Scrap Trawler MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 11 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Construct
Power 3
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Scrap Trawler offers exceptional card advantage, recovering artifacts for sustained resource flow and combo execution.
  2. As a versatile engine, it facilitates resource acceleration, rebuffing your hand and pressuring opponents with relentless plays.
  3. Instant speed interaction allows strategic plays during any turn, disrupting opponents and seizing game advantage.

Text of card

Whenever Scrap Trawler or another artifact you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return to your hand target artifact card in your graveyard with lesser converted mana cost.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the standout traits of Scrap Trawler is its ability to offer consistent card advantage in artifact-centric decks. It recovers lower-cost artifacts from your graveyard to your hand whenever one of your artifacts with a greater cost is sent to the graveyard. This helps maintain a steady flow of resources and can lead to powerful combo plays.

Resource Acceleration: Through its unique recursion ability, Scrap Trawler acts as a form of resource acceleration. By returning artifacts to your hand, you effectively reduce the cost of playing those artifacts again. This can be a significant tempo swing and keeps pressure on your opponents by continually using the same resources.

Instant Speed: While Scrap Trawler itself is not an instant, it is capable of interacting at instant speed. Its ability triggers during any turn whenever an artifact of higher cost goes to the graveyard, allowing savvy players to craft strategies that exploit this timing, potentially during an opponent’s turn for disruptive plays. Combining this with instant speed artifacts or abilities can create unforeseen advantages and shields against opponents’ strategies.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Scrap Trawler demands you have artifacts in your graveyard to leverage its ability, potentially leaving you in a bind if your graveyard is null of such cards.

Specific Mana Cost: The artifact requires both generic and colored mana to play. Being color-fixed means you’re somewhat restricted in integrating it into multi-colored decks that may not focus on including its required mana type.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one colored, Scrap Trawler’s initial investment might compete for a slot with other mid-game utility artifacts or spells that could be more impactful right away or offer broader utility.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Scrap Trawler offers a flexible role in artifact-centric decks, providing consistent value whether you’re grinding out a long game or executing a swift synergy-driven win.

Combo Potential: With its ability to retrieve lower-cost artifacts from your graveyard whenever a higher-cost one is put into the graveyard, Scrap Trawler is a linchpin in many combo strategies, enabling repeatable effects and chaining artifact plays.

Meta-Relevance: As modern decks often utilize intricate plays with artifacts, Scrap Trawler’s recursive power maintains its relevance. It can regularly disrupt opponent’s strategies by recovering key pieces, ensuring sustained board presence against various meta decks.


How to beat

Scrap Trawler is a unique artifact creature in Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to recoup resources upon the death of other artifacts. This utility makes it a keystone in artifact-based strategies, continually recycling valuable components for another round. To dismantle a strategy centered around Scrap Trawler, consider employing consistent artifact removal. Cards like Shatter or Abrade can disrupt the recycling process by targeting the Trawler directly.

Graveyard hate is also an effective measure. With cards like Relic of Progenitus or Rest in Peace, you can exile the artifacts from the graveyard before the Trawler’s ability triggers. In addition, counter spell-focused decks can prevent the Trawler from hitting the field altogether, cutting off the engine at the source. It’s critical to target the enablers in a Trawler deck—they’re what keep the engine running. Without them, your opponent’s strategy can fall apart.

Remember, timing and precision are key. Disrupting the flow of a Scrap Trawler deck can give you the upper hand, and knowing when to apply pressure can make all the difference in coming out on top in this artifact-charged matchup.


BurnMana Recommendations

Navigating MTG’s strategic layers is an art, and cards like Scrap Trawler are the brushstrokes that keep your game canvas dynamic. If the insights into this artifact creature piqued your interest, there’s a whole world within MTG waiting to be mastered. Utilizing card advantage, tempo plays, and meta-relevant strategies will not only sharpen your gameplay but also provide endless hours of engaging matches. Dive deeper into the realm of artifact synergies, perfect your deck-building finesse, and stay ahead of the competition. Curious about potent combos and keen to dominate your playgroup? Embrace the journey – join us to discover more and claim victory with confidence.


