Ior Ruin Expedition MTG Card


Can change a match’s tide by converting land drops into card draws, offering a steady flow of resources. It encourages careful play, rewarding strategic land placement with potential game-changing card advantages. Instant speed effects synergize well with the card, enabling surprise maneuvers and shifts in control.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment
Abilities Landfall

Text of card

Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a quest counter on Ior Ruin Expedition. Remove three quest counters from Ior Ruin Expedition and sacrifice it: Draw two cards.


Cards like Ior Ruin Expedition

The Ior Ruin Expedition card is a notable inclusion in decks that capitalize on landfall mechanics within Magic: The Gathering. At first glance, it draws a parallel to cards like Khalni Heart Expedition which also harnesses the land-centric strategy to advantage the player. Both cards accrue quest counters with each land that enters the battlefield under your control, leading to a payoff once enough land is played. However, the Ior Ruin Expedition stands apart with its focus on card draw, delivering two cards upon fulfillment of its quest, providing an invaluable boost in card advantage.

Considering the broader scope, Explore comes to mind – a simple spell that allows players to play an additional land and draw a card. While it offers immediate value, it doesn’t have the incremental buildup towards a larger reward that Ior Ruin Expedition does. Journey of Discovery is a further comparison, offering multipurpose utility in land fetching or playing additional lands, yet it doesn’t offer direct card draw as a reward.

To sum it up, Ior Ruin Expedition carves its niche among MTG’s land-focused spells, providing a delayed but potentially game-changing card draw that serves to refuel your hand and keep your options open as you advance through the game.

Khalni Heart Expedition - MTG Card versions
Explore - MTG Card versions
Journey of Discovery - MTG Card versions
Khalni Heart Expedition - MTG Card versions
Explore - MTG Card versions
Journey of Discovery - MTG Card versions

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Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Flooded Shoreline - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ior Ruin Expedition offers a robust ability to accrue additional cards. Through its Landfall mechanic, this enchantment allows for drawing two cards once enough land plays have triggered its quest counters. This feature can play a pivotal role in outpacing opponents by generating superior card flow during the match.

Resource Acceleration: By effectively converting land plays into card draws, Ior Ruin Expedition aids in resource acceleration. It transforms each land drop into potential new avenues for plays, turning simple actions into multifaceted strategic advances, thus increasing a player’s momentum as the game progresses.

Instant Speed: Although the card itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it has a synergy with instant speed spells and effects that place lands onto the battlefield during an opponent’s turn. This can promptly fulfill its quest requirements, unleashing a sudden card advantage that may catch an adversary off-guard. The utility of responding during another player’s turn and potentially drawing into answers or threats is an invaluable asset in any player’s arsenal.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ior Ruin Expedition in MTG entails a prerequisite of sacrificing a land to reap its benefits. This condition can place you at a disadvantage, particularly if your hand is already running sparse or if maintaining a solid base of lands on the field is crucial to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s activation not only requires a particular arrangement of mana types but its initial casting cost also demands blue mana, potentially restricting its usefulness to decks that operate heavily in that color or those that are able to reliably produce a diverse range of mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that necessitates a substantial investment of three mana for an effect that is conditional on landfall triggers, alternative cards may offer more immediate or less situational benefits. For players seeking more efficient or guaranteed card draw options, there are other cards in the vast pool of MTG that may better serve the intended purpose within their decks.


Reasons to Include Ior Ruin Expedition in Your Collection

Versatility: Ior Ruin Expedition is a flexible card that slots easily into decks focusing on landfall mechanics. Being able to draw cards and give you that extra push in games makes it a staple in some blue and green deck lists where maximizing land drops is crucial.

Combo Potential: With its ability to cash in on extra lands for card advantage, Ior Ruin Expedition pairs well with cards that allow multiple land plays. This enhances strategies that revolve around getting the most value out of landfall triggers each turn.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, decks that capitalize on incremental advantages can become powerhouses. Ior Ruin Expedition holds its relevance in metas where longer games and building board position is key, making it a wise choice for players who appreciate strategic depth and foresight.


How to beat Ior Ruin Expedition

Ior Ruin Expedition is a unique card that synergizes with landfall, allowing players to capitalize on playing lands to draw cards. Key to disrupting this strategy is to manage or eliminate the card before it triggers. One way to do this is by using instant-speed removal such as Naturalize or Disenchant, which can destroy the enchantment directly from the battlefield. Another tactic is to limit land drops through cards like Confounding Conundrum or by employing land destruction strategies that disrupt the landfall mechanic critical to Ior Ruin Expedition’s success.

Additionally, graveyard hate cards can prevent the opponent from recycling their resources, as cards like Scavenging Ooze can remove lands from the graveyard, thereby hindering the landfall ability’s activation. Utilizing counter spells to prevent Ior Ruin Expedition from ever hitting the board is also an efficient approach. By keeping an eye on your opponent’s play and being ready to act swiftly, you can negate the advantages provided by Ior Ruin Expedition and maintain control over the game.

In summary, staying ahead in tempo and utilizing targeted removal or denial strategies can effectively neutralize the benefits of Ior Ruin Expedition, keeping your opponent’s advantages in check while you build towards victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re delving into the intricacies of MTG and looking to harness the power of Landfall, Ior Ruin Expedition can be a significant asset to your deck. It embodies the strategic depth that can give you the upper hand in drawn-out matches. Understanding its strengths and potential weaknesses is key to making the most out of this card’s capabilities. Should you decide to weave it into your gameplay, consider the synergies it offers with your existing cards, and recognize the situational moments when it shines brightest. For more insights and strategies on optimizing your deck with Ior Ruin Expedition and other similar cards, step into our realm of MTG wisdom. Gather around as we delve deeper into the strategies that make this card a valued piece in your MTG collection.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ior Ruin Expedition MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar and Archenemy: Nicol Bolas, 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 Ior Ruin Expedition and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ior Ruin Expedition Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2009-10-02 and 2020-11-20. Illustrated by Chris Rahn.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-10-02ZendikarZEN 492003NormalBlackChris Rahn
22017-06-16Archenemy: Nicol BolasE01 252015NormalBlackChris Rahn
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 4072015NormalBlackChris Rahn
42020-09-26The ListPLST E01-252015NormalBlackChris Rahn
52020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 3982015NormalBlackChris Rahn

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ior Ruin Expedition has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-10-01 The landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability (such as Rampant Growth) causes you to put a land onto the battlefield under your control. It will even trigger when a spell or ability causes another player to put a land onto the battlefield under your control (as can happen with Yavimaya Dryad's ability, for example).
2009-10-01 When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves.