Old Rutstein MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Peasant
Abilities Mill,Treasure
Power 1
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Old Rutstein can consistently increase hand options through card advantage and token generation.
  2. Creates Treasure tokens for mana acceleration and improves spell casting efficiency.
  3. Instant-speed token generation can trigger Old Rutstein’s ability at crucial times.

Text of card

When Old Rutstein enters the battlefield or at the beginning of your upkeep, mill a card. If a land card is milled this way, create a Treasure token. If a creature card is milled this way, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. If a noncreature, nonland card is milled this way, create a Blood token.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Old Rutstein shines by periodically allowing you to sift through the top card of your library, potentially stocking your hand with extra options. Whenever a clue, food, or treasure token enters the battlefield under your control, this can trigger, offering subtle yet consistent card advantage over your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: Through its triggered ability, Old Rutstein has the potential to create Treasure tokens. This not only ramps up your available mana but can help you deploy higher-cost spells earlier or smooth out your mana curve, ensuring you’re able to cast spells efficiently across varied colors.

Instant Speed: While Old Rutstein itself isn’t an instant, it synergizes well with instant-speed interactions. Many spells that create the clue, food, or treasure tokens Old Rutstein relies on can be cast at instant speed. This allows you to keep your options open and interact on an opponent’s turn, triggering Old Rutstein’s ability at potentially unexpected moments for your opponent.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Old Rutstein’s ability hinges on discarding cards, which can deplete your hand quickly. This might be tricky for players who aren’t running a deck built to benefit from or mitigate against card loss.

Specific Mana Cost: Playing Old Rutstein requires a specific mana combination, which might not sync well with more flexible or color-variable decks. Its casting cost demands a specific deck structure to be used effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a three-cost card, Old Rutstein may not always provide the immediate board presence or value that other cards at a similar or lower cost could offer, potentially putting players at a disadvantage in fast-paced games.


Reasons to Include Old Rutstein in Your Collection

Versatility: Old Rutstein fits into a variety of decks, serving as an effective card advantage engine in strategies that capitalize on clue, treasure, and food tokens.

Combo Potential: This card has synergies with artifacts and token strategies, offering combo potential with other pieces that benefit from the numerous token types it produces.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavily influenced by graveyard interaction and value-centric playstyles, Old Rutstein provides ongoing utility and pressure against opponents.


How to beat

Old Rutstein is a unique character on the battlefield of Magic: The Gathering, presenting a challenge with its ability to probe your deck for essential secrets. This quirky card requires a strategic approach to defeat. Firstly, be mindful of graveyard management. With Old Rutstein’s ability to create clues, treasures, and food tokens based on the cards in graveyards, it’s vital to keep your graveyard as empty as possible, potentially with cards like Relic of Progenitus or Tormod’s Crypt, hindering its effectiveness.

Another key tactic is to reduce its token-generating potential. Artifact removal spells, such as Abrade or Naturalize, can be particularly effective here, as they can directly target the tokens that Old Rutstein generates. A well-placed removal can disrupt the flow of resources to your opponent’s side. Finally, consider using instant-speed interaction to manage Old Rutstein when it hits the board. Having a removal spell like Heartless Act or Path to Exile ready means you can respond before your opponent benefits from the card advantage Old Rutstein provides.

With thoughtful graveyard control, targeted artifact removal, and smart use of instant-speed spells, players can mitigate the impact of Old Rutstein and maintain the upper hand during their MTG matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deep into the intricacies of Old Rutstein, an MTG card with the power to revolutionize your gameplay. With its ability to manipulate resources through token generation, it serves as a beacon for strategic deck building. Master the art of maintaining card advantage and excelling in your token strategies. Take your MTG experience to the next level by integrating Old Rutstein into your collection and discovering new ways to outmaneuver your opponents. Keen to exploit every token possibility and maximize your matches? Join us to unravel the potential of Old Rutstein and enhance your gaming prowess.


Cards like Old Rutstein

Old Rutstein is another unique card in the vast pool of Magic: The Gathering treasures. It resides in the same realm as cards like Selhoff Entomber in that it deals with the top cards of a player’s library. However, Old Rutstein stands out by providing versatile outcomes based on the sacrificed card type. Unlike Selhoff Entomber, which specifically targets creature cards in your graveyard to surveil, Old Rutstein can create Treasure tokens, create token creatures, or make each player draw and discard a card depending on the card types involved.

Considering Old Rutstein’s abilities, it also shares similarities with Reckless Impulse. Both allow you to potentially draw extra cards, but Reckless Impulse provides immediate card advantage while Old Rutstein’s card ability is activated at the beginning of your upkeep. Furthermore, Reckless Impulse requires instant usage of the cards to avoid discarding them, whereas Old Rutstein offers a persistent effect potentially over several turns.

Placing Old Rutstein in the wider context of MTG, it exhibits a strong blend of resource manipulation and card advantage, which can play a pivotal role in the long-term strategy of a game. Particularly in formats that value incremental advantages each turn, Old Rutstein is a card that stands up to be counted among its peers for recurring benefits and strategic depth.

Selhoff Entomber - MTG Card versions
Reckless Impulse - MTG Card versions
Selhoff Entomber - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
Reckless Impulse - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)

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Glissa, the Traitor - Commander's Arsenal Oversized (OCM1)
Stonefare Crocodile - Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (DDM)
Varolz, the Scar-Striped - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Quagmire Druid - Commander 2013 (C13)
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Autumnal Gloom // Ancient of the Equinox - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
Shaman of the Pack - Explorer Anthology 2 (EA2)
Mournwillow - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Charnel Troll - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Pitiless Gorgon - Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)
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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Old Rutstein MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Crimson Vow, 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 Old Rutstein and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Old Rutstein Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-11-19 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-11-19Innistrad: Crimson VowVOW 2442015normalblackGreg Staples
22021-11-19Innistrad: Crimson VowVOW 3262015normalblackMark Riddick
32022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 5112015normalblackGreg Staples

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Old Rutstein has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-11-19 If you mill Dryad Arbor, a card that's both a creature and a land, you get both a Treasure token and a 1/1 green Insect token.

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