Ruination Rioter MTG Card
2019-06-14 - Number 213
2021-08-26 - Number 713
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Berserker |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Ruination Rioter turns excess lands into potential damage, making land-heavy draws advantageous.
- Instant speed damage trigger adds a surprise element, fitting well with sacrifice strategies.
- It shines in land recursion decks, turning a basic mana base into a direct damage source.
Text of card
When Ruination Rioter dies, you may have it deal damage to any target equal to the number of land cards in your graveyard.
"Those urbanist cobble-roaches won't know what hit them!"
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With Ruination Rioter, when it dies, you may discard a land card. If you do, it deals damage to any target equal to the number of land cards in your graveyard. This acts as a built-in method to convert excess lands into potential damage, providing a unique advantage if land-heavy draws are affecting your game.
Resource Acceleration: The Ruination Rioter complements strategies focused on land recursion or sacrifice. In combination with land retrieval mechanics, it can repeatedly leverage its ability, indirectly accelerating your resources through potential board impact.
Instant Speed: Ruination Rioter’s damage-dealing ability triggers upon death, providing an instant speed interaction that can surprise an opponent. Although the card itself isn’t an instant, this graveyard interaction can coincide with instant speed removals or sacrifice effects, keeping opponents on their toes during play.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Ruination Rioter necessitates the disposal of valuable cards upon its demise, which may not always synergize well with your hand, especially when crucial resources are at stake. This can cause strategic drawbacks when managing your cards in play.
Specific Mana Cost: This character’s activation is bound to both red and green mana, restricting its inclusion to decks that can readily produce both types. For players not running a Gruul deck or one that can adapt to these color demands, Ruination Rioter might not fit into their strategy.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of two mana, including one of each aforementioned color, the Rioter may seem economical, but it competes with a large pool of two-cost creatures. Some of these alternatives can offer immediate value or have lower setup requirements, making you weigh its cost versus impact carefully.
Reasons to Include Ruination Rioter in Your Collection
Versatility: Ruination Rioter’s ability to deal damage equal to the number of land cards in your graveyard to any target makes it a flexible choice for decks that involve land sacrificing strategies or self-mill.
Combo Potential: This card works well in combos with land recycling mechanics or graveyard synergies, turning a regular mana base into potential direct damage later in the game.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta with graveyard-focused decks or where players are frequently cycling through their decks, Ruination Rioter can be a threat that grows in power with each land card thrown into the graveyard, offering a unique angle of attack.
How to Beat
Ruination Rioter is a card that brings an aggressive edge to red and green decks in Magic: The Gathering. Upon this creature’s demise, it can potentially deal damage to any target equal to the number of lands in your graveyard. While this feature can be powerful, especially in land-focused or graveyard-based strategies, it’s not impossible to counter.
To effectively overcome the threat of Ruination Rioter, consider avoiding land destruction in your strategy, which reduces the Rioter’s power spike. Employing graveyard hate cards, like Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus, can keep your opponent’s graveyard clear, mitigating the Rioter’s impact. Indestructible or high-toughness blockers can also be a roadblock for the Rioter, making it a less effective offensive option.
Additionally, instant-speed removal spells that exile, like Path to Exile or Direct Current, can eliminate the Rioter before its ability triggers, rendering it ineffective. By recognizing the potential dangers of how Ruination Rioter can amplify damage through lands in the graveyard, and by strategically using your removals and counters, you can keep its riotous influence in check on the battlefield.
Cards like Ruination Rioter
Ruination Rioter finds its niche within red’s arsenal of cards that leverage the graveyard in Magic: The Gathering. Its power is unlocked post-mortem, turning land cards in your graveyard into direct damage against opponents. Cards like Barbarian Ring share this design philosophy, allowing past resources to influence the present game state. However, Barbarian Ring requires threshold to be active and deals damage to any target.
Looking towards Landsedge, another card that capitalizes on land cards for damage output, we see a key difference in approach. Landsedge provides an ongoing effect to discard lands for damage without waiting for a creature’s demise, thereby offering more immediate and versatile gameplay. Fireblast also shares this concept of leveraging lands, though at the cost of sacrificing them, providing a burst of damage without spending mana.
Considering options, Ruination Rioter stands out for its passive, yet impactful presence. It poses a late-game threat, transforming lands into unexpected bursts of damage upon death, distinguishing it among similar MTG cards. This makes it a potentially strategic piece in decks that synergize with self-mill or discard strategies.
Cards similar to Ruination Rioter by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ruination Rioter MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons and Jumpstart: Historic 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 Ruination Rioter and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See Magic products
Printings
The Ruination Rioter Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Dmitry Burmak.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-06-14 | Modern Horizons | MH1 | 213 | 2015 | normal | black | Dmitry Burmak | |
| 2 | 2021-08-26 | Jumpstart: Historic Horizons | J21 | 713 | 2015 | normal | black | Dmitry Burmak |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ruination Rioter has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
