Giver of Runes MTG Card
Card sets | Released in 6 setsSee all |
Mana cost | |
Converted mana cost | 1 |
Rarity | Rare |
Type | Creature — Kor Cleric |
Power | 1 |
Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
: Another target creature you control gains protection from colorless or from the color of your choice until end of turn.
She provides marks of protection to those she chooses as family.
Cards like Giver of Runes
Giver of Runes has earned its place as a staple in many Magic: The Gathering decks that seek the protection and versatility it offers. In the same orbit, Mother of Runes, a classic from the Urza’s Legacy set, stands out as the original architect of creature protection. While both cards serve a similar purpose, allowing you to shield creatures from harm, Giver of Runes expands the scope to include colorless creatures, embracing a wider range of beneficiaries.
Comparing these two, Giver of Runes does not protect itself as Mother of Runes does, a slight yet noteworthy difference that can affect gameplay strategies. Beyond these, Selfless Savior is another card offering creature defense, though it sacrifices itself to confer indestructibility, a different layer of protection than that of targeting and evasion provided by the Giver.
All in all, while each of these support cards brings its own flavor of guardianship to the table, Giver of Runes stands out with its broader protection capabilities, making it a formidable option for players aiming to shield their valuable creatures from an array of threats across today’s diverse MTG metagame.
Cards similar to Giver of Runes by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Giver of Runes. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
# | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
---|---|---|---|---|
Death & Taxes | Modern | Death & Taxes | Modern League 2024-04-30 | |
Hammer Time | Modern | Hammer Time | Modern League 2024-04-14 | |
Devoted Combo | Modern | Devoted Combo | Modern Challenge 32 2024-04-19 (1) | |
Orzhov Stoneblade | Modern | Orzhov Stoneblade | Modern League 2024-04-22 | |
Painter | Legacy | Painter | Legacy League 2024-04-22 | |
Generic Ragavan | Modern | Generic Ragavan | Modern League 2024-04-21 | |
Death and Taxes | Legacy | Death and Taxes | Circuito Legacy RS 2024 - Etapa 4 | |
Death and Taxes (Yorion) | Legacy | Death and Taxes | Circuito Legacy RS 2024 - Etapa 4 | |
Mono-White Painter | Legacy | Painter | $1K - Legacy - SCG CON Atlanta - Sunday - 9:30 am | |
Devoted Druid | Modern | Devoted Combo | $10K RCQ - Modern - SCG CON Atlanta - Sunday - 9:00 am (Gold) |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Though Giver of Runes does not directly draw you more cards, it presents a recurring utility by enabling key creatures to avoid removal or block more efficiently, maintaining board presence and indirectly contributing to card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: While not a source of resource acceleration in the typical sense of providing more mana, Giver of Runes accelerates your tactical resources. Protecting your creatures allows for more aggressive and advantageous plays, effectively speeding up your game plan.
Instant Speed: Giver of Runes’ ability can be activated at instant speed, providing a strategic edge by allowing you to respond to threats during your opponent’s turn. This flexibility can catch opponents off guard and shift the flow of the game in your favor.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Although Giver of Runes offers great utility by protecting creatures, it doesn’t directly impact this issue. It’s important to remember that using Giver of Runes effectively often means keeping cards in hand to bluff potential protection, which can be difficult when other cards require discarding.
Specific Mana Cost: Giver of Runes requires white mana to cast, which can limit versatility in multi-colored decks. If your deck isn’t heavily white or you’re up against mana issues, finding that single white mana can be more challenging than it seems.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite costing only one white mana, in the current meta where low-cost, high-impact plays are crucial, this card occupies a precious early-game slot. In some scenarios, investing that first turn to play Giver of Runes could be less impactful than developing your mana base or applying early pressure with other one-drops.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Giver of Runes provides significant flexibility across a wide array of deck builds. Its ability to grant protection from a color of your choice not only shields key creatures but also potentially enables unblockable attacks, fitting seamlessly into multiple strategies.
Combo Potential: This card excels in setups that capitalize on creature-based synergies. It can be a linchpin in combos that require safeguarding combo pieces, ensuring that critical creatures survive to execute game-winning interactions.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where interaction with your opponent’s creatures is commonplace, Giver of Runes stands out. Its relevance in the current meta cannot be overstated, with its capability to thwart removal and enable advantageous combat scenarios that could be instrumental in achieving victory.
How to beat
Giver of Runes has established itself as a strong support card in Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to grant protection to other creatures from your choice of color or from colorless. It can make key creatures on your battlefield impervious to targeted removal or combat damage, but it’s not unbeatable.
To effectively deal with Giver of Runes, consider using board wipes that do not target individual creatures such as Wrath of God or Damnation. This will circumvent its protection ability. Additionally, cards that force a player to sacrifice a creature, like Diabolic Edict or Liliana of the Veil’s sacrifice effect, also provide a solution as they do not target and therefore are not hindered by Giver of Runes’ ability. It’s also beneficial to keep in mind that Giver of Runes cannot give protection to itself, making it vulnerable to direct removal if it’s the only creature on the battlefield.
Understanding the limitations of Giver of Runes’ abilities enables players to strategize accordingly. As versatile as Giver of Runes is, with a solid plan and the right cards, overcoming this formidable ally becomes a much more achievable task during gameplay.
BurnMana Recommendations
Mastering MTG involves more than knowing your cards; it’s about strategy and adjusting to the evolving battlefield. Giver of Runes is a card that can vastly change the dynamics of play, offering protection and enabling your creatures to dodge threats or slip through defenses. Studying how to utilize such cards effectively can greatly enhance your gameplay. Whether you’re contemplating adding Giver of Runes to your collection or seeking ways to counteract its abilities, there is always something new to explore and integrate into your tactical arsenal. Embark with us on a journey to deepen your understanding and skillfully navigate the thrilling challenges of MTG.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Giver of Runes MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Modern Horizons, 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 Giver of Runes and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Giver of Runes Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2023-07-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
# | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 91209 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Seb McKinnon | ||
2 | 2019-06-14 | Modern Horizons | MH1 | 13 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Seb McKinnon | |
3 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 1463 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Jesse LeDoux | ||
4 | The List | PLST | MH1-13 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Seb McKinnon | ||
5 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 1 Timeshifts | H1R | 3 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Seb McKinnon | |
6 | 2023-07-18 | Historic Anthology 7 | HA7 | 2 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Seb McKinnon |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Giver of Runes has restrictions
Format | Legality |
---|---|
Historicbrawl | Legal |
Commander | Legal |
Historic | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Modern | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Duel | Legal |
Gladiator | Legal |
Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Giver of Runes card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
Date | Text |
---|---|
2019-06-14 | A permanent gaining protection may cause a spell or ability on the stack to have an illegal target. As a spell or ability tries to resolve, if all its targets are illegal, that spell or ability doesn’t resolve. None of its effects happen, including effects unrelated to the target. If at least one target is still legal, the spell or ability does as much as it can to the remaining legal targets, and its other effects still happen. |
2019-06-14 | Protection from a color means that the target creature can’t be blocked by creatures of that color, can’t be the target of spells of that color or abilities from sources of that color, can’t be enchanted or equipped by Auras or Equipment of that color, and all damage that sources of that color would deal to it is prevented. Nothing other than these events is prevented or illegal. |
2019-06-14 | Similarly, protection from colorless means that the target creature can’t be blocked by colorless creatures, can’t be the target of colorless spells or abilities of colorless sources, can’t be enchanted or equipped by colorless Auras or Equipment, and all damage that colorless sources would deal to it is prevented. |