Rush of Blood MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Rush of Blood doesn’t draw cards directly, it significantly amplifies the power of a single creature which can translate to overwhelming combat damage, potentially drawing you closer to victory in a single attack phase.

Resource Acceleration: Rush of Blood is a cost-effective spell, with a low mana expenditure relative to the potential damage output. This allows players to execute high-impact plays without heavily investing resources, leaving mana available for other strategic moves.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Rush of Blood at instant speed provides the element of surprise, enabling it to be used as a combat trick. This ensures you can adapt to battlefield changes and opponent actions, potentially turning the tides of battle in your favor during the crucial moments of a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rush of Blood increases the complexity of your play decisions by demanding a careful hand management strategy, potentially causing a setback if you’re running out of cards in your hand and need them for other crucial plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Calling for a precise combination of red mana narrows the card’s versatility, locking it into decks with a red mana base and possibly excluding it from multicolored decks that can’t easily accommodate its mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the necessity to spend three mana for a single turn effect, the card’s cost-effectiveness is questioned when other spells or creatures might provide a more sustained or substantial advantage for a similar or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Rush of Blood in Your Collection

Versatility: Rush of Blood is adaptable across numerous deck builds, with its ability to massively amplify the power of your creatures for a single turn. This makes it a game-changer in turning the tides of combat, particularly in aggressive or tempo-based decks.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with creatures that have high base power or those that have abilities scaling with power. Combo it with creatures that benefit from dealing combat damage to a player to potentially end games out of nowhere.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy with creature-based strategies or where games tend to swing in a single turn, Rush of Blood can be a pivotal trick to have up your sleeve. It can single-handedly help steal wins and is thus a valuable asset for any red strategy that pressures life totals aggressively.

How to beat

Rush of Blood is an intriguing card in Magic: The Gathering that offers a dramatic temporary boost in power, often enough to turn the tides of a game or deliver a knockout blow. To effectively counter this card, players need to maintain a strategic defense with instant removal spells or damage prevention measures. Employing cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can disrupt the setup and prevent the opponent from connecting with a lethal strike. Counterspells, such as Mana Leak or Negate, are also an efficient way to negate the Rush of Blood before its effect can materialize. It’s crucial to anticipate the timing of the card and keep mana available for these responses.

Another strategy is to control the battlefield by removing threats before they can become targets for Rush of Blood’s amplifying ability. This proactive control can be achieved through board wipes like Wrath of God or spot removal spells. Lastly, cards with lifelink or those that can create a significant buffer of life, such as those found in many white and black deck strategies, can help you survive an opponent’s surprise surge of power and maintain a presence on the board.