Cryptic Caves MTG Card


Cryptic Caves allows card draw at instant speed, adapting to match dynamics efficiently. Late-game drawback restricts use when a substantial land base is present. Versatility and combo potential make it a valuable addition to diverse decks.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
RarityUncommon
TypeLand

Text of card

: Add . , , Sacrifice Cryptic Caves: Draw a card. Activate this ability only if you control five or more lands.

Only when you've given up the search will the caves yield their secrets.


Cards like Cryptic Caves

Cryptic Caves serves as a multi-faceted land card in MTG, joining the ranks of other lands offering more than just mana. Much like its counterpart Warped Landscape, Cryptic Caves allows players the option to sacrifice the land for a card draw, perfect for when you’re searching for answers or resources. However, Cryptic Caves requires the condition of controlling five or more lands to activate, an interesting twist on resource management.

Comparatively, we look at Horizon Canopy, a land that also affords players card draw at the expense of life points and the land itself. Its absence of any additional conditions makes it immediately useful, though at a higher cost. On the other end, we have Desert of the Indomitable, which uses cycling for card draw, allowing it to stay in the graveyard for potential recurrence. Its cycling cost keeps it from being an immediate resource like Cryptic Caves.

Distinguishing itself with the prerequisite of abundant land control, Cryptic Caves offers strategic depth to deck building. Its capacity to fit seamlessly into various land counts without consuming crucial spell slots makes it uniquely advantageous in MTG’s diverse pool of versatile land cards.

Warped Landscape - MTG Card versions
Horizon Canopy - MTG Card versions
Desert of the Indomitable - MTG Card versions
Warped Landscape - MTG Card versions
Horizon Canopy - MTG Card versions
Desert of the Indomitable - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Cryptic Caves. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Mono-Green StompyMono-Green Stompy GladiatorGladiator Games: We're Back
Mono-White ControlMono-White Control GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cryptic Caves empowers players to delve deeper into their decks by offering an additional draw. This simple land-based ability can be a crucial turning point in a game, providing a fresh card when options on hand are limited.

Resource Acceleration: Although not a direct source of mana acceleration, Cryptic Caves provides strategic versatility in managing resources. It can be tapped for mana when needed or sacrificed for card draw, ensuring lands can be more than just a source of mana.

Instant Speed: The ability to sacrifice Cryptic Caves and draw a card can be activated at instant speed. This allows savvy players to adapt to the fluid dynamics of a match, utilizing their mana effectively during their own turn or in response to an opponent’s actions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable downside to Cryptic Caves is its necessity for you to have fewer than three other lands in order to activate its ability. This drawback can be particularly limiting late in the game when you want to maximize land plays for greater mana access.

Specific Mana Cost: Another point to consider is the colorless mana requirement to activate Cryptic Caves’ ability. While seemingly flexible, it can be problematic in mana bases that rely heavily on colored mana for their game plan, ultimately making the cave’s utility less consistent.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of one colorless mana to activate, plus the need to sacrifice the land itself, Cryptic Caves can be quite mana-intensive. Players must weigh if sacrificing a land, effectively a resource, is worth the card draw, especially when other cards might provide card advantage without such a steep trade-off.


Reasons to Include Cryptic Caves in Your Collection

Versatility: Cryptic Caves offers a unique flexibility as a land card. It slips easily into a range of decks, providing a source of mana when needed or enabling card draw to maintain hand advantage without taking up a valuable spell slot.

Combo Potential: The Cave’s ability to draw a card can be synchronized with landfall abilities or used to fuel graveyard strategies, making it a subtle yet powerful enabler in the right deck construction.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where the board state can be unpredictable and card advantage is key, Cryptic Caves has a solid place. It’s particularly useful in slower-paced games where each card draw can lead to a pivotal shift in control. In an environment with a lot of creature-based strategies, it provides an extra resource without sacrificing a turn.


How to beat

Cryptic Caves, much like other utility lands in Magic: The Gathering, offers players a source of card advantage and versatility. Its ability to draw a card when the conditions are met can tilt the scales in a game, potentially leading to a card advantage. To effectively combat Cryptic Caves, disruption is key. Using land destruction cards such as Field of Ruin can directly target and eliminate Cryptic Caves from the battlefield. Strategies that involve denying resource can hinder your opponent’s ability to meet the activation requirements of Cryptic Caves, such as maintaining control over their land count.

Additionally, graveyard control can be crucial. Since Cryptic Caves ends up in the graveyard after use, employing cards like Scavenger Grounds to exile graveyards can preempt any strategies focused on land recursion. Constant vigilance on land dynamics and carefully timing disruption can negate the benefits that Cryptic Caves provides, helping to keep the playing field level and maintaining the upper hand in the battle for card advantage and resources.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cryptic Caves MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2020 and Zendikar Rising Commander, 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 Cryptic Caves and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cryptic Caves Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2019-07-12 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by Sung Choi.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-07-12Core Set 2020M20 2442015NormalBlackSung Choi
22020-09-25Zendikar Rising CommanderZNC 1252015NormalBlackSung Choi
32021-02-05Kaldheim CommanderKHC 1092015NormalBlackSung Choi

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cryptic Caves has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2019-07-12 Cryptic Caves can be one of the five lands you control. You don’t need to control five other lands. It’s okay that you’ll only control four lands as you finish activating Cryptic Caves’s last ability.
2019-07-12 If you control two Cryptic Caves and exactly three other lands, you can activate the last ability of only one of the Cryptic Caves. As soon as the cost for that ability is paid, you will no longer control enough lands to activate the ability of the second Cryptic Caves.