Aether Gust MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Aether Gust can effectively act as a way to time walk an opponent by bouncing their key spells or permanents. It prevents your opponent from gaining momentum, and by choosing the right target, you can significantly set them back while keeping card equilibrium.

Resource Acceleration: While Aether Gust itself does not directly create resources, it efficiently disrupts the opponent’s resource development. By removing crucial threats or ramp spells, it indirectly accelerates your own board state by buying you precious time to develop your game plan without hindrance.

Instant Speed: The true versatility of Aether Gust lies in its instant speed, allowing you to respond to an opponent’s moves at the most opportune moment. This could mean bouncing a spell on the stack or removing a key creature during the combat phase, maintaining the upper hand in the fast-paced dynamic of the game.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Aether Gust’s requirement of one blue mana can be restrictive, forcing players to have a certain color of mana available or to design their decks around accommodating blue mana sources.

Discard Requirement: While Aether Gust itself does not require a discard, it’s important for players to consider the need to have other card options in hand. Casting Aether Gust without a follow-up plan can sometimes lead to a temporary solution rather than an advantageous position.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: A two-mana cost for its effect might be seen as steep when compared to other instant-speed interaction options in the game. This can be particularly relevant in faster-paced environments where efficiency is key.

Reasons to Include Aether Gust in Your Collection

Versatility: Aether Gust is an excellent addition to sideboards or main decks as it can effectively counter strategies relying heavily on red or green spells. Its instant speed allows you to adapt on the fly during the game, making it a flexible tool in various situations.

Combo Potential: This instant not only disrupts your opponent’s plays but also sets up the potential for your combos by removing threats or buying you critical time. The ability to choose whether the targeted spell or permanent goes on top or into its owner’s library also helps manage what your opponent will draw next.

Meta-Relevance: The card shines in a meta with dominant red aggro or green mid-range decks. Aether Gust helps to level the playing field by temporarily dealing with key threats or pivotal spells, providing a strategic edge in important match-ups.

How to beat

Aether Gust adds a unique strategic element to Magic: The Gathering, specializing in control by allowing players to temporarily remove red or green spells that threaten their game plan. To overcome Aether Gust, you’ll want to incorporate cards that aren’t solely red or green into your deck, thereby diversifying your threats and minimizing the impact of this spell. Moreover, playing cards with cheap costs can benefit you; even if they get hit by Aether Gust, their mana efficiency allows them to be replayed without significant tempo loss.

Utilizing spells with instant speeds can also be of great advantage. This not only offers flexibility but also presents an opportunity to bait out Aether Gust, allowing you to play more crucial spells later on. Furthermore, having access to countermagic of your own can protect your spells from being returned to your hand or library, maintaining board presence and advancing your strategy uninterrupted. By planning ahead and considering these tips, you’ll be better equipped to tackle the disruption that Aether Gust brings to the table.