Imperial Outrider MTG Card


Imperial Outrider - Core Set 2020
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Knight
Released2019-07-12
Set symbol
Set nameCore Set 2020
Set codeM20
Power 1
Toughness 5
Number307
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byScott Murphy

Key Takeaways

  1. Capable of providing card advantage, it’s pivotal for maintaining a lead in strategic MTG matches.
  2. Empowers resource acceleration, enabling powerful plays earlier and fostering a faster route to victory.
  3. Despite its potential, the Outrider’s strict mana and discard requirements can challenge deck consistency.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Imperial Outrider is adept at ensuring you stay ahead in the game by offering the potential for ongoing card advantage. If this creature continually connects with your opponent, you’re rewarded with the option to look at the top card of your library, aiding in strategic planning.

Resource Acceleration: Coupled with its formidable presence on the battlefield, this sturdy card helps accelerate your resources. By providing an additional land drop when certain conditions are met, it sets you up for powerful plays earlier than usual, fostering a quicker path to victory.

Instant Speed: While Imperial Outrider itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its synergy with instant speed spells is noteworthy. Since it can affect the board immediately upon entering, it allows you to keep mana open for instant speed interactions, giving you the flexibility to respond to an opponent’s threats or end-step surprises.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When deploying the Imperial Outrider, players must be aware of its discard conditions. This requirement often translates into a strategic setback, especially when your hand is filled with essential cards, reducing your capacity to maintain a lead or adapt to the evolving game board.

Specific Mana Cost: The Imperial Outrider’s casting cost is defined by a particular combination of mana colors, which can be a hindrance for decks that are not tailored to those mana types. Flexibility in mana bases is crucial, and cards with stringent requirements can hinder the deck-building process, potentially causing inconsistencies in play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For the abilities it offers, the mana investment in the Imperial Outrider can be considered steep. Players might find themselves in dilemmas where the mana could potentially be allocated to casting multiple spells or creatures with lower costs but comparable impact. This can be particularly critical in fast-paced games where efficiency and speed are key to victory.


Reasons to Include Imperial Outrider in Your Collection

Versatility: Imperial Outrider can seamlessly blend into various deck archetypes, serving as a reliable creature that can bolster your board presence. Its adaptability in different game scenarios makes it a valuable pick for players who appreciate cards that perform consistently well.

Combo Potential: With its solid stature as a 4/4 creature, Imperial Outrider works excellently within combos that increase creature sizes or benefit from the presence of stout creatures. It can also be a cornerstone in decks that revolve around mid-range strategies, synergizing well with cards aiming to boost creatures’ power and toughness.

Meta-Relevance: Especially important in an environment where sturdy creatures define the battlefield, Imperial Outrider holds its ground. It’s prudent to have this card handy if the meta shifts towards combat-heavy interactions, where having formidable creatures can be a pathway to victory.


How to Beat

Imperial Outrider presents MTG players with a formidable challenge on the battlefield. This creature card is known for its solid stats and potential to empower other creatures, particularly in decks that rely on synergy amongst human soldiers. To effectively tackle this card, one must consider removal spells that can bypass its abilities or mitigate its impact. Cards like Doom Blade, which can destroy target non-black creature for just two mana, offer a quick and efficient solution. Additionally, the exile effect of spells like Path to Exile provides a permanent answer to the Imperial Outrider, ensuring it can’t return to the field via graveyard retrieval methods.

Utilizing board wipes such as Wrath of God can also be a strategic approach, clearing the board of all creatures, including the robust Imperial Outrider. For those in red decks, Burn spells offer an alternative route, dealing damage directly to the creature or even to the opponent, reducing the importance of the Outrider on the field. It’s important to tailor your strategy to the context of your deck and the game at hand, as the MTG landscape offers numerous paths to counter imposing threats like Imperial Outrider.


Cards like Imperial Outrider

Imperial Outrider stands as a solid creature card in MTG that bears comparison with other four-mana creatures offering a substantial presence on the battlefield. Resembling cards like Centaur Courser and Baloth Pup, the Imperial Outrider presents a similar vanilla creature appeal with no abilities beyond its power and toughness. What sets the Outrider apart is its blending into specific deck themes such as human or soldier synergies, adding value to tribal-themed decks where these types would benefit from various buffs and interactions.

Another creature that falls into a similar category is Loxodon Smiter, which also costs four mana but comes with its own set of perks including an uncounterable clause and no maximum hand size ability. While the Outrider may not boast these additional features, it compensates with a streamlined, easy-to-cast cost that make it a reliable option for decks not requiring complex synergies. Lastly, the Charging Rhino is another creature comparable to the Imperial Outrider, with the added advantage of being difficult to block due to its ‘can’t be blocked by more than one creature’ trait, making it a threat opponents must answer solo. However, Rhino falls in green color identity, indicating a notable distinction for deck-building preferences.

Imperial Outrider is a straightforward card that fits seamlessly into decks that favor pure stats over complex abilities or those that capitalize on the human/soldier type to enhance their strategy in the game of MTG.

Centaur Courser - MTG Card versions
Baloth Pup - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Smiter - MTG Card versions
Charging Rhino - MTG Card versions
Centaur Courser - Magic 2010 (M10)
Baloth Pup - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Loxodon Smiter - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Charging Rhino - Portal (POR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Imperial Outrider MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2020, 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 Imperial Outrider and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Imperial Outrider has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

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