Galedrifter // Waildrifter MTG Card


Offers card advantage through draw mechanics, enhancing deck rotation and player options. Transform ability provides adaptability, making it a dynamic addition across MTG formats. Cycling at instant speed allows players to maintain momentum and react strategically.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Hippogriff
Abilities Disturb,Flying,Transform
Power 3
Toughness 2

Text of card

Flying Disturb (You may cast this card from your graveyard transformed for its disturb cost.)

"If you're lost in a storm, follow a gryff. They always know which way calmer waters lie." —Geor, Havengul fisher


Cards like Galedrifter // Waildrifter

The Galedrifter // Waildrifter card from Magic: The Gathering introduces a versatile playing experience through its dual-faced nature. When we look at other transformable cards, Delver of Secrets comes to mind, which flips into Insectile Aberration. Both cards utilize the flip mechanism, but Galedrifter // Waildrifter stands out with its flying ability in both forms and its Disturb cost allows you to cast it from the graveyard, giving you an edge in terms of card longevity and resilience.

Similar to Galedrifter // Waildrifter, Civilized Scholar // Homicidal Brute offers a dual-faced option, yet this card is centered around hand refinement, converting cards for a potential power boost. While the Scholar presents a different strategy, the Galedrifter bears the advantage of aerial offense and defense. Finally, Ludevic’s Test Subject // Ludevic’s Abomination displays yet another angle of transformation, growing into a massive creature. Although it becomes a formidable force, it lacks the immediate board impact and evasion that Galedrifter // Waildrifter’s flying trait offers.

Evaluating within the realm of transformable cards, Galedrifter // Waildrifter is poised as a card that provides aerial control while boasting a persistent presence in the game, showcasing its unique twist in the category.

Ludevic's Test Subject - MTG Card versions
Ludevic's Test Subject - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Galedrifter // Waildrifter by color, type and mana cost

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Argent Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Forces - MTG Card versions
Phantom Monster - MTG Card versions
Wall of Vapor - MTG Card versions
Tradewind Rider - MTG Card versions
Archivist - MTG Card versions
Thieving Magpie - MTG Card versions
Inga Rune-Eyes - MTG Card versions
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces - MTG Card versions
Laboratory Drudge - MTG Card versions
Johnny, Combo Player - MTG Card versions
Dream Prowler - MTG Card versions
Clone - MTG Card versions
Cytoplast Manipulator - MTG Card versions
Crookclaw Transmuter - MTG Card versions
Dreamborn Muse - MTG Card versions
Turtleshell Changeling - MTG Card versions
Glen Elendra Archmage - MTG Card versions
Fatestitcher - MTG Card versions
Outrider of Jhess - MTG Card versions
Argent Sphinx - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Galedrifter provides you with the flexibility to gain card advantage in the form of drawing a card when it enters the battlefield. As Waildrifter, it offers an even greater card advantage by allowing you to draw two cards when it’s cycled.

Resource Acceleration: With its transform ability, playing Galedrifter early in the game can lead to a faster progression by setting up a solid board presence that eventually turns into Waildrifter. This transformation accelerates your resources by providing a more formidable threat on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: One of the strong suits of Waildrifter is its cycling ability which can be activated at instant speed. This gives you the lever to react to an unfolding game state, optimize your turns for efficiency, and make decisions with a full grasp of the situation, ensuring that you’re not committing to a play prematurely.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging in the transformation of Galedrifter into Waildrifter mandates the relinquishing of another card from your hand. This prerequisite could pose a strategic setback particularly when your hand is already depleted of cards or other valuable options.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Galedrifter, access to Blue mana is essential, which might not harmonize with the color scheme of all deck types, limiting its versatility. Such a requirement can occasionally prove cumbersome, especially in multicolor decks that are mana intensive.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing five mana to deploy Galedrifter can be quite steep, especially when you consider other creatures available in the game. The cost is more profound when weighed against similar cards available in the current meta, which may deliver a more impactful presence on the battlefield or provide additional abilities at a lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Galedrifter // Waildrifter in Your Collection

Versatility: Galedrifter // Waildrifter offers dual utility, being a creature that can strategically adapt to different board states. As Galedrifter, it’s a solid flying creature, and flipping into Waildrifter can offer card draw, enhancing its fit in a variety of blue-centric decks.

Combo Potential: This card’s flexibility on the battlefield allows players to exploit synergies with both its forms. In Galedrifter’s form, it pairs well with flicker effects to reuse its disturb ability. As Waildrifter, it can contribute to strategies focused on card draw or graveyard interactions.

Meta-Relevance: The transformative nature of this card and its synergy with card draw mechanics make it a tactically relevant choice. In an environment that prizes adaptability and efficient card advantage, having Galedrifter // Waildrifter can be a considerable advantage to control and tempo-oriented decks.


How to Overcome Galedrifter // Waildrifter

Galedrifter // Waildrifter has a unique set of abilities that make it a versatile creature in the vast realm of Magic the Gathering. On one side, Galedrifter can be a flying threat, while Waildrifter offers a reliable way to gain card advantage through its disturb mechanic, which allows it to be cast from the graveyard. When facing Galedrifter // Waildrifter, an efficient strategy hinges on graveyard disruption and flying creature countermeasures. Cards like Nihil Spellbomb can purge the graveyard, removing the chance for Waildrifter to make a comeback. A well-timed Negate can also ensure that Waildrifter’s disturb cost doesn’t pay off, maintaining card advantage.

Furthermore, employing creatures with reach or spells that can deal with flying enemies can contain Galedrifter’s effectiveness in the air. Spider tokens, or Aeromunculus, can stave off aerial assaults. In essence, maintaining control over the battlefield and preparedness against airborne threats and graveyard shenanigans remains the key. These strategic moves, combined with the right timing, can tip the scales in your favor when Galedrifter // Waildrifter enters the fray.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Galedrifter // Waildrifter MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Galedrifter // Waildrifter and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Galedrifter // Waildrifter Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 552015TransformBlackDaniel Ljunggren
22022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 552015TransformBlackDaniel Ljunggren

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Galedrifter // Waildrifter has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-09-24 "Disturb
-ost]" means "You may cast this card transformed from your graveyard by paying
-ost] rather than its mana cost."
2021-09-24 A spell cast this way enters the battlefield with its back face up.
2021-09-24 Disturb is found only on the front faces of some double-faced cards.
2021-09-24 If you copy a permanent spell cast this way (perhaps with a card like Double Major), the copy becomes a token that's a copy of the card's back face, even though it isn't itself a double-faced card.
2021-09-24 The back face of each card with disturb has an ability that instructs its controller to exile if it would be put into a graveyard from anywhere. This includes going to the graveyard from the stack, so if the spell is countered after you cast it using the disturb ability, it will be put into exile.
2021-09-24 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a disturb cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of a spell cast using disturb is determined by the mana cost on the front face of the card, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was. (This is a special rule that applies only to transforming double faced-cards, including ones with disturb.)
2021-09-24 When you cast a spell using a card's disturb ability, the card is put onto the stack with its back face up. The resulting spell has all the characteristics of that face.