Can Ancient Stirrings Get Land? A Comprehensive Guide

Yes, Ancient Stirrings can fetch you a land, specifically a colorless land. The card clearly states “Reveal the top five cards of your library. You may put a colorless card from among them into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.” Since most lands are colorless, they fall within the parameters of what Ancient Stirrings can grab.

Understanding Ancient Stirrings and its Applications

Ancient Stirrings is a powerful card in Magic: The Gathering, particularly prevalent in decks that rely on colorless permanents, such as Tron decks. Its ability to dig deep into your library for a crucial piece of your strategy, like a Tron land (Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Tower, or Urza’s Power Plant), makes it an invaluable tool. However, understanding its nuances is key to maximizing its potential. Let’s delve deeper into its capabilities.

Colorless Lands and Ancient Stirrings

The effectiveness of Ancient Stirrings hinges on the fact that most lands are, by default, colorless. A card is considered colorless if it has no colored mana symbols in its mana cost or color indicator. Lands generally lack a mana cost and, therefore, are colorless unless specifically stated otherwise (like Dryad Arbor, which has a color indicator making it green).

Strategic Implications in Tron Decks

In Tron decks, Ancient Stirrings serves as an essential piece of the puzzle. These decks aim to assemble the Tron lands (Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Tower, and Urza’s Power Plant) as quickly as possible to generate a significant amount of mana. This rapid mana acceleration allows them to cast powerful, game-winning spells like Karn Liberated or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon early in the game. Ancient Stirrings significantly increases the consistency of finding those lands.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions related to Ancient Stirrings and its interactions with lands and other cards:

1. Can Ancient Stirrings find colored lands?

   No, Ancient Stirrings specifically searches for colorless cards. A land like Stomping Ground, which is red and green, cannot be fetched with Ancient Stirrings. Only lands without any colors, like Urza’s Mine, qualify.

2. Does Dryad Arbor count as a colorless card for Ancient Stirrings?

   Absolutely not! Dryad Arbor has a color indicator specifying that it is a green card. Because Ancient Stirrings can only pull out colorless cards, Dryad Arbor is not an eligible choice. This is the exception to the rule that lands are inherently colorless.

3. What happens if I reveal five cards with Ancient Stirrings and none are colorless?

   If you reveal the top five cards of your library and none of them are colorless, you must put all five cards on the bottom of your library in a random order. You do not get to draw any cards.

4. Can I use Ancient Stirrings to find artifacts?

   Yes! Artifacts are typically colorless, making them valid targets for Ancient Stirrings. This includes artifact creatures, equipment, and other artifact permanents.

5. If I have a card that makes my lands colorless, can I then find them with Ancient Stirrings?

   Yes, if an effect changes the characteristics of your lands to make them colorless, then those lands become eligible targets for Ancient Stirrings. For example, if you control an effect that states “All lands you control are colorless,” you can then search for those lands with Ancient Stirrings.

6. Can Ancient Stirrings find Eldrazi creatures?

   Yes, many Eldrazi creatures are colorless, especially those found in Tron decks. This makes Ancient Stirrings even more versatile, allowing you to find not only lands but also powerful threats.

7. Is Ancient Stirrings legal in all formats?

   Ancient Stirrings’ legality varies depending on the format. It is legal in formats like Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy, but it may be banned in some other formats where its power level is deemed too high. Always check the ban list for the specific format you are playing in.

8. How does Ancient Stirrings interact with cards that care about revealing cards?

   Ancient Stirrings involves revealing cards from your library, which can trigger abilities that care about cards being revealed. Be sure to understand the interactions of other cards you control with the revealing process.

9. Can Ancient Stirrings be countered?

   Yes, like most sorceries, Ancient Stirrings can be countered by spells like Counterspell or Negate. Your opponent can prevent you from resolving Ancient Stirrings and getting the card you need.

10. What’s the difference between colorless and generic mana?

    Colorless mana is a specific type of mana represented by a diamond symbol (◇). It is required to cast certain spells and activate some abilities. Generic mana is represented by a number in a circle, and it can be paid with mana of any color or colorless mana. Colorless and generic mana are not interchangeable unless the card explicitly says they are.

11. Can I use Ancient Stirrings to find a land with a basic land type that has been made colorless, like with Blood Moon in play? No. While Blood Moon does make nonbasic lands Mountains, that doesn’t inherently make them colorless. They become red lands named Mountain and they are not colorless. Therefore, Ancient Stirrings cannot find them.

12. What are some alternative cards to Ancient Stirrings for finding lands? Some alternatives to Ancient Stirrings, depending on your deck’s colors and strategy, include Sylvan Scrying, Expedition Map, and Crop Rotation. These cards offer different advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed, cost, and versatility.

13. Why is Ancient Stirrings so important for Tron decks? Ancient Stirrings provides Tron decks with consistency. The deck’s strategy relies on assembling three specific lands to generate a huge mana advantage. Ancient Stirrings helps ensure that these lands are found quickly and reliably, greatly increasing the deck’s chance of winning.

14. If a land has an activated ability that produces colored mana, does that make the land colored? No. The activated abilities of a land do not influence its color. A land is colored only if it has a colored mana symbol in its mana cost or a color indicator. The mana it produces has no bearing on its color identity.

15. Can Ancient Stirrings be used to find a face-down morph creature? Yes. Face-down creatures with the morph ability are colorless. The game sees only the characteristics of the face-down spell, so effects that care about the characteristics of a spell will see only the face-down spell’s characteristics.

The Power of Colorless in Magic

The concept of colorless plays a crucial role in Magic: The Gathering. It provides a way to create cards and strategies that are not tied to any specific color identity. This can lead to unique and powerful decks, like Tron, that can generate a huge amount of mana quickly.

Beyond Tron: Colorless Strategies

While Tron decks are the most well-known example, colorless strategies extend beyond that. Decks featuring a high number of artifacts, Eldrazi creatures, or other colorless permanents can benefit from cards like Ancient Stirrings, providing consistency and power.

Exploring the Depth of Magic

Understanding the nuances of colorless cards, lands, and interactions like those with Ancient Stirrings opens up a deeper appreciation for the strategic complexity of Magic: The Gathering. It encourages players to explore new deckbuilding possibilities and refine their gameplay.

Continuing Your Magic Journey

Magic: The Gathering is a game of continuous learning and exploration. Organizations like the Games Learning Society are dedicated to advancing knowledge and innovation in games and learning. Discover more resources and opportunities at GamesLearningSociety.org.