Arcanum Wings MTG Card


Arcanum Wings - Future Sight
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Aura Swap,Enchant
Released2007-05-04
Set symbol
Set nameFuture Sight
Set codeFUT
Number48
Framefuture
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byCarl Frank

Key Takeaways

  1. Arcanum Wings grants card advantage with Aura swap ability, enhancing battlefield strategies at instant speed.
  2. It allows early deployment of high-cost Auras, circumventing mana costs but requires blue mana specificity.
  3. The card’s versatility and combo potential make it valuable, despite its comparative high mana investment challenges.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has flying. Aura swap (: Exchange this Aura with an Aura card in your hand.)

Nobles don wings to reach the sky villas of their peers, exchanging them for more fashionable attire upon arrival.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Arcanum Wings provides a unique method of obtaining card advantage through its Aura swap ability. This allows a player to exchange Arcanum Wings for another Aura card in their hand, potentially leading to a more powerful effect without losing card presence on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Arcanum Wings can act as a catalyst for resource acceleration by allowing Auras with higher mana costs to enter the battlefield for a minimal investment. This effectively circumvents the traditional mana curve and helps deploy heavyweight Auras earlier than usual.

Instant Speed: The Aura swap feature of Arcanum Wings can be activated at instant speed, granting players the flexibility to adapt to changing game states. This speed ensures that strategic plays can be made in response to an opponent’s actions, maximizing the element of surprise and tactical advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Arcanum Wings requires a sacrifice in the form of discarding another Aura card, which might deplete your hand and diminish your capability to react to your opponent’s moves.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost necessitates a blue mana, making it a less flexible option for decks that don’t run on an island-based mana assortment or multicolor decks that may struggle to consistently provide the required blue mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its initial casting cost combined with an additional cost for its Aura swap ability, players could find Arcanum Wings to be mana-intensive compared to other enchantment options available in the game, potentially slowing down the deck’s overall pace.


Reasons to Include Arcanum Wings in Your Collection

Versatility: Arcanum Wings offers flexibility in deckbuilding, capable of slotting into various archetypes that require an efficient way to cheat high-cost auras into play without the need for hefty mana investments.

Combo Potential: With its Aura Swap ability, this card synergizes with powerful auras in your library, enabling potential game-winning combos by exchanging a low-cost aura on the battlefield with a more impactful one from your hand.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where enchantments play a key role or Aura-centric strategies are prevalent, Arcanum Wings can be a sleeper hit, sliding under the radar and setting up devastating plays that can tilt the board in your favor.


How to beat

Arcanum Wings is an aura that can propel a player’s strategy forward in Magic: The Gathering with its ability for efficient Aura swapping. This unique card challenges opponents by allowing them to change the auras attached to their creatures at a moment’s notice. However, as with all strategies, there are ways to counter it effectively. The key is targeting this ability’s foundation – the Aura swap mechanic, which is contingent upon having another aura in hand.

One effective method is by applying pressure with instant-speed spell disruption like Disenchant or Naturalize, which can destroy Arcanum Wings before its ability is used. Cards that restrict or prohibit the casting of auras, such as Nevermore or Meddling Mage, also prove to be critical as they can prevent the pivotal swap from happening. Control strategies can help maintain leverage over aura-based gameplay, with counter-spells ready for whenever the opponent attempts to switch auras, minimizing the impact of their game plan.

Ultimately, staying one step ahead of the aura swap play requires keen observation, timing, and having the right answers at hand. By employing disruption and control tactics, one can dismantle the foundation of an Arcanum Wings strategy and leave your opponent grounded.


Cards like Arcanum Wings

Arcanum Wings holds an interesting position within the enchantment landscape of Magic: The Gathering. Its potent Aura Swap ability allows you to swap it for an Aura card in your hand without paying the mana cost, akin to a free casting trigger. This can be contrasted with cards like Three Dreams, which fosters a significant advancement by letting you search for three Auras and put them into your hand, but it requires you to separately pay the costs for each Aura to cast them.

Another companion in this realm is Flickerform, enabling the return of a creature and all Auras attached to it to the battlefield. This card plays well with the mechanics of using, reusing, and protecting Auras, but doesn’t match the efficiency and surprise element of instantly putting a powerful Aura in play that Arcanum Wings does. Lastly, we can consider Aura Graft, an instant that transfers an Aura from one creature to another. While it can be a game swinger in certain scenarios, it lacks the explosive play potential inherent to Arcanum Wings’ Aura Swap ability.

Comparatively, Arcanum Wings invites a unique strategic component to the game, allowing players to utilize high-cost Auras with ease and potentially transform the game state with a single, unexpected move.

Three Dreams - MTG Card versions
Flickerform - MTG Card versions
Aura Graft - MTG Card versions
Three Dreams - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Flickerform - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Aura Graft - Odyssey (ODY)

Cards similar to Arcanum Wings by color, type and mana cost

Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
Immobilizing Ink - MTG Card versions
Stupefying Touch - MTG Card versions
In Too Deep - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Power Leak - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Phantasmal Terrain - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Stasis - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Creature Bond - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Lifetap - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Power Artifact - Antiquities (ATQ)
Venarian Gold - Legends (LEG)
Psychic Venom - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Soar - Mirage (MIR)
Dance of Many - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Teferi's Veil - Weatherlight (WTH)
Legacy's Allure - Tempest (TMP)
Chill - Tempest (TMP)
Buoyancy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mana Maze - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Psionic Gift - Odyssey (ODY)
Immobilizing Ink - Odyssey (ODY)
Stupefying Touch - Torment (TOR)
In Too Deep - New Capenna Commander (NCC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Arcanum Wings MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight, 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 Arcanum Wings and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Arcanum Wings has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Arcanum Wings card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2007-05-01 If on resolution, half the exchange can’t be completed (such as if the only Aura in your hand can’t enchant the permanent), nothing happens.
2007-05-01 The exchange is simultaneous, and happens on resolution.

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