Frontier Explorer MTG Card
2019-11-07 - Number 6
2021-08-20 - Number 6
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Cat Scout |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Frontier Explorer offers card advantage and access to key spells or lands at critical moments.
- Enables a faster mana ramp, potentially unlocking powerful spells ahead of curve.
- Can be cast at instant speed for flexibility, maintaining tempo and board presence.
Text of card
, : Until end of turn, you may play one basic Plains card from outside the game.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Frontier Explorer enables you to sift through your library by revealing the top four cards and putting one into your hand. This increases the likelihood of drawing into essential spells or lands when you most need them, maintaining a robust presence on the board.
Resource Acceleration: By allowing you to play an additional land on your turn, Frontier Explorer ramps up your resources. This effectively increases your mana availability sooner than usual, providing a strong tempo boost and enabling you to cast more expensive spells quickly.
Instant Speed: Frontier Explorer’s ability to be played at instant speed grants you the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions. You can pass the turn with mana open, thereby keeping up the appearance of a potential response, and if no threats arise, you can cast Frontier Explorer to further your game plan without wasting any mana.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Frontier Explorer presents a challenge with its necessity to discard a card to utilize its full potential. This exchange can strain your hand, particularly when you’re already managing limited resources, potentially hindering your game plan.
Specific Mana Cost: Frontier Explorer has a casting cost that includes both blue and green mana. This dual requirement can sometimes complicate its inclusion in decks that don’t comfortably support both colors or that rely on a more flexible mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that’s on the higher side for its abilities, Frontier Explorer competes with other cards in the same mana range that may provide more immediate or impactful effects. This makes it less appealing for players seeking optimized mana efficiency and overall value from their card choices.
Reasons to Include Frontier Explorer in Your Collection
Versatility: Frontier Explorer offers a flexible role in deckbuilding, suitable for various archetypes looking for efficient mana fixing. Its ability to fetch a basic land card ensures that your deck can smoothly operate by finding the right mana when you need it.
Combo Potential: This card can be part of engine setups that thrive on landfall triggers or benefit from having additional lands entering the battlefield, enhancing the synergy in decks that capitalize on land-based combos.
Meta-Relevance: With an evolving competitive environment, Frontier Explorer’s land tutoring ability remains relevant, providing a solid utility in formats where mana consistency is key to outpacing opponents.
How to beat Frontier Explorer
Unlocking strategies to triumph over Frontier Explorer in Magic: The Gathering begins with understanding its role in the game. This creature card can be a significant tool for players aiming to ramp up their mana and streamline their deck’s performance with land consistency. To outmaneuver this card, consider incorporating removal spells in your deck that can deal with creatures at a low cost, thus disrupting your opponent’s mana curve and their access to extra lands.
Spot removal spells are particularly effective against Frontier Explorer. Cards like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can eliminate it before the player benefits from the land-filtering ability. Magic tends to reward those who can maintain board control—having instant-speed interactions to remove Frontier Explorer is crucial. Also, as Frontier Explorer requires tapping to activate its ability, creatures with haste or those that can exert control the turn they come into play give you an edge. Cards like Embercleave can turn the tide by applying pressure, forcing opponents to make unfavorable blocks or decisions, risking their valuable Frontier Explorer in the process.
Lastly, sideboard strategies that focus on graveyard manipulation can limit the benefits gained from Frontier Explorer’s activated ability. Grafdigger’s Cage is an example of an artifact that can prevent players from effectively utilizing their graveyard as a resource, indirectly weakening Frontier Explorer’s impact on the game.
Cards like Frontier Explorer
Frontier Explorer stands out as a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering, evoking comparisons to similar, explorative cards. Like Tireless Tracker, Frontier Explorer offers a reward for land play, but rather than accumulating clues, it grants instant card selection and advantage. Whereas Tireless Tracker grows in strength and potential card draw with each land and clue interaction, Frontier Explorer provides an immediate boost in resources without the need for additional setup.
Embodiment of Spring is another card that shares the land-centric theme. This card, much like Frontier Explorer, can be sacrificed for a land-fetching effect, yet it requires an additional mana investment and the land enters the battlefield tapped, delineating a clear speed advantage for Frontier Explorer. Satyr Wayfinder is also reminiscent in its function, milling cards and potentially setting up graveyard strategies while fetching a land to hand, but unlike Frontier Explorer, it doesn’t provide a choice and puts the selected land straight to the hand instead of onto the battlefield.
Comparing these, it becomes evident that Frontier Explorer offers a balanced combination of card selection, ramp, and land interaction, cementing its value among MTG creature cards that synergize with land play.
Cards similar to Frontier Explorer by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Frontier Explorer MTG card by a specific set like Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 and Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, 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 Frontier Explorer 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 Frontier Explorer Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-11-07 and 2021-08-20. Illustrated by Mary Josberger.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 | CMB1 | 6 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Mary Josberger | |
| 2 | 2021-08-20 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 | CMB2 | 6 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Mary Josberger |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Frontier Explorer card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2019-11-12 | In a casual game, a card you choose from outside the game comes from your personal collection. In a tournament event, a card you choose from outside the game must come from your sideboard, which includes an arbitrary number of basic lands. You may look at your sideboard at any time. |
