Renegade Freighter MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact — Vehicle
Abilities	Crew
Released	2016-09-30
Set symbol
Set name	Kaladesh
Set code	KLD
Power	4
Toughness	3
Number	230
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Izzy

Key Takeaways

Boosts a single creature’s power, offering more value and presence on the board.
Crewing at instant speed adds flexibility and surprise element in gameplay.
May lead to card disadvantage if not balanced with card draw mechanics.

Text of card

Whenever Renegade Freighter attacks, it gets +1/+1 and gains trample until end of turn. Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While the Renegade Freighter itself may not directly allow you to draw cards, it significantly upgrades a creature you control, essentially offering additional value and board presence from a single card. Deploying the Freighter can shift the momentum in your favor by transforming any creature into a formidable threat.

Resource Acceleration: While the Renegade Freighter doesn’t produce mana, it does offer a different sort of resource acceleration in the form of increased power and toughness. Once crewed, it turns into a 5/4 powerhouse that can accelerate the pace of the game in your favor, often requiring fewer attacks to finish off an opponent.

Instant Speed: The Renegade Freighter’s ability to crew at instant speed gives you the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions. You can pass the turn without committing creatures to an attack and then decide to crew the Freighter if an opportunity arises or after your opponent has declared attackers, potentially offering favorable blocks or a surprise counterattack.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Even though Renegade Freighter does not directly demand a discard, it could indirectly lead to card disadvantage. Piloting Renegade Freighter requires other creatures, which could leave your hand empty faster if you’re consistently crewing it without generating additional card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Renegade Freighter’s casting cost, while colorless, integrates into decks that can muster creatures to crew it. This potentially restricts its integration into control-orientated decks that may not field many creatures, thereby impacting the card’s universality across deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three mana to cast might not seem too steep, but considering it also requires tapping creatures that could otherwise attack or block, the overall cost to get Renegade Freighter combat-ready can be high. In formats where tempo and resource efficiency are critical, allocating resources to crew the Freighter can be a less optimal strategy compared to other vehicles or creatures available.

Reasons to Include Renegade Freighter in Your Collection

Versatility: Renegade Freighter offers flexibility in deck design with its ability to serve both as a vehicle for creatures and a source of impactful damage. It can be a formidable addition to aggressive strategies, boosting attack power on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with mechanics that enable artifact interaction and crew abilities. Its presence can amplify strategies that revolve around tapping and untapping creatures for value or crewing multiple vehicles for a devastating assault.

Meta-Relevance: Given its solid stats for its cost, Renegade Freighter remains a relevant choice in formats where efficient beaters are required. In a meta filled with ground-based creatures, its ability to quickly scale up and apply pressure makes it a sound choice for competitive play.

How to beat

Renegade Freighter, known for its presence in vehicle archetype decks within Magic: The Gathering, can seem formidable on the battlefield with its ability to quickly escalate into a 5/4 creature upon being crewed. To successfully counter this card, keen strategy and the right removal spells are essential tools. Instant-speed removal such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can dismantle this threat before it even has the chance to crew and attack, nullifying its potential power surge.

Artifact destruction spells, like Abrade, provide a dual function, dealing with creatures or directly targeting the Freighter. Staying ahead means keeping mana open to react to the play. Alternatively, having creatures with higher toughness on the board can also mitigate the impact of the Freighter, acting as a buffer and preventing it from causing significant damage. It’s critical to disrupt the synergy of a vehicle-based assault, focusing on removing either the creatures that could crew it or the vehicles themselves before they become an unstoppable force.

Keep in mind that timing and anticipation of your opponent’s moves play an important role in dealing with cards like Renegade Freighter. Recognizing when to hold back cards for the right moment can turn the tide in your favor, ensuring the Freighter doesn’t steamroll through your defenses.

Cards like Renegade Freighter

Renegade Freighter stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a formidable vehicle card with considerable impact. This card shares similarities with other vehicles like the Ovalchase Dragster. Both cards pack a heavyweight punch once they become creatures, capable of dealing massive damage to an opponent. Where Renegade Freighter requires crew 2 and rewards players with a 5/4 creature after attacking, Ovalchase Dragster needs only crew 1 but provides a swifter 6/1 haste creature, albeit without the attack buff.

Diving deeper into the roster of vehicles, we can draw a comparison to the likes of Sky Skiff. While Sky Skiff is less potent, featuring only a 2/3 flying vehicle with crew 1, its lower cost and flying ability offer a strategic advantage in certain decks that seek to maintain aerial control. Its ease of use contrasts with the more significant setup required for the Renegade Freighter’s power to be utilized fully.

Considering these characteristics, Renegade Freighter has a solid place in decks that can afford the crew cost and aim to exert aggressive pressure on the battlefield. Its ability to transform into a powerful creature after attacking makes it a competitive choice for players looking to bolster their offensive lineup.

Cards similar to Renegade Freighter by color, type and mana cost

Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions

Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions

Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Renegade Freighter MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh, 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 Renegade Freighter and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Renegade Freighter has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-09-29	Any untapped creature you control can be tapped to pay a crew cost, even one that just came under your control.
2017-09-29	Creatures that crew a Vehicle aren't attached to it or related in any other way. Effects that affect the Vehicle, such as by destroying it or giving it a +1/+1 counter, don't affect the creatures that crewed it.
2017-09-29	Each Vehicle is printed with a power and toughness, but it's not a creature. If it becomes a creature (most likely through its crew ability), it will have that power and toughness.
2017-09-29	For a Vehicle to be able to attack, it must be a creature as the declare attackers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to attack with it is during the beginning of combat step. For a Vehicle to be able to block, it must be a creature as the declare blockers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to block with it is during the declare attackers step. In either case, players may take actions after the crew ability resolves but before the Vehicle has been declared as an attacking or blocking creature.
2017-09-29	If a permanent becomes a copy of a Vehicle, the copy won't be a creature, even if the Vehicle it's copying has become an artifact creature.
2017-09-29	If an effect causes a Vehicle to become an artifact creature with a specified power and toughness, that effect overwrites the Vehicle's printed power and toughness.
2017-09-29	Once a Vehicle becomes a creature, it behaves exactly like any other artifact creature. It can't attack unless you've controlled it continuously since your turn began, it can block if it's untapped, it can be tapped to pay a Vehicle's crew cost, and so on.
2017-09-29	Once a player announces that they are activating a crew ability, no player may take other actions until the ability has been paid for. Notably, players can't try to stop the ability by changing a creature's power or by removing or tapping a creature.
2017-09-29	Vehicle is an artifact type, not a creature type. A Vehicle that's crewed won't normally have any creature type.
2017-09-29	When a Vehicle becomes a creature, that doesn't count as having a creature enter the battlefield. The permanent was already on the battlefield; it only changed its types. Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won't trigger.
2017-09-29	You may activate a crew ability of a Vehicle even if it's already an artifact creature. Doing so has no effect on the Vehicle. It doesn't change its power and toughness.
2017-09-29	You may tap more creatures than necessary to activate a crew ability.