Geier Reach Sanitarium MTG Card
2016-07-22 - Number 203
2016-07-22 - Number 203s
2019-08-23 - Number 246
2021-07-23 - Number 241
2022-09-09 - Number 213
2023-03-21 - Number 270
2023-08-04 - Number 1000
2023-11-17 - Number 335
2019-12-02 - Number 1408
| Card sets | Released in 9 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Land |
Key Takeaways
- Optimizes hand by enabling players to draw and discard, helping strategies that use the graveyard.
- Instant speed activation allows for surprise plays and increased turn-by-turn tactical depth.
- While offering card advantage, it could also unintentionally benefit the opponent.
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , : Each player draws a card, then discards a card.
All are welcome.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Geier Reach Sanitarium facilitates card selection by enabling players to draw and then discard a card. This effect can benefit decks that thrive on filling their graveyard with valuable resources while also refreshing their hand.
Resource Acceleration: This utility land doesn’t tap for colored mana; however, it can accelerate strategic play by readily transforming excess or dead cards into new options, ensuring that every card in your hand can contribute to your game plan.
Instant Speed: The ability to activate Geier Reach Sanitarium at instant speed gives players the flexibility to use it during the opponent’s end step or in response to actions, maintaining the element of surprise and allowing for more strategic depth during each turn cycle.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The ability of Geier Reach Sanitarium mandates both players to discard a card, which could potentially give your opponent an unintended advantage or disrupt your own hand if you’re not equipped to capitalize on the discard.
Specific Mana Cost: Activation of this land’s ability requires one colorless and one generic mana, which can be a minor nuisance in a multi-colored mana base, especially in early game scenarios where every mana counts.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For decks aiming at optimal mana curve efficiency, the cumulative cost of playing and activating Geier Reach Sanitarium can be a setback since it could divert resources from deploying more impactful spells or creatures timely.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Geier Reach Sanitarium offers a unique utility in being both a land and a source of card advantage. It seamlessly integrates into strategies that thrive on discard or draw mechanics, making it a valuable addition to various deck archetypes.
Combo Potential: This card is a powerhouse when combined with effects that punish opponents for discarding or draw additional cards. It provides a consistent way to enable madness or graveyard synergies, maximizing your strategic plays.
Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-evolving meta, Geier Reach Sanitarium remains a relevant choice in formats where controlling opponents’ hand sizes and graveyard interaction are key. It serves as both a tactical tool for disruption and a means to fuel your own game plan.
How to beat
Geier Reach Sanitarium’s unique ability to both draw and discard cards can create pivotal moments in a match, offering a blend of utility and disruption. This flexibility can prove challenging to face off against, particularly because it allows your opponent to sift through their deck while potentially discarding cards that benefit them from the graveyard. However, countering Geier Reach Sanitarium’s impact often comes down to targeted land destruction or using cards that punish discards.
Strategies to mitigate the Sanitarium’s influence include employing cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin which can outright destroy the troublesome land. Additionally, running graveyard hate such as Rest in Peace can nullify the advantages gained by your opponent from the discard ability. By keeping pressure through these means, the asymmetric edge that Geier Reach Sanitarium provides can be significantly dulled, maintaining balance in the face of this crafty utility land.
Remember that timing and resource management are key when planning to dismantle the utilities of such a card. Proper use of disruptive spells ensures that your opponent never fully leverages the advantage offered by the Sanitarium, keeping the game in your favor.
Cards like Geier Reach Sanitarium
Geier Reach Sanitarium stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a unique utility land with the ability to impact both your and your opponent’s hand. Like Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, which permits each player to draw a card, Geier Reach Sanitarium also offers the potential for card draw; however, it incorporates a discard effect. Each player must discard a card which adds a dimension of strategy and can be exploited to your advantage if you’re adept at utilizing your graveyard.
Another land with a parallel purpose is Nephalia Drownyard, which targets an opponent’s library for milling. It doesn’t provide card draw, but it’s a compelling option for decks dedicated to depleting the opponent’s library. When compared to Geier Reach Sanitarium, the choice of land might hinge on synergy with your deck’s overarching strategy and win conditions.
In summary, while Geier Reach Sanitarium may not fit every deck archetype, it carves a niche within MTG as a land card offering both players card draw with the twist of a forced discard, presenting intriguing tactical decisions, and graveyard shenanigans.
Cards similar to Geier Reach Sanitarium by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Geier Reach Sanitarium MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Eldritch Moon Promos, 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 Geier Reach Sanitarium 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 Geier Reach Sanitarium Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-07-22 | Eldritch Moon | EMN | 203 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 2 | 2016-07-22 | Eldritch Moon Promos | PEMN | 203s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 3 | 2019-08-23 | Commander 2019 | C19 | 246 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 4 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 1408 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Ryan Quickfall | ||
| 5 | 2021-07-23 | Forgotten Realms Commander | AFC | 241 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 6 | 2022-09-09 | Dominaria United Commander | DMC | 213 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 7 | 2023-03-21 | Shadows over Innistrad Remastered | SIR | 270 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 8 | 2023-08-04 | Commander Masters | CMM | 1000 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 9 | 2023-11-17 | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | LCC | 335 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Geier Reach Sanitarium 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 Geier Reach Sanitarium card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-07-13 | If more than one player discards a card with madness simultaneously, the player whose turn it is puts their madness abilities onto the stack first, then each other player does the same in turn order. The last one put onto the stack resolves first, and a spell cast this way will resolve before resolving the next madness ability. |
| 2016-07-13 | When you activate Geier Reach Sanitarium's last ability, first each player draws a card. Then the player whose turn it is selects a card from their hand and sets it aside without revealing it; proceeding in turn order, each other player does the same. Then the cards that were set aside are discarded at once. |
