Turns out, you only need a single line of text on a Magic: The Gathering card to kick off some punishing shenanigans. Among the cards released in Magic’s newest set, Streets of New Capenna, a certain six-mana green artifact has deck-builders buzzing with its potential to take over games and promote table-flipping reactions. Allow me to introduce you to Bootlegger’s Stash.
Before exploring some of the specific applications that Bootlegger’s Stash has, let’s clarify why this card’s ability is noteworthy in the first place. In short, by granting all your lands the ability to produce treasures, this card generates value in the form of a concept Magic players sometimes refer to as “material.”
Consider your everyday Magic cards: lands and spells. For the most part, when you have lands or creatures, playing one card from your hand only puts one object or “permanent” on the battlefield. But common exceptions to this principle are cards that make tokens. Classic examples such as Thraben Inspector (which makes a clue) or Hordeling Outburst (which makes three goblins) will represent one card in hand but produce multiple permanents on the battlefield, here in the form of tokens. When Magic players refer to “material,” it’s usually this ability to create multiple permanents off one card.
Generally, token makers are no big deal. Practically every set has them, and the majority see relatively little play because the in-game value these cards produce isn’t powerful enough for competitive constructed formats such as Standard or Modern. But every once in a while, a unique new token maker breaks through because it’s easy to cast, annoying to deal with, and the tokens themselves are good enough to want multiples.
Older players might
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