Scrapyard Recombiner MTG Card


Scrapyard Recombiner is an asset in obtaining game-critical artifact creatures directly onto the battlefield. Its ability to fetch constructs at instant speed offers strategic advantages during play. Requires a considered deck build with artifact creatures to fully leverage its potential.
Scrapyard Recombiner - Modern Horizons
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Construct
Abilities Modular
Released2019-06-14
Set symbol
Set nameModern Horizons
Set codeMH1
Power 0
Toughness 0
Number227
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred bySimon Dominic

Text of card

Modular 2 (This creature enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. When it dies, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.) , Sacrifice an artifact: Search your library for a Construct card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.


Cards like Scrapyard Recombiner

The Scrapyard Recombiner is a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering, offering not only a source of Modular creatures’ enhancement but also serving as a tutor for key pieces in artifact-centric decks. In terms of tutoring abilities, its closest relatives would be cards like Arcbound Ravager, which also plays with +1/+1 counters, yet it lacks the tutor aspect. Arcbound Ravager instead offers the advantage of sacrificing other artifacts to grow itself, a different angle on the modular approach.

When examining the landscape of artifact creature support in MTG, Steel Overseer also springs to mind. This card can be a powerhouse in the right deck by granting +1/+1 counters to all your artifacts, potentially overwhelming your opponent with a swift growth in board presence. However, the Recombiner’s specific tutor ability allows for greater precision in gameplay, targeting the exact creatures needed in the moment.

Considering their capabilities, Scrapyard Recombiner shines in environments where specific Construct or Modular creature types are paramount. It stands out among its cousins in artifact strategies, cementing its role as not just an enabler of counter strategies, but as a linchpin for fetching the most integral components of a successful artifact deck.

Arcbound Ravager - MTG Card versions
Steel Overseer - MTG Card versions
Arcbound Ravager - MTG Card versions
Steel Overseer - MTG Card versions

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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
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Decks using this card

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

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
ColorlessColorless VintageVintage League 2024-01-21
Mono-Green Hardened ScalesMono-Green Hardened Scales ModernHardened ScalesModern League 2023-12-28

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Scrapyard Recombiner serves as a reliable source of card advantage thanks to its ability to tutor for key pieces directly onto the battlefield. This function efficiently translates into gaining crucial components that can shift the momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly producing mana or treasures, the value of Scrapyard Recombiner lies in its capacity to accelerate your game plan. By fetching construct creatures, it effectively reduces the need for mana investment on future turns, as you are able to put resources into play without paying their mana costs.

Instant Speed: Although the Recombiner itself is not an instant-speed spell, its Modular ability can be a game-changer during combat. Sacrificing a creature with a +1/+1 counter and searching up a construct can be done anytime you could activate an instant, allowing for surprise blocks or end-of-turn plays that keep opponents on their toes.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Scrapyard Recombiner necessitates sacrificing an artifact creature as a part of its ability activation. While this can be used to your advantage in some strategies, if your battlefield is scarce of expendable artifacts, this requirement can be a significant drawback, leaving you without the essential board presence needed to assert dominance.

Specific Mana Cost: As a construct essential to artifact-centric decks, Scrapyard Recombiner requires colorless mana for its activation. This specific mana cost means you need to carefully craft your land base to consistently utilize its tutoring ability, potentially limiting the card’s inclusion to decks that can support such requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While three mana to cast isn’t exorbitant, the reliance on Scrapyard Recombiner as a key play in your strategy might slow down your game compared to other synergistic three-drops. Decks looking to maximize tempo might find the cost for searching your library for a specific construct and putting it into your hand slightly on the higher side, especially considering that other cards could provide immediate impact upon hitting the field.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Scrapyard Recombiner offers flexibility across various artifact-centric decks, able to search for crucial pieces regardless of the archetype you’re playing.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with modular strategies and can easily become part of a combo that secures key constructs from your deck, optimizing your play options.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to adapt to multiple board states and its usefulness in fetching component cards, Scrapyard Recombiner remains a relevant choice in evolving metagames, especially where artifact decks shine.


How to beat

Scrapyard Recombiner stands out as a key player in artifact-heavy decks within the Magic: The Gathering universe. This artifact creature not only taps for mana-free tutoring of other construct cards but also serves as a modulator for artifact synergy. To dismantle the advantages it offers, one must target its modular ability and the potential it has to ramp up other creatures’ power.

Removal spells that exile or force a player to sacrifice Scrapyard Recombiner can interrupt this process, such as Path to Exile or Liliana’s Triumph. Since the Recombiner thrives in an environment populated with other artifacts, cards that disrupt artifact strategies like Stony Silence or Vandalblast can sever the lifeline that makes Scrapyard Recombiner a formidable threat. Keeping the artifact creature off the battlefield or neutralizing its enablers is key to ensuring its powerful search ability doesn’t overrun the game.

The key is to stay ahead of your opponent’s strategy; know when to hold back your removal spells and when to cut off their resources. By effectively managing your responses to the Recombiner and related threats, you can keep the artifact’s influence to a minimum and maintain control of the match.


BurnMana Recommendations

As MTG enthusiasts delve deeper into the realms of artifact strategy, Scrapyard Recombiner stands out for its unique ability to fetch vital constructs straight to the battlefield. By understanding the advantages and limitations of this card, players can better harness its potential for card advantage and tactical plays. With an environment that’s constantly shifting, adapting your collection to include versatile and meta-relevant cards like Scrapyard Recombiner can be immensely beneficial. Curious about how to effectively integrate this card into your arsenal and navigate its intricate synergies? Dive into our comprehensive guide, designed to help you optimize your deck’s performance and outmaneuver the competition.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scrapyard Recombiner MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons, 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 Scrapyard Recombiner and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scrapyard Recombiner has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2019-06-14 If a creature with modular receives enough -1/-1 counters to cause it to be destroyed by lethal damage or put into its owner’s graveyard for having 0 or less toughness, modular will put a number of +1/+1 counters on the target artifact creature equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on this creature before it left the battlefield. That’s because modular checks the creature as it last existed on the battlefield, and it still had +1/+1 counters on it at that point.
2019-06-14 You can sacrifice Scrapyard Recombiner to pay the cost of its second ability.