Mine Excavation MTG Card


Mine Excavation - Shadowmoor
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Conspire
Released2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set nameShadowmoor
Set codeSHM
Number13
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byChippy

Key Takeaways

  1. Instantly recover multiple artifacts, thereby bolstering your hand and enhancing your long-term strategy.
  2. Facilitates mana generation and helps you maintain a dominant position in the game’s progression.
  3. Its instant speed allows for surprise plays, adding a layer of strategy and outmaneuvering opponents.

Text of card

Return target artifact or enchantment card in a graveyard to its owner's hand. Conspire (As you play this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that share a color with it. When you do, copy it and you may choose a new target for the copy.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mine Excavation provides an edge by letting you retrieve multiple artifacts, effectively replenishing your hand and offering sustained utility.

Resource Acceleration: By bringing back key artifacts from your graveyard, this card can swiftly ramp up your resource generation, ensuring you stay ahead in the mana curve.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Mine Excavation at instant speed means you can react flexibly to the game’s changing dynamics, using it strategically to surprise your opponents or to dodge removal.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dealing with the Mine Excavation card means you might have to forfeit a valuable piece from your hand, which could put you at a strategic disadvantage, especially if your hand size is dwindling or if you’re required to discard a pivotal card for your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting this spell necessitates a precise combination of mana types. If your deck isn’t tailored to consistently produce the necessary mana, this could lead to situations where Mine Excavation is a dead card in your hand, unable to be cast due to mana restrictions.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost comes with a steep price, and in the fast-paced MTG environment, the mana investment might outweigh the benefits. Other options in the game may offer similar effects for less, preserving your mana for other pivotal plays throughout your match.


Reasons to Include Mine Excavation in Your Collection

Versatility: Due to its ability to retrieve key artifacts or enchantments from the graveyard, Mine Excavation is a versatile addition that can adapt to various deck strategies that rely on important permanents.

Combo Potential: This card acts as a crucial piece in combos by reclaiming combo components that have been previously disrupted, enabling players to execute their win conditions more reliably.

Meta-Relevance: With a meta that often sees powerful artifacts and enchantments, having Mine Excavation in your arsenal ensures you’re prepared to quickly recover valuable cards that are targeted by removal spells.


How to beat

Mine Excavation has emerged as a tactical card in Magic: The Gathering that can be a considerable adversary. Its synergy with artifact-heavy decks heightens its threat level, essentially allowing for the retrieval of high-value artifacts that may have been sent to the graveyard. To effectively counter Mine Excavation, a well-thought-out strategy is imperative. Disruption is key: target the card-drawing and graveyard-recursion abilities of the opponent’s deck.

Consider employing graveyard hate cards such as Scavenger Grounds or Leyline of the Void to present a barrier to any attempts at returning artifacts from the graveyard. Keeping a countermagic reserve, including cards like Negate or Dispel, in your hand can be crucial to thwart an attempt to cast Mine Excavation. Moreover, exerting pressure with a fast-paced aggressive deck can force your opponent to use resources defensively, leaving them unable to optimize the utility of Mine Excavation. Slowing down their deck’s engine and timing your disruptive tactics well could turn the tide of the match in your favor.

Ultimately, while Mine Excavation can be a turning point for artifact-based strategies in MTG, a combination of strategic graveyard disruption, timely counterplays, and up-tempo aggression can effectively dilute its impact, leading you to victory.


Cards like Mine Excavation

Mine Excavation stands out as a unique addition to the repertoire of retrieval spells in MTG. It’s closely aligned with cards like Regrowth, a classic that also allows players to bring back any card from their graveyard to their hand. However, Mine Excavation offers a slightly different approach, as it can target enchantments and carries the conspire mechanic, giving players the possibility to tap two creatures sharing a color with the spell for a duplicate effect.

Comparatively, we can look at cards like Reverent Silence or Naturalize that deal with enchantment or artifact threats directly but do not offer the same kind of retrieval utility. On another note, there’s Crystal Chimes, which allows for the recovery of all enchantments from your graveyard, providing a much wider net but lacking the surgical precision and the potential for duplication that Mine Excavation offers.

In essence, Mine Excavation carves out its niche within the MTG ecosystem by providing targeted enchantment retrieval coupled with the versatile conspire mechanic, giving it an edge in strategic gameplay scenarios where specific solutions are pivotal.

Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Reverent Silence - MTG Card versions
Naturalize - MTG Card versions
Crystal Chimes - MTG Card versions
Regrowth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Reverent Silence - Nemesis (NEM)
Naturalize - Onslaught (ONS)
Crystal Chimes - Urza's Saga (USG)

Cards similar to Mine Excavation by color, type and mana cost

Balance - MTG Card versions
Martyr's Cry - MTG Card versions
Gift of Estates - MTG Card versions
Starlight - MTG Card versions
Renewing Dawn - MTG Card versions
Pegasus Stampede - MTG Card versions
Planar Birth - MTG Card versions
Flicker - MTG Card versions
Steadfastness - MTG Card versions
Sacred Nectar - MTG Card versions
False Dawn - MTG Card versions
Morningtide - MTG Card versions
Academic Probation - MTG Card versions
Gather the Townsfolk - MTG Card versions
Servo Exhibition - MTG Card versions
Revoke Existence - MTG Card versions
Glare of Heresy - MTG Card versions
Return to the Ranks - MTG Card versions
Martial Coup - MTG Card versions
Swift Reckoning - MTG Card versions
Balance - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Martyr's Cry - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Gift of Estates - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Starlight - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Renewing Dawn - Portal (POR)
Pegasus Stampede - The List (PLST)
Planar Birth - Urza's Saga (USG)
Flicker - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Steadfastness - Starter 1999 (S99)
Sacred Nectar - Ninth Edition (9ED)
False Dawn - Apocalypse (APC)
Morningtide - Torment (TOR)
Academic Probation - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Gather the Townsfolk - Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed (DDQ)
Servo Exhibition - Friday Night Magic 2017 (F17)
Revoke Existence - Double Masters (2XM)
Glare of Heresy - Theros (THS)
Return to the Ranks - Magic 2015 (M15)
Martial Coup - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Swift Reckoning - Ultimate Masters (UMA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mine Excavation MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Mine Excavation and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mine Excavation has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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