Keen Glidemaster MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Soldier
Released	2020-07-03
Set symbol
Set name	Core Set 2021
Set code	M21
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	54
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Caroline Gariba

Key Takeaways

Keen Glidemaster excels at manipulating combat by granting temporary flight, offering a tactical edge.
Its specific blue mana cost and activation fee require careful deck construction and resource management.
Despite limitations, its inclusion can vastly improve deck versatility and enable key combos.

Text of card

: Target creature gains flying until end of turn.

"Fear is a rational response, but waiting won't make it any easier. Just jump!"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Keen Glidemaster can contribute to card advantage by being more than just a creature on the field. While it doesn’t draw cards directly, its ability to give another creature flying until end of turn can help you maintain card superiority by allowing you to bypass ground blockers and push through damage or enable evasive threats that could lead to drawing cards with effects like when dealing combat damage to a player.

Resource Acceleration: Although Keen Glidemaster doesn’t directly accelerate your resources in the form of additional mana, it does offer strategic acceleration by allowing quicker attacks in the air. This can hasten your game plan, indirectly leading to resource gain as you deal damage faster and pressure your opponent’s resources by forcing them to find an answer to airborne threats.

Instant Speed: While Keen Glidemaster’s ability isn’t at instant speed, it complements instant speed interactions by preparing your creatures for unexpected combat advantages. Ensuring you have a creature with flying ready at all times can make your instant speed spells more effective, as you can adapt to the unfolding game without having to commit to making a creature fly in your main phase.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Keen Glidemaster doesn’t force you to discard cards, it’s worth considering that deploying multiple creatures with similar effects can deplete your hand, leaving you with fewer options down the line.

Specific Mana Cost: Keen Glidemaster’s mana cost is specific to blue, which means your deck must accommodate blue mana sources, potentially limiting its inclusion to certain deck archetypes that can reliably produce blue mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although its ability to give another creature flying until end of turn can be useful, the mana needed to activate this ability might be better allocated elsewhere, considering the overall mana investment versus the impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Keen Glidemaster provides a simple yet effective ability to grant creatures flying until end of turn. This versatile tactic can help evade blockers or enable surprise attacks, fitting nicely into decks that need temporary evasion.

Combo Potential: The ability to give flying to any creature combines well with effects that trigger when creatures deal combat damage to a player. It can be an important enabler in decks looking to execute specific damage-based combos or synergies.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-changing game environment, having a low-cost creature like Keen Glidemaster that can manipulate combat can be critical. Its relevance grows in metas with few flying creatures, allowing you to gain the upper hand by taking the battle to the air.

How to beat

Keen Glidemaster is a utility creature card in Magic: The Gathering that can prove to be a sneaky threat on the battlefield. This card has the potential to give another target creature flying until the end of turn, enabling formidable aerial assaults. However, like many cards in MTG, Keen Glidemaster is not invincible and there are several strategies to counter it effectively.

To neutralize the advantage Keen Glidemaster brings, you can rely on removal spells that specifically target creatures. Instant-speed removal such as Shock or Heartless Act can dispatch the Glidemaster quickly, preventing any aerial trickery. Furthermore, if your deck strategy involves counter magic, waiting for your opponent to invest mana into the Glidemaster’s ability before removing it can set them back in terms of tempo and resource allocation.

Beyond targeting the Glidemaster itself, having creatures with reach or cards that can give your creatures flying can protect you from opponents who rely on the Glidemaster for their offensive tactics. Ultimately, dealing with Keen Glidemaster is about anticipation and timely execution of your removal or creature-based strategies to maintain control over the game.

Cards like Keen Glidemaster

Keen Glidemaster stands out in the landscape of utility creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It draws a parallel with cards like Gustwalker, which also possesses the ability to become untapped—a crucial strategic advantage in specific gameplay scenarios. What sets Keen Glidemaster apart is its ability to grant another creature flying until end of turn, rather than itself. This twist brings versatility to the field, orchestrating unexpected airborne assaults.

Examining Winged Words, another card that shares a flying theme, we see differences in approach. While Winged Words concentrates on drawing cards if you control a flying creature, Keen Glidemaster’s role is more active, enabling creatures that might otherwise be earthbound. Then there is Leap, a similar card that can give the gift of flight, yet, it only lasts a single turn and includes card draw. Keen Glidemaster’s effect may be less broad, but the possibility to repeatedly elevate different creatures each turn can compound into a significant tactical edge.

In weighing these comparisons, Keen Glidemaster earns a place as a flexible enabler within Magic: The Gathering’s array of cards, offering a unique dynamic to gameplay by repeatedly granting flight to potentially any creature ally you command.

Cards similar to Keen Glidemaster by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Keen Glidemaster MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2021, 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 Keen Glidemaster and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Keen Glidemaster 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
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal