Aether Swooper MTG Card
2017-01-20 - Number 26
2020-11-12 - Number 39
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Vedalken Artificer |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
Flying When Aether Swooper enters the battlefield, you get (two energy counters). Whenever Aether Swooper attacks, you may pay . If you do, create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.
Cards like Aether Swooper
Aether Swooper sits nicely within the realm of energy-producing creatures in Magic: The Gathering, sharing space with the likes of thriving creatures such as Thriving Turtle and Thriving Rats. Like these creatures, Aether Swooper rewards players with an influx of energy when it enters the battlefield. Yet, it takes things a step further by allowing you to pay energy to create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token whenever it attacks. This unique twist offers players a strategic advantage over its thriving counterparts, which require mana investment to grow in strength.
Comparatively, Aether Swooper has a direct kinship with another flyer, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. Both cards initiate energy counters in your pool, but Glint-Sleeve Siphoner has an additional beneficial draw mechanic, even though it doesn’t provide the tangible board presence that Aether Swooper’s Servo tokens can offer. On the other hand, Aether Chaser presents a similar effect to Swooper with its ability to create Servo tokens, though it trades flying for first strike, offering a different tactical approach. The choice between flying and first strike drastically alters the landscape of any game.
Ultimately, Aether Swooper holds its own by delivering consistent energy and potential for board expansion, illustrating its subtle but impactful role in deck strategies focusing on artifact synergy and energy mechanics.
Cards similar to Aether Swooper by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Aether Swooper brings subtle card advantage to the battlefield. Upon entering the fray, it allows you to summon a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token, effectively providing you with an additional creature without losing a card from your hand.
Resource Acceleration: With its energy-generating ability, Aether Swooper offers a unique form of resource acceleration. Each time it attacks, you get an opportunity to amass energy counters, which act as an alternative resource, opening doors to activate various energy-dependent abilities across your deck.
Instant Speed: While Aether Swooper itself is not an instant, the energy it produces can be utilized at instant speed to fuel other abilities or spells, lending a dynamic and flexible approach to resource management during critical moments of play.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Aether Swooper calls for a specific action to unlock its full potential. To benefit from its energy-generating ability, a player must first discard another card, which can pose a challenge when your hand is already stretched thin.
Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both generic and blue mana, the Aether Swooper can be less flexible in terms of deck-building. It’s tied specifically to blue-centric decks or those that can reliably generate both types of mana, potentially excluding it from various deck archetypes that cannot accommodate this need.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the Aether Swooper’s initial cost may seem fair for a flying creature, its energy-triggered ability mandates additional mana investment. This can be deemed steep considering the current meta where creatures with similar or better abilities could be cast for less, providing competitors with a more economical advantage on the battlefield.
Reasons to Include Aether Swooper in Your Collection
Versatility: Aether Swooper is a multifaceted addition that can slide into various decks, acting as an early game blocker or aggressor. Its energy abilities also complement strategies aiming to capitalize on energy counters.
Combo Potential: This card has synergy with decks that exploit energy mechanics, using the generated energy to fuel powerful plays or activate other energy-intensive cards for game-changing effects.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta that rewards quick starts and incremental advantages, Aether Swooper stands out as it generates energy and additional creature tokens, keeping pace with the swift tempo of current competitive play.
How to Beat Aether Swooper
Aether Swooper, a nimble inhabitant of Magic: The Gathering’s aerial endeavors, has a unique trick up its sleeve, one that involves generating energy tokens and using them to create servo artifacts. While it may not overwhelm with raw power, its ability to subtly tip the scales in a long game shouldn’t be underestimated.
To counteract Aether Swooper’s pesky habit of churning out servos, effective removal is key. Cards such as Shock or Fatal Push can dispatch the Swooper before its energy-generating propensity turns into a palpable advantage. Furthermore, board wipes like Wrath of God can clear out both Aether Swooper and its generated tokens, resetting the tactical landscape. In essence, keeping the board clear of small threats deprives your opponent of the incremental advantages they seek through cards like Aether Swooper.
Within the strategic landscape of Magic: The Gathering, each card’s impact can wax and wane with the tailored measures of a thoughtful adversary. Aether Swooper, while a dexterous component of an energy-themed strategy, is no exception and can be neutralized with swift intervention, ensuring that what could be an aerial threat remains a grounded hypothetical.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Aether Swooper MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Kaladesh Remastered, 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 Aether Swooper and other MTG cards:
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- Card Market
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- MTG Mint Card
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Printings
The Aether Swooper Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by James Ryman.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-01-20 | Aether Revolt | AER | 26 | 2015 | Normal | Black | James Ryman | |
| 2 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 39 | 2015 | Normal | Black | James Ryman |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Aether Swooper has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Aether Swooper card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They’re not associated with specific permanents. (Other kinds of counters that players may have include poison and experience.) |
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters aren’t mana. They don’t go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana “of any type” to your mana pool can’t give you energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | If an effect says you get one or more , you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more , you lose that many energy counters. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | Keep careful track of how many energy counters each player has. You may do so by keeping a running count on paper, by using a die, or by any other clear and mutually agreeable method. |
| 2017-02-09 | Some triggered abilities state that you “may pay” a certain amount of . You can’t pay that amount multiple times to multiply the effect. You simply choose whether or not to pay that amount of as the ability resolves, and no player may take actions to try to stop the ability’s effect after you make your choice. |
| 2017-02-09 | You can’t pay more energy counters than you have. |
| 2017-02-09 | is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter. |