Stomping Ground MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 14 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLand — Mountain Forest

Key Takeaways

  1. Stomping Ground ensures smooth gameplay by preventing mana bottlenecks, elevating strategic plays.
  2. Its fetch-ability and dual nature make it a potent asset in Gruul-themed decks.
  3. While offering an instant mana boost, it poses life or tempo choices that can influence outcomes.

Text of card

(: Add or to your mana pool.) As Stomping Ground comes into play, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, Stomping Ground comes into play tapped instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Stomping Ground doesn’t directly let you draw cards, but being part of a well-structured mana base gives you access to the spells you need when you need them. Consistency in your land drops equates to smoother play and, by extension, card advantage as you’re less likely to be stuck with uncastable cards in hand.

Resource Acceleration: As a dual land card that can be searched with land fetch spells, Stomping Ground accelerates your resources by ensuring you have the necessary types of mana. This expedites your game plan, allowing for more significant plays ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: While Stomping Ground itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it enables instant speed plays by providing crucial mana. With both red and green mana available, it bolsters your ability to respond to opponents’ actions or end-of-turn tactics, which are often pivotal in the pace of a match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Stomping Ground does not have a traditional discard requirement, it presents a choice upon entry. You must decide between having it enter the battlefield tapped, which delays utilization, or paying 2 life for immediate use. In tight situations, this choice could be a distinct disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Stomping Ground taps for red or green mana, which is fantastic for decks that align with these colors. However, this specificity means it’s not a universal land card, limiting its versatility in multicolor decks that do not include red or green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: In terms of utility lands, Stomping Ground stands out for its dual mana capabilities. Nonetheless, the cost of potentially paying 2 life or waiting a turn for an untapped state makes it a costly addition, especially when compared to basic lands or those with less stringent entry conditions.


Reasons to Include Stomping Ground in Your Collection

Versatility: Stomping Ground is a versatile land card that taps for both red and green mana, allowing it to be seamlessly integrated into Gruul and other multicolor decks without slowing down your mana curve.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations that thrive on having access to multiple mana types early on. It can enable explosive plays by unlocking powerful multicolor spells ahead of the curve.

Meta-Relevance: Given its staple status in numerous competitive formats, Stomping Ground is often sought after. Its presence can greatly influence the pace and strength of your game, keeping you relevant in an ever-changing MTG meta.


How to beat

Stomping Ground is a notable land card in Magic: The Gathering, praised for its ability to tap for both red and green mana, and its classification as a Mountain Forest allows it to be fetched with land search cards. While its versatility is undeniable, overcoming the advantage it provides is not insurmountable.

To neutralize the benefits of Stomping Ground, land destruction spells can be a direct approach. Cards such as Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin can target Stomping Ground and remove it from the battlefield. This method can disrupt an opponent’s mana base, especially if they are relying on the card for multicolored mana. Additionally, playing cards that restrict land usage like Blood Moon can transform Stomping Ground into a basic land, negating its dual nature and potentially hampering an opponent’s strategy.

Moreover, including cards that punish the use of nonbasic lands, like Price of Progress, can turn an opponent’s land choice into a liability. Players should be mindful of the timing and strategic deployment of these options to maximize their effectiveness against cards like Stomping Ground, thereby maintaining a level playing field and perhaps even tilting the odds in their favor.


Cards like Stomping Ground

Stomping Ground has become a staple in many decks across MTG, prized for its ability to tap for both red and green mana without entering the battlefield tapped if you pay 2 life. Its closest relatives in terms of functionality are the other “shock lands” such as Overgrown Tomb and Sacred Foundry. Like Stomping Ground, these lands offer the option to enter the battlefield untapped at a life cost, making them incredibly versatile and valuable in multicolored decks.

