Fault Riders MTG Card


Fault Riders enhance landfall strategies and provide instant-speed land interaction. Its demands sacrifice and specific mana, potentially limiting early game plays. Despite costs, it’s a versatile inclusion for decks focused on land manipulation.
Fault Riders - Prophecy
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Soldier
Released2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set nameProphecy
Set codePCY
Power 2
Toughness 2
Number88
Frame1997
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byDave Dorman

Text of card

Sacrifice a land: Fault Riders gets +2/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. Play this ability only once each turn.

They turn geological upheaval into tactical advantage.


Cards like Fault Riders

Fault Riders stand out in the arena of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering. They share the landscape with other cards like Avalanche Riders, which holds a similar land destruction ability. However, Fault Riders come with a lower casting cost that could give players an early game advantage. Unlike Avalanche Riders, which demands a mana commitment of four, Fault Riders can be on the field quicker, impacting the board state earlier on.

Looking at Raze, another comparable card, it destroys a land at an even lower cost. Raze, however, requires the sacrifice of one of your own lands, which can set a player back significantly. Fault Riders offer a more controlled approach to land destruction, allowing players to target opponents’ lands specifically and repeatedly, albeit at the price of returning a land you control to your hand.

Evaluating Fault Riders against cards like Stone Rain shows the potential for repeated use, unlike Stone Rain’s one-time impact. The ability to utilize Fault Riders multiple turns makes it a persistent threat against opponents’ manabase. In sum, Fault Riders can be a strategic asset in MTG, especially for those who favor a playstyle that cripples the opponent’s resource options over time.

Avalanche Riders - MTG Card versions
Raze - MTG Card versions
Stone Rain - MTG Card versions
Avalanche Riders - MTG Card versions
Raze - MTG Card versions
Stone Rain - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Fault Riders by color, type and mana cost

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Dwarven Warriors - MTG Card versions
Raging Bull - MTG Card versions
Wall of Lava - MTG Card versions
Brassclaw Orcs - MTG Card versions
Imperial Recruiter - MTG Card versions
Uthden Troll - MTG Card versions
Hobgoblin Bandit Lord - MTG Card versions
Goblin Rabblemaster - MTG Card versions
Nosy Goblin - MTG Card versions
Goblin Sky Raider - MTG Card versions
Cosmic Larva - MTG Card versions
Mannichi, the Fevered Dream - MTG Card versions
Ghost-Lit Raider - MTG Card versions
Goblin Chariot - MTG Card versions
Balduvian Barbarians - MTG Card versions
Basalt Gargoyle - MTG Card versions
Orcish Artillery - MTG Card versions
Stinkdrinker Daredevil - MTG Card versions
Blind-Spot Giant - MTG Card versions
Mudbutton Torchrunner - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Fault Riders can potentially create significant card advantage with its ability to repeatedly return lands to its owner’s hand, setting up powerful landfall triggers or recurring lands with valuable enter-the-battlefield effects.

Resource Acceleration: By enabling the reuse of lands that produce more than one mana, Fault Riders can contribute to resource acceleration. In decks built around land synergies, this can be a substantial boost.

Instant Speed: Although Fault Riders itself is not an instant, it can capitalize on instant-speed interactions. It allows players to adapt their strategy at a moment’s notice, reacting to opponents’ moves by utilizing lands with instant-speed abilities that have been returned to hand.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of the Fault Riders in your MTG deck is the discard requirement. To activate its ability, you must sacrifice a land, which could potentially set you back in terms of resource availability. This cost is especially heavy in the early game or in land-light situations, often forcing players to choose between developing their board or utilizing the Fault Riders’ ability.

Specific Mana Cost: The Fault Riders card demands specific mana colors to cast—two red mana as part of its cost. This requirement can complicate your game plan, as it necessitates a commitment to red mana sources. For players running multicolored decks, especially those where red is not a primary color, fitting Fault Riders into the deck might impact its mana base consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Fault Riders can be a useful tool in certain MTG strategies, its comparatively high mana cost for its body and effect should not be overlooked. With a myriad of creatures and spells available, many players might find that there are more cost-effective options that provide similar or better advantages without the need to sacrifice crucial lands.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Fault Riders proves to be a flexible card, seamlessly integrating into decks that are designed to manipulate land resources for strategic advantages.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in land-sacrifice combos, allowing players to reap benefits from effects that are triggered when lands hit the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment that values land interaction strategies, Fault Riders offers a way to gain an edge over opponents by utilizing lands as a resource beyond mana production.


How to beat

Fault Riders is a unique card that can pose quite a challenge in the right deck. With its ability to essentially sacrifice a land to deal 2 damage to each creature without flying, it’s a formidable card to play against, particularly when facing an opponent who is building up a strong ground force. To effectively counter Fault Riders, players should consider a strategy that incorporates flying creatures or those with indestructibility to withstand the land-sacrifice-triggered ability.

Furthermore, land destruction prevention can also be an effective method. Cards like Terra Eternal or strategies that quickly rebuild your mana base, such as Rampant Growth or Cultivate, may help mitigate the loss of lands if faced with the Fault Riders’ ability. Having instant speed removal or sacrifice outlets can also give you an edge, enabling you to respond efficiently to the activation of the Fault Rider’s power. Maintaining a flexible and resilient board state is key to outmaneuvering this potent MTG card.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Fault Riders MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, 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 Fault Riders and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Fault Riders has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal