Dig Up – Innistrad: Crimson Vow
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2021
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.58
Casual: 3.67
Limited: 3.50
Multiplayer: 3.58
Commander [EDH]: 3.83
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale: 1 is bad; 3 is average; 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Dig Up
This card is a TON of fun and very good, one of the better utility cards of the set without question. It utilizes the cleave mechanic and I like it a lot, for one G you get to search for a basic land and put it into your hand which is awesome by itself for ramp decks. But if you’re playing black…it’s a late game and you need one card to take it home and you draw this card…under normal circumstances it would be a bust but you can play it for the cleave cost to search for any card and put it into your hand! Your opponent doesn’t have to see the card and will wonder what kind of scheme you are planning. I absolutely love this card, it makes you want to play green black in a draft and constructed for the utility alone. Great card, pick up a playset because it will go up in price over the years!
Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 5/5
Commander: 5/5
David
Fanany
Player
since
1995
We recently reviewed Dig Up as part of our weekly rounds, so I’ll just add that when you have a modal spell of this kind, it can be good to think about how useful each mode is on its own. In this case, the non-cleaved text is pretty basic and is an effect you usually wouldn’t need a whole card for in constructed, but in the context of a modal card, it feels more worth it when you have that late-game flexibility. In many ways, it feels like a card the old-school Rock deck would have liked. It used a lot of cards that didn’t look spectacular on their own, but added up to a lot of stability (ie. basic land searching) and precision advantage (ie. a Diabolic Tutor variant) overall.
I also really like how we now have a second set of crazy designs to look out for in upcoming sets – it’s Future Sight all over again. I’m looking forward to plot boosters, personally.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5
This card was not on my Top 10 cards of 2021 list.
It wasn’t so long that we reviewed Dig Up, and…not a lot has really changed about it, either in that it hasn’t really caught on or has proven itself to have deeper uses than initially thought. It’s a Lay of the Land that has the ability to play as a Diabolic Tutor when you get into a scenario where Lay of the Land isn’t the optimal play; both are useful if you need that extra spurt of consistency in a deck that needs just that little nudge past the finish line, but the question always is if it’s needed in decks.
Right now, I’d say not in particular. The mana correcting of Standard is good enough right now that decks don’t usually need to dig out basic lands specifically, and we have the issue that four mana is not good for an unconditional tutor, even with the upshot of being playable before you get to four mana. I think it’s possible to see Standard shift in a way to make Dig Up a strong card, if multicolor decks really seize the format…as is, though, it’s mostly been a bit player in Golgari shells, and it’s likely that’s where it’ll spend its entire Standard run without a massive tectonic shift.
Constructed: 2.75
Casual: 3
Limited: 3.5 (tutoring out mana is nice in Limited, as is the chance to dig out a bomb…but, at rare, I question if this is worth drafting over better uncommons)
Multiplayer: 2.5
Commander: 3.5 (another tutor for Golgari decks, if nothing else)
We would love more volunteers to help us with our Magic the Gathering Card of the Day reviews. If you want to share your ideas on cards with other fans, feel free to drop us an email. We’d be happy to link back to your blog / YouTube Channel / etc. 😉
Click here to read over 4,000 more MTG Cards of the Day! Daily Since 2001.