Comparable too are “fetch lands” like Windswept Heath which can search your library for a land type, like a Mountain or Forest, which includes dual lands like Stomping Ground. While fetch lands can offer even greater deck thinning and mana fixing abilities, they differ by putting lands into play tapped unless combined with shock lands. Lastly, the “check lands” like Rootbound Crag, may enter untapped if you control a Mountain or Forest. They offer similar benefits but without the life cost. However, their dependency on having another land type can limit their early game flexibility compared to Stomping Ground.

The strategic advantage provided by Stomping Ground in enabling aggressive starts and maintaining tempo can’t be understated. This land’s versatility solidifies its position as a top-tier choice within MTG’s mana bases.

Overgrown Tomb - MTG Card versions
Sacred Foundry - MTG Card versions
Windswept Heath - MTG Card versions
Rootbound Crag - MTG Card versions
Overgrown Tomb - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Sacred Foundry - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Windswept Heath - Onslaught (ONS)
Rootbound Crag - Magic 2010 (M10)

Cards similar to Stomping Ground by color, type and mana cost

Taiga - MTG Card versions
Karplusan Forest - MTG Card versions
Mogg Hollows - MTG Card versions
Shivan Oasis - MTG Card versions
Mossfire Valley - MTG Card versions
Rockfall Vale - MTG Card versions
Contested Cliffs - MTG Card versions
Skarrg, the Rage Pits - MTG Card versions
Highland Weald - MTG Card versions
Fungal Reaches - MTG Card versions
Fire-Lit Thicket - MTG Card versions
Gruul Turf - MTG Card versions
Kazandu Refuge - MTG Card versions
Rootbound Crag - MTG Card versions
Kessig Wolf Run - MTG Card versions
Gruul Guildgate - MTG Card versions
Cinder Glade - MTG Card versions
Timber Gorge - MTG Card versions
Game Trail - MTG Card versions
Rugged Highlands - MTG Card versions
Taiga - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Karplusan Forest - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Mogg Hollows - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Shivan Oasis - Invasion (INV)
Mossfire Valley - Fallout (PIP)
Rockfall Vale - Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Promos (PMID)
Contested Cliffs - Commander 2013 (C13)
Skarrg, the Rage Pits - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Highland Weald - Coldsnap (CSP)
Fungal Reaches - Time Spiral (TSP)
Fire-Lit Thicket - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Gruul Turf - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Kazandu Refuge - Planechase Anthology (PCA)
Rootbound Crag - Doctor Who (WHO)
Kessig Wolf Run - Commander 2020 (C20)
Gruul Guildgate - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Cinder Glade - Fallout (PIP)
Timber Gorge - Global Series Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling (GS1)
Game Trail - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Rugged Highlands - March of the Machine (MOM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stomping Ground MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Guildpact, 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 Stomping Ground and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Stomping Ground Magic the Gathering card was released in 10 different sets between 2006-02-03 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by 8 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 723132015normalblackCliff Childs
22006-02-03GuildpactGPT 1652003normalblackRob Alexander
32013-02-01GatecrashGTC 2472003normalblackDavid Palumbo
42015-10-02Zendikar ExpeditionsEXP 92015normalblackMin Yum
52019-01-25Ravnica Allegiance PromosPRNA 259p2015normalblackJames Paick
62019-01-25Ravnica AllegianceRNA 2592015normalblackJames Paick
72019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 1262015normalblackDaarken
82022-10-07UnfinityUNF 5312015normalborderlessBruce Brenneise
92022-10-07UnfinityUNF 2802015normalborderlessBruce Brenneise
102024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 2892015normalblackRob Alexander
112024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 413z2015normalblackRob Alexander
122024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 2992015normalborderlessCliff Childs
132024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 4131997normalblackRob Alexander
142024-02-23Ravnica: Clue EditionCLU 2812015normalborderlessLeon Tukker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stomping Ground has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-10-05 If an effect puts this land onto the battlefield tapped, you may pay 2 life, but it still enters tapped.
2018-10-05 Unlike most dual lands, this land has two basic land types. It's not basic, so cards such as District Guide can't find it, but it does have the appropriate land types for effects such as that of Drowned Catacomb (from the Ixalan set).

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