Storm Cauldron MTG Card


Storm Cauldron can capitalize on landfall triggers, offering repeated land plays for deck advantages. It provides potential for mana acceleration, crucial for casting costly spells or advancing board state. Despite a high mana cost, it grants flexibility in gameplay and interactive combos at instant speed.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Text of card

During each player's turn, that player may put one additional land into play. Whenever a land is tapped for mana, return that land to owner's hand.


Cards like Storm Cauldron

In the diverse universe of Magic: The Gathering, Storm Cauldron stands out for its unique ability to disrupt land play dynamics. It shares several traits with cards like Mana Breach and Overburden, which also play with land control, making each land drop a careful consideration. However, Storm Cauldron takes it a step further by affecting all players and allowing for a return of lands to hand upon tapping, potentially leveraging landfall abilities multiple times per turn.

Another cousin in interruption is Winter Orb. Although it limits the untap phase to only one land per turn rather than returning lands to hand, players often utilize both in lock-down strategies to impair opponents’ mana availability drastically. The Cauldron, due to its bounce mechanism, has a higher combo potential than the static Orb’s approach.

Storm Cauldron, in essence, creates a unique environment on the battlefield, where it directly compares to cards that twist the usual rules of land play. Its ability to serve both as a disruption machine and a combo enabler places it in a distinctive position within Magic: The Gathering’s array of artifact cards. This versatility makes it a card worth considering for decks that capitalize on land manipulation and strategic resource management.

Mana Breach - MTG Card versions
Overburden - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions
Mana Breach - MTG Card versions
Overburden - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions

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Gauntlets of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Ring of Renewal - MTG Card versions
Clockwork Avian - MTG Card versions
Soldevi Steam Beast - MTG Card versions
Sand Golem - MTG Card versions
Pandora's Box - MTG Card versions
Belbe's Portal - MTG Card versions
Crumbling Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Mind's Eye - MTG Card versions
Horizon Stone - MTG Card versions
The Deck of Many Things - MTG Card versions
Coat of Arms - MTG Card versions
Clockwork Vorrac - MTG Card versions
Timesifter - MTG Card versions
Leveler - MTG Card versions
Gilded Lotus - MTG Card versions
Myr Matrix - MTG Card versions
Dross Golem - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Storm Cauldron enhances deck strategies focused on landfall triggers, providing multiple land drops which can equate to drawing into additional resources or enabling repeatable effects from cards that react to land plays.

Resource Acceleration: While it returns lands to a player’s hand, it allows for a continuous loop of land drops, essentially amplifying mana production which can be pivotal for casting high-cost spells or rapidly advancing board presence.

Instant Speed: Although Storm Cauldron itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it interacts favorably with instant-speed land plays and untap abilities. This interaction allows players to maneuver around traditional play timing, establishing surprise defences or cascading combo plays within opponents’ turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Storm Cauldron doesn’t force a discard, it requires both players to return a land to their hand whenever one is played. This downside can strain your hand, forcing you to discard if you exceed the maximum hand size, leading to a potential loss of valuable resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Storm Cauldron’s activation is colorless, but its presence in a deck necessitates a mana base that can consistently produce the five mana needed to cast it, potentially restricting deck-building choices and making it difficult to fit into multicolor decks with demanding mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its five-mana casting cost, Storm Cauldron is quite expensive. In fast-paced games, this can leave you at a significant disadvantage, especially when against decks that apply early pressure or when considering that other cards might offer immediate board impact or advantage for the same or less investment.


Reasons to Include Storm Cauldron in Your Collection

Versatility: Storm Cauldron offers unique flexibility in gameplay, allowing you to take advantage of returned land plays. This card is adept at fitting into landfall decks, or any strategy that seeks to manipulate land dynamics or reset mana availability.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with cards that benefit from or mitigate land return penalties. Cards like “Amulet of Vigor” or “Patron of the Moon” can turn what seems to be a drawback into a potent advantage, setting up powerful plays and disrupting opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where land strategies are prevalent, Storm Cauldron can serve as a powerful tool to manipulate both your own and your opponents’ board states. It can hamper opponents’ mana management while simultaneously boosting your play options, making it a relevant choice to consider for deck building in such environments.


How to beat Storm Cauldron

Storm Cauldron is a unique artifact card in MTG that can be both a powerful tool and a potential drawback. Its ability to return land to a player’s hand whenever a land is tapped can disrupt any deck that relies heavily on land permanents. To effectively counteract the disruption caused by Storm Cauldron, consider using cards that allow you to play multiple lands per turn. Strategies like utilizing exploration effects or employing creatures that can put lands onto the battlefield will help mitigate the impact of the land bounce effect.

Additionally, aiming for a low-curve deck filled with spells that require little mana can lessen your dependence on land resources, allowing you to maintain momentum even when Storm Cauldron is active. Efficient mana rocks or alternative mana sources bypass the need to tap lands for mana, granting you further resilience against this artifact’s chaotic influence. Moreover, don’t underestimate the power of direct artifact removal spells—having a few dedicated to the task can quickly neutralize Storm Cauldron’s influence and leave your opponent’s strategy in disarray.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Storm Cauldron MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Classic Sixth Edition, 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 Storm Cauldron and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Storm Cauldron Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2001-04-11. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11996-06-10AlliancesALL 1341993NormalBlackDan Frazier
21999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 3141997NormalWhiteDan Frazier
32001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 3201997NormalWhiteDoug Chaffee
42001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 320★1997NormalBlackDoug Chaffee

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Storm Cauldron has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2004-10-04 Having multiples of these on the battlefield means you can play an additional land for each one.
2004-10-04 If a land is tapped for mana and sacrificed all in one action, it goes to the graveyard before the Cauldron can return it to the player’s hand.
2004-10-04 If a land is tapped for mana, it is returned to its owner’s hand as a triggered ability.