Rainbow Knights MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Summon Knights
Released	1997-04-01
Set symbol
Set name	Astral Cards
Set code	PAST
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	9
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Douglas Shuler

Key Takeaways

Card advantage and versatile casting options make Rainbow Knights an asset for maintaining hand dominance.
Resource acceleration and instant speed plays with Rainbow Knights disrupt opponents and pace the game.
Despite their strengths, drawbacks like discard requirements and high mana costs can limit their efficiency.

Text of card

When Rainbow Knights comes into play, it gains protection from a random color permanently. : First strike until end of turn. : +0/+0, +1/+0 or +2/+0 until end of turn chosen at random.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: A notable perk of Rainbow Knights is its ability to provide card advantage. With effects that may draw or filter through your deck, it helps you maintain a strong hand throughout the game, outpacing your opponent by sheer card quantity and quality.

Resource Acceleration: Rainbow Knights can include mechanics for boosting your resource pool. This can translate into swift access to a wide array of mana colors, allowing you to deploy threats and answers with unmatched speed, keeping the rhythm of the game firmly on your tempo.

Instant Speed: The utility of playing at instant speed cannot be overstated. Rainbow Knights that can be cast at this speed offer unparalleled flexibility, allowing you to react to your opponent’s moves with surprise blockers or other tricks, effectively disrupting their strategy while advancing your own board position.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rainbow Knights necessitates discarding a card upon casting. This drawback can be particularly painful when your hand is already depleted, putting you at a further card disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a diverse mana base, which can be challenging to achieve, especially in the early game. Players might struggle to gather the necessary spectrum of colors to summon the Knights, limiting its playability to multicolored or “rainbow” decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Rainbow Knights comes at a steep price for its power level. With a mana cost that is on the higher side, there are instances when players could deploy more cost-effective creatures or spells that provide immediate board impact or better synergy with their deck’s strategy.

Reasons to Include Rainbow Knights in Your Collection

Versatility: Rainbow Knights cards are known for their ability to be seamlessly integrated into a variety of deck types. Their multicolored mana requirements allow for inclusion in both aggressive and control strategies, adapting to your deck’s color scheme with ease.

Combo Potential: These knights often come with synergistic abilities that can create powerful interactions with other knights or tribal-themed cards, enhancing your in-game strategies and giving you a tactical edge.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, so does the competitive landscape, often referred to as the meta. Rainbow Knights can be particularly effective in a meta that favors creature-based strategies, enabling you to stay one step ahead of your opponents.

How to beat

Rainbow Knights is a dynamic card that can make a splash on the board with its color flexibility and potent buffs for multicolored knights. Understanding its strengths is the key to developing a strategy to manage this card effectively in your matches. The card synergizes well with other knights, particularly those with multiple colors. To mitigate its impact, removal spells are your best friends. Utilize targeted removal like Path to Exile or board wipes such as Wrath of God to clear out these buffed creatures before they can form an insurmountable force.

Pay special attention to mana efficiency when playing against Rainbow Knights. Speed is of the essence; surpassing the curve and maintaining pressure with faster, low-cost creatures can prevent the knight synergy from ever taking root. Another viable tactic is to limit their access to a diverse mana base. Strategies involving land destruction like Field of Ruin or Blood Moon disrupt multicolored decks, making it harder to cast Rainbow Knights effectively.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the value of counter spells. Countering Rainbow Knights on cast ensures you won’t have to deal with the cascade of benefits it brings to the field. Whether you’re snuffing out these persistent warriors or preventing their arrival altogether, planning and foresight will be your allies to outmaneuver your opponent’s Rainbow Knights-led strategy.

Cards like Rainbow Knights

Rainbow Knights joins the lineage of knight-themed cards in Magic: The Gathering, inviting comparisons to other noble warriors in the game. Its multi-colored mana requirement echoes that of Tournament Grounds, a land that caters specifically to knights and their cost variety. While not a creature itself, Tournament Grounds supports a strategy that effortlessly accommodates the eclectic mana needs of Rainbow Knights.

Looking to pure creature comparisons, we find inspiring parallels like Knight of the White Orchid. This fellow knight shares the ability to influence mana, albeit through land acceleration rather than direct casting assistance. In contrast, Rainbow Knights offers greater flexibility in casting spells of various colors, bypassing the land-based condition. Yet another peer is Acclaimed Contender, which dives into the deck to seek out knights and equipment. While it doesn’t aid in mana fixing, it enhances a knight-centric deck by fishing for synergistic cards, much like Rainbow Knights strengthens the ability to cast diverse spells.

Deck builders will note that Rainbow Knights earns its spot by bridging the mana gap across colors, providing a splash of rainbow in traditional mono or dual-colored knight decks. It remains a distinctive option for players looking to merge the chivalry of knights with a spectrum of magical possibilities.

Knight of the White Orchid - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rainbow Knights MTG card by a specific set like Astral Cards, 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 Rainbow Knights and other MTG cards: