Magic: The Gathering (MTG) combines strategy, creativity, and execution, delivering a gameplay experience like no other. Within its vast array of mechanics, the Explore mechanic is a flexible and powerful tool for players. First introduced in the Ixalan set, Explore offers a unique blend of card advantage, deck manipulation, and creature enhancement. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, understanding and mastering this mechanic can significantly elevate your gameplay.
This guide provides a comprehensive look at how Explore works, its strategic applications, notable cards, and its role in various formats, including the MTG Arena Explorer format.
Table of Contents
What is the Explore Mechanic?
The Explore mechanic provides players with additional options and decisions that can change the course of gameplay. It balances creature growth, card advantage, and deck management all in one.
How Explore Works
When a creature with Explore enters the battlefield or triggers its Explore ability, the following steps take place:
- Reveal the Top Card: The top card of your library is revealed.
- Determine the Outcome Based on the Card Type:
- If the revealed card is a land, add it to your hand.
- If it’s not a land, place a +1/+1 counter on the exploring creature and decide whether to put the revealed card back on top of your library or into the graveyard.
This mechanic combines randomness with player decision-making, allowing you to respond effectively to game conditions.
Why Explore Matters
Explore serves multiple purposes within a game. It helps maintain momentum, strengthens board presence, and allows players to set up powerful future plays. It’s this versatility that makes Explore an exceptional mechanic.
Strategic Advantages of Using Explore
Integrating Explore into your strategy brings several advantages, making it an invaluable mechanic for consistent playability and explosive growth.
1. Land Optimization
Explore ensures you don’t miss critical land drops, especially in decks that rely on multiple colors or expensive spells. Drawing lands through Explore minimizes mana issues and smooths out challenging opening hands.
2. Card Filtering
Reveal unwanted cards early by placing them into the graveyard, effectively improving the quality of your future draws. This eliminates dead cards and keeps your strategy focused and efficient.
3. Creature Development
The +1/+1 counters gained through Explore are game-changing, turning otherwise standard creatures into formidable threats. Cards like Jadelight Ranger can quickly grow into powerful board presences.
4. Synergy With Graveyard Strategies
For decks utilizing mechanics such as Delirium, Escape, or Reanimator, Explore offers valuable synergy by filling the graveyard with specific card types. This makes it easier to capitalize on secondary strategies.
5. Trading Efficiency
Boosted creatures with +1/+1 counters gained through Explore can trade better in combat, allowing you to maintain control over the board and exert pressure on your opponent.
Notable Cards Featuring Explore
Several cards utilize Explore masterfully, showcasing how effective this mechanic can be across formats:
- Jadelight Ranger (Rivals of Ixalan): Explores twice upon entering the battlefield, ensuring excellent card advantage and board presence.
- Merfolk Branchwalker (Ixalan): A cost-effective creature that helps filter draws early in the game. Versatile in tribal Merfolk decks or midrange archetypes.
- Wildgrowth Walker (Ixalan): Gains life and grows whenever your creatures Explore, making it the backbone of Explore-focused decks in multiple formats.
- Seekers’ Squire (Ixalan): A budget-friendly card that offers moderate stats and Explore utility.
These cards highlight how Explore balances power, flexibility, and strategic depth across diverse archetypes.
Explore in Different MTG Formats
Explore continues to have a strong presence across several MTG formats, each taking advantage of the mechanic’s multifaceted design.
Historic and Pioneer
Explore remains a core mechanic for midrange decks in formats like Historic and Pioneer. Decks such as Golgari Midrange utilize Explore for mana smoothing and recurring value.
Commander
Though Explore provides limited value in Commander due to the singleton nature of decks, it shines in builds focusing on Enter-the-Battlefield (ETB) triggers or graveyard strategies. Pairing with commanders like Muldrotha, the Gravetide can emphasize Explore’s graveyard potential.
Modern
While Explore sees limited Modern play, its presence in graveyard-centric archetypes and alongside synergistic cards like Winding Constrictor ensures its usability in specific niche strategies.
MTG Arena’s Explorer Format
Separate from the Explore mechanic is MTG Arena’s Explorer format, a constructed format featuring all standard-legal cards currently available on Arena.
What is the Explorer Format?
Explorer bridges the gap between Standard and Pioneer, MTG’s popular non-rotating paper format. Explorer features an expansive card pool, making it ideal for players seeking diverse strategies beyond current standard rotations.
Explore’s Role in Explorer
While Explore and Explorer may sound similar, the mechanic thrives in this format. Explorer decks utilize cards with Explore to ensure consistent mana, combat synergy, and graveyard potential. Golgari Midrange builds, for example, often include staple Explore cards like Jadelight Ranger and Wildgrowth Walker.
MTG Arena’s Explorer format continues to evolve, but Explore remains an integral mechanic in this competitive environment.
Tips for Mastering the Explore Mechanic
Here are some practical tips to get the most out of Explore in your games:
- Pair With Synergistic Cards: Cards like Enter the Unknown or any that trigger additional Explore effects can amplify value.
- Leverage Graveyard Payoffs: Use Explore to feed powerful cards into your graveyard for reanimation or recursion strategies.
- Maximize +1/+1 Counter Synergies: Pair creatures with Explore alongside cards that stack +1/+1 counters, like Winding Constrictor or Conclave Mentor.
- Target Consistent Land Plays: Build decks that benefit from guaranteed land draws, ensuring a smoother mana curve.
Why You Should Experiment with Explore
Explore is more than a mechanic; it’s a game-changer. From its ability to ensure land consistency to boosting creatures and fueling graveyard synergies, Explore opens doors to innovative and dynamic gameplay. Whether you’re a casual player looking to refine your deck or a competitive one charting new strategies, Explore is worth integrating into your MTG arsenal.
To fully appreciate this mechanic, grab a few cards like Jadelight Ranger or Wildgrowth Walker and start experimenting in your games. Explore will not only sharpen your strategy but also reveal the depth of possibilities MTG has to offer.
FAQs
Is Explore a Good Mechanic in MTG?
Yes, Explore is a versatile and impactful mechanic that offers card advantage, creature enhancement, and synergy with various deck archetypes.
What Set Introduced Explore?
Explore made its debut in the Ixalan set.
Does Explore Work Well in Commander?
Explore performs well in decks focusing on ETB triggers or graveyard strategies but may have less impact in non-Escape or Reanimator builds.
Why Use Explore in Explorer Format?
Explore boosts consistency, helping decks with mana smoothing, graveyard synergy, and competitive viability in the non-rotating Explorer format on MTG Arena.
What Are the Best Cards With Explore?
Top examples include Jadelight Ranger, Merfolk Branchwalker, and Wildgrowth Walker, each excelling in different roles across formats.