Cards like Scrap Trawler

Scrap Trawler is a unique piece in the puzzle of artifact synergies within MTG. This card finds its semblance in creatures like Myr Retriever. Both have the ability to bring back artifacts from the graveyard, yet Scrap Trawler provides that capability on a wider scale. It returns to your hand an artifact card with lesser mana value, which can lead to powerful chains of recursion. Myr Retriever lacks this flexibility, but shares the trait of artifact retrieval upon death.

Another close relative in terms of functionality is Workshop Assistant. Like Scrap Trawler, it too can recover artifacts from the graveyard when it dies. However, Scrap Trawler clearly excels with its continuous and scalable recursion ability, surpassing the single artifact return that Workshop Assistant offers.

Treasure Keeper also echoes Scrap Trawler’s recursion theme but does so in a unique way. Upon death, it allows you to reveal cards from the top of your deck until you hit one that has a lesser mana value, which you can then cast without paying its mana cost. While not directly returning cards to your hand as Scrap Trawler does, it gives the advantage of immediate effect straight from the deck.

In evaluating these comparisons, it’s evident that Scrap Trawler stands out in the MTG realm for players who are looking to strategically leverage their graveyard for artifact recycling.

Myr Retriever - MTG Card versions
Workshop Assistant - MTG Card versions
Treasure Keeper - MTG Card versions
Myr Retriever - Mirrodin (MRD)
Workshop Assistant - Kaladesh (KLD)
Treasure Keeper - Aether Revolt (AER)

Cards similar to Scrap Trawler by color, type and mana cost

Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Celestial Prism - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Runed Arch - Ice Age (ICE)
Clay Pigeon - Unglued (UGL)
Ashnod's Altar - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Jalum Tome - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Patchwork Gnomes - Odyssey (ODY)
The Stasis Coffin - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Captain's Hook - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Spellweaver Helix - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scale of Chiss-Goria - Mirrodin (MRD)
Lightning Coils - Mirrodin (MRD)
Loxodon Warhammer - Commander Legends (CMR)
Sword of Feast and Famine - Judge Gift Cards 2014 (J14)
Training Drone - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Pristine Talisman - New Phyrexia Promos (PNPH)
Alloy Myr - Jumpstart (JMP)
Guardians of Meletis - Magic Origins (ORI)
Vedalken Shackles - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Herald's Horn - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Manalith - Hour of Devastation (HOU)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scrap Trawler MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Aether Revolt, 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 Scrap Trawler and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Scrap Trawler Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 629972015normalblackDaniel Ljunggren
22017-01-20Aether RevoltAER 1752015normalblackDaarken
32017-01-20Aether Revolt PromosPAER 175s2015normalblackDaarken
42017-01-20Aether Revolt PromosPAER 1752015normalblackDaniel Ljunggren
52020-11-12Kaladesh RemasteredKLR 2672015normalblackDaarken
62021-04-23Commander 2021C21 2602015normalblackDaarken
72022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 1121997normalblackDaarken
82022-11-18The Brothers' War Art SeriesABRO 752015art_seriesborderlessDaarken
92022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 491997normalblackDaarken
102022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 112z1997normalblackDaarken
112023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 3732015normalblackDaarken

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scrap Trawler has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-02-09 If Scrap Trawler and another artifact you control are put into a graveyard at the same time, Scrap Trawler's ability triggers for each of them.
2017-02-09 If an artifact is a copy of another artifact with greater mana value, such as Sculpting Steel copying an artifact with mana value 4, Scrap Trawler's ability can target that artifact card in your graveyard when that artifact is put into your graveyard.
2017-02-09 The target artifact card must have a lesser mana value than the artifact that caused Scrap Trawler's ability to trigger by being put into a graveyard. Use the artifact's mana value as it last existed on the battlefield to determine what may be returned.
2017-02-09 While on the battlefield or in a graveyard, in an object's mana cost is 0.

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