering, known for its life-gaining ability when you control colorless creatures. To effectively neutralize this card’s advantage, it is crucial to keep your opponent’s board clear of colorless creatures. Utilizing removal spells that specifically target colorless creatures can be key in achieving this. Cards such as Doom Blade or Go for the Throat are ineffective against colorless creatures, so alternatives such as Dismember or Ratchet Bomb might serve you better.
An alternative strategy is to employ land destruction or denial tactics. By using cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, you can target and eliminate Tomb of the Spirit Dragon before its ability becomes a significant problem. Additionally, cards that restrict land abilities, such as Suppression Field, can prevent your opponent from gaining the life that could turn the tide of the game. Always stay ahead of the life-gaining curve by applying continuous pressure and not allowing your opponent the respite needed to leverage Tomb of the Spirit Dragon’s regenerative potential.
Remember that removal and inhibiting strategies should be part of a balanced approach, taking into account the state of your board and the pace of the game.
Cards like Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
Tomb of the Spirit Dragon stands out in Magic: The Gathering for its unique life-gaining ability centered on colorless creatures. One could draw a comparison to Radiant Fountain, which also provides life gain simply by entering the battlefield, offering an immediate two life points. However, Tomb of the Spirit Dragon requires a buildup of colorless creatures to truly capitalize on its potential.
Examining Haven of the Spirit Dragon, there’s a thematic link of catering to a specific creature type – in Haven’s case, Dragons. While it doesn’t offer life gain, it provides remarkable mana flexibility for Dragon spells or enables the return of a Dragon creature card from the graveyard to the player’s hand. Comparably, Tomb of the Spirit Dragon provides sustained utility in prolonged matches, especially in decks swarming with colorless creatures where the incremental life gain can be significant.
Assessing utility and deck synergy, Tomb of the Spirit Dragon can be an invaluable asset in the right deck. Its ability to consistently bolster a player’s life total turn after turn can be integral to outlasting opponents, especially in formats where colorless creature decks are viable.
Cards similar to Tomb of the Spirit Dragon by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Tomb of the Spirit Dragon MTG card by a specific set like Khans of Tarkir and Commander Masters, 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 Tomb of the Spirit Dragon and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Tomb of the Spirit Dragon Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2014-09-26 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Sam Burley.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014-09-26 | Khans of Tarkir | KTK | 245 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sam Burley | |
| 2 | 2023-08-04 | Commander Masters | CMM | 1048 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Sam Burley |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Tomb of the Spirit Dragon has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Tomb of the Spirit Dragon card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-09-20 | Count the number of colorless creatures you control (including face-down creatures) as the last ability resolves to determine how much life you gain. |
