Winnower Patrol MTG Card


Winnower Patrol - Morningtide
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Elf Warrior
Abilities Kinship
Released2008-02-01
Set symbol
Set nameMorningtide
Set codeMOR
Power 3
Toughness 2
Number139
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byEric Fortune

Key Takeaways

  1. Gain strategic edge by using Winnower Patrol to control your library’s top card, enhancing draw quality.
  2. Flash ability allows for instant play, keeping gameplay dynamic and flexible under varying conditions.
  3. Resource deficit and specific mana costs may limit Winnower Patrol’s versatility across different decks.

Text of card

Kinship At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it shares a creature type with Winnower Patrol, you may reveal it. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on Winnower Patrol.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Winnower Patrol grants you the potential to manipulate the top card of your library and that added deck knowledge can lead to more strategic plays, improving your chances to draw into answers or key components.

Resource Acceleration: Its alliance mechanic becomes a catalyst for ramping out threats faster, especially if you’re playing other creatures that boost the number of permanents you control.

Instant Speed: Its flash ability ensures that Winnower Patrol can be summoned at the optimal moment, whether that’s during combat or at the end of your opponent’s turn, keeping your options open and reactive to the state of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Winnower Patrol’s inherent need for card discard as part of its gameplay can put you at a resource deficit. This strategy requires careful hand management to ensure you’re not relinquishing key cards that could be vital later on.

Specific Mana Cost: Featuring an exact mana alignment, Winnower Patrol necessitates green mana resources, which may not easily fit into multi-colored or theme-based decks that have a diverse mana pool.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering the mana curve, demanding three mana, including two that are color-specific, can be costly compared to other cards that activate similar abilities or provide advantageous board presence at a lower cost threshold.


Reasons to Include Winnower Patrol in Your Collection

Versatility: Winnower Patrol offers adaptability across various deck archetypes due to its elf and warrior synergies. It can bolster strategies that focus on these creature types or tribal mechanics.

Combo Potential: This card has inherent synergy with decks that manipulate +1/+1 counters or those looking to benefit from multiple creatures on the battlefield. Its ability to grow as you cast more spells can become a focal point in a combo-centric strategy.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting nature of the MTG gameplay landscape, Winnower Patrol maintains relevance by fitting snugly into meta decks that capitalize on aggressive early-game strategies, thus being a strong consideration for its potential role in shifting the tempo in your favor.


How to beat

Winnower Patrol is a noteworthy creature card that brings some interesting dynamics to Magic: The Gathering table. With its imposing presence and the ability to create a momentum swing with its kinship ability, it can often feel like a daunting card to face off against. But like all cards, there’s always a strategy to counteract it.

Firstly, removal spells are always a reliable method to handle troublesome creatures. In this instance, Instant speed removals like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can be invaluable, allowing you to deal with the Winnower Patrol before its kinship ability has the chance to take effect. Timing your removals right after the upkeep but before the draw step can prevent the opponent from benefiting from the extra card.

Counterspells are another effective way to negate the threat of Winnower Patrol. By countering the card upon its initial cast, you eliminate the threat before it even hits the battlefield. This preemptive strike can save you from the hassle of dealing with it later on.

Lastly, cards that manipulate the top of the library can disrupt kinship. Effects that allow you to rearrange or look at the top cards of your opponent’s library can break the kinship chain, making Winnower Patrol’s ability less impactful.

Understanding these strategies can give players the upper hand in managing the battlefield and maintaining control against the Winnower Patrol in Magic: The Gathering.


Cards like Winnower Patrol

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, the Winnower Patrol card aligns itself with an array of interesting creatures that share a similar vibe. Take for instance Murasa Ranger. Both cards offer the potential to grow in strength as the game progresses. However, Winnower Patrol sets itself apart with its special synergies within Elf-based decks, benefitting from tribal support, which Murasa Ranger does not possess.

Another card worth comparing with Winnower Patrol is the Ivy Lane Denizen. While Ivy Lane Denizen also supports creature growth, its effect triggers whenever another green creature enters the battlefield, not just Elves, providing a broader range of inclusivity. Winnower Patrol necessitates a more focused deck to extract maximum value but escalates its prowess through each Elf played.

Lastly, we examine Sylvan Advocate, a creature card that, like Winnower Patrol, improves with the game’s progression. Although the Advocate does not depend on the quantity of Elves for empowerment, it gains strength based on land count, appealing to strategies centered around landfall and high land counts. Despite varying strategies, both cards hold their merit in their respective gameplay mechanics and environments.

Thus, Winnower Patrol offers a specialized avenue for Elf deck builders, marking its territory amongst options that cultivate creature strength in nuanced, yet distinctive ways within the Magic: The Gathering ecosystem.

Murasa Ranger - MTG Card versions
Ivy Lane Denizen - MTG Card versions
Sylvan Advocate - MTG Card versions
Murasa Ranger - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
Ivy Lane Denizen - Gatecrash (GTC)
Sylvan Advocate - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Winnower Patrol MTG card by a specific set like Morningtide, 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 Winnower Patrol and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Winnower Patrol has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-04-01 After the kinship ability finishes resolving, the card you looked at remains on top of your library.
2008-04-01 If the top card of your library is already revealed (due to Magus of the Future, for example), you still have the option to reveal it or not as part of a kinship ability’s effect.
2008-04-01 If you have multiple creatures with kinship abilities, each triggers and resolves separately. You’ll look at the same card for each one, unless you have some method of shuffling your library or moving that card to a different zone.
2008-04-01 Kinship is an ability word that indicates a group of similar triggered abilities that appear on _Morningtide_ creatures. It doesn’t have any special rules associated with it.
2008-04-01 The first two sentences of every kinship ability are the same (except for the creature’s name). Only the last sentence varies from one kinship ability to the next.
2008-04-01 You don’t have to reveal the top card of your library, even if it shares a creature type with the creature that has the kinship ability.

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