Runewing MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Bird
Abilities	Flying
Released	2012-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Return to Ravnica
Set code	RTR
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	48
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Martina Pilcerova

Key Takeaways

Runewing’s death provides card advantage, bolstering hand resources upon leaving the battlefield.
The card synergizes with sacrifice strategies, adding value to both attack phases and controlled death scenarios.
In certain metas, Runewing’s self-replenishing ability reinforces card advantage during long games.

Text of card

Flying When Runewing dies, draw a card.

In the hands of the open-minded, a runewing quill writes wisdom of its own.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Runewing ensures a boost to your hand by drawing a card upon its demise, adding valuable card advantage that keeps you ahead in resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly increasing mana resources, Runewing’s ability to draw a card can indirectly lead to finding more lands or ramp spells, subtly improving your mana curve.

Instant Speed: Runewing itself may not be instant speed, but its ability to draw you into instant-speed spells gives you the flexibility to respond to threats or optimize your plays during critical moments of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With the Runewing card, players must be aware it’s a creature card without intrinsic card draw or discard abilities. The need to use other cards or abilities to facilitate discard can be hindering especially when trying to maintain hand advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and generic mana, this card’s casting cost may not seamlessly fit into all deck types, potentially restricting its play to blue-inclusive strategies and impacting deck-building flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its mana value, Runewing offers flying and death-triggered card draw, yet in the realm of blue flyers, there are alternatives that provide more immediate value or lower cost investment, making the cost-to-benefit ratio of Runewing less impressive for players optimizing their decks.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Runewing offers a dual benefit of being a flying creature to get over ground-based defense lines and a source of card draw upon death. This duality makes it a flexible inclusion for decks that value evasion and card flow.

Combo Potential: Due to its ability to draw a card when it dies, Runewing is compatible with sacrifice strategies. This potential allows you to capitalize on both the creature’s attack power and its death for a strategic advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where flying creatures are less contested and removal spells are frequent, Runewing becomes an asset by replacing itself in your hand, ensuring that you maintain card advantage in prolonged matches.

How to beat

Runewing is a unique flyer in the vast world of Magic: The Gathering, easily recognizable for its card drawing ability upon death. Much like other cards that capitalize on the power of drawing cards such as Mulldrifter or Cloudkin Seer, Runewing provides its controller with an advantage in resources. However, each has its unique twist that keeps the game interesting and strategic.

To outmaneuver Runewing, it’s essential to curb its card drawing function. Employing spells that exile it from the field, like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile, can efficiently deal with the creature without allowing your opponent the benefit of drawing a card. Alternatively, effects that force the opponent to sacrifice creatures can be very effective, thus bypassing Runewing’s death-triggered ability. Edict effects like Diabolic Edict or Liliana of the Veil’s sacrifice ability can serve this purpose well.

Ultimately, understanding your deck and predicting your opponent’s plays are as vital as knowing your cards. Countering Runewing’s advantages requires strategic planning and a confident use of removal or sacrifice effects at the right moment, ensuring that its last gasp doesn’t translate into a lead for your opponent.

Cards like Runewing

Runewing is a creature card that carves its niche in the flying decks of Magic: The Gathering, much like other winged allies such as Cloudkin Seer. What Runewing brings to the table is the blend of flying ability and the opportunity to draw a card upon death, offering a strategic advantage in card flow. Cloudkin Seer, offering a similar draught of advantage, grants you a card once it enters the battlefield instead, with the immediate benefit differing from Runewing’s demise-triggered draw.

Another card that echoes Runewing’s spirit is Azure Mage. Though not equipped with flying, the Mage has a repeatable card-drawing ability, albeit at a resource cost. Runewing’s death-triggered card draw has no mana cost, but Azure Mage allows control over when to draw. Lastly, Tower Geist is a spectral comparison; it too is a flying creature, which allows you to look at the top two cards of your deck, putting one into your hand and the other into your graveyard upon entering the battlefield.

Pondering over these comrades of the sky, Runewing stands with its unique balance between aerial prowess and providing card advantage post-mortem, enhancing decks centered around creature synergies and flying tactics in Magic: The Gathering.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Runewing MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica, 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 Runewing and other MTG cards: