Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler MTG Card


Generates card advantage by copying instant or sorcery spells on your next cast. Spellrune Howler form accelerates resources by untapping lands during spell copies. Activating the ability at instant speed provides a versatile strategic edge.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Shaman Werewolf
Abilities Daybound
Power 2
Toughness 3

Text of card

Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Spellrune Painter gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Daybound (If a player casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)


Cards like Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler

Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler finds its niche within the transformable creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. Looking at comparisons, we can’t help but draw parallels to the likes of Reckless Waif // Merciless Predator. Both cards switch forms to adapt to the game’s flow, but Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler takes it up a notch with its spell-boosting capability while in Painter form, enhancing your spellcasting power.

Much like the infamous Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration, this double-faced card demands strategic play, allowing for momentum swings at crucial points. Yet, Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler offers a different twist; it empowers other spells rather than itself becoming an oversized threat. Lastly, we have Stormchaser Mage, a creature that benefits from casting noncreature spells. Although it doesn’t transform, it shares the synergy with instants and sorceries giving it a similar battlefield presence as the Painter form.

When we compare each card’s impact and flexibility, the Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler duo stands out for its unique blend of board interaction and the ability to tip the scales with each spell cast, positioning it as a potent tool for players who favor a spell-heavy gameplay style in Magic: The Gathering.

Reckless Waif // Merciless Predator - MTG Card versions
Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration - MTG Card versions
Stormchaser Mage - MTG Card versions
Reckless Waif // Merciless Predator - MTG Card versions
Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration - MTG Card versions
Stormchaser Mage - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler by color, type and mana cost

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Raging Bull - MTG Card versions
Wall of Lava - MTG Card versions
Brassclaw Orcs - MTG Card versions
Sabretooth Tiger - MTG Card versions
Imperial Recruiter - MTG Card versions
Uthden Troll - MTG Card versions
Hobgoblin Bandit Lord - MTG Card versions
Goblin Rabblemaster - MTG Card versions
Nosy Goblin - MTG Card versions
Goblin Sky Raider - MTG Card versions
Cosmic Larva - MTG Card versions
Mannichi, the Fevered Dream - MTG Card versions
Cunning Bandit // Azamuki, Treachery Incarnate - MTG Card versions
Ghost-Lit Raider - MTG Card versions
Goblin Chariot - MTG Card versions
Balduvian Barbarians - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: The flip card Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler provides you with the ability to create a copy of an instant or sorcery spell you control when you cast your next one, effectively granting you an additional spell without losing a card. This can be pivotal in maintaining pressure and overwhelming opponents.

Resource Acceleration: When transformed into Spellrune Howler, the card offers an added benefit. Each time you cast a copy of a spell, it allows you to untap a target land. This can lead to increased resource acceleration, giving you the ability to cast more spells or use more abilities in a single turn, thus dynamically shifting the pace of the game in your favor.

Instant Speed: Spellrune Painter’s activated ability can be used at instant speed, giving players the flexibility to respond to opponents’ actions during their turn. This strategic advantage can lead to significant shifts in the game’s momentum, catching your opponent off guard by crafting unexpected copies when they least expect it.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Spellrune Painter component of this transformation card puts players in a tight spot by requiring a card discard, which can be particularly taxing when your hand is running low on cards.

Specific Mana Cost: The precise mana cost that includes both blue and green mana can pose a deck-building challenge, limiting the Spellrune Howler’s integration to decks that accommodate both colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing in at a four mana cost, this card’s activation fee might be steeper compared to other creatures or spells that could potentially provide a swifter or more impactful game play advantage on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler offers a dynamic presence on the board, adapting to various situations. As a werewolf, it has the unique ability to switch forms, providing flexibility in deck building and during gameplay.

Combo Potential: The Spellrune Painter side of this card has the prowess to strengthen instant and sorcery spells, which can be leveraged to form powerful combos in spell-heavy decks, creating potential game-winning scenarios.

Meta-Relevance: With a meta that often includes creature-focused strategies, having a card that can morph and provide advantages in both creature and non-creature spells positions Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler as a valuable and tactical addition to your deck arsenal.


How to beat

The Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler card introduces a unique dynamic to Magic: The Gathering decks. On the front, Spellrune Painter bolsters mana utility by transforming instant or sorcery spells into a burst of additional mana, perfectly aligning with spell-heavy builds. Flipped, Spellrune Howler amplifies the potency of the aforementioned classes of spells, allowing players to inflict heavier damage to their opponents.

Countering this versatile card demands a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, denial of the graveyard as a resource through cards that exile or shuffle the graveyard back into the library can cripple the Painter’s ability. Moreover, since it relies on spells to activate its abilities, instant-speed removal, countermagic or even hand disruption can disrupt the Painter’s setup or the Howler’s execution. Silence or disruption effects also prevent the casting of spells that would feed the Painter’s abilities.

When facing such a multifaceted adversary, pinpoint disruption and graveyard manipulation emerge as efficient tactics. By doing so, players can destabilize the rhythm of a Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler-centric strategy, affirming these methods as vital countermeasures in a competitive Magic: The Gathering match.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, 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 Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 2952015TransformBlackMichael Walsh
22021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 1602015TransformBlackLucas Graciano
32022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 1602015TransformBlackLucas Graciano

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spellrune Painter // Spellrune Howler has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-09-24 Before a player untaps their permanents during the untap step, the game checks to see if the day/night designation should change.
2021-09-24 Day and night are designations that the game itself can have. The game starts as neither. Once the game becomes day (or less commonly, night), the game will be exactly one of them—day or night—going back and forth for the rest of the game.
2021-09-24 Double-faced permanents with daybound transform to their nightbound faces as it becomes night. Similarly, double-faced permanents with nightbound transform to their daybound faces as it becomes day. This happens immediately and is not a state-based action. It happens any time it becomes day or night, not just during the untap step.
2021-09-24 For more information about Day and Night and the Daybound and Nightbound abilities, please see the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Mechanics atricle (https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/innistrad-midnight-hunt-mechanics-2021-09-02).
2021-09-24 If it is day, and the active player of the previous turn cast no spells during their turn, it becomes night.
2021-09-24 If it is night, and the active player of the previous turn cast two or more spells during their turn, it becomes day.
2021-09-24 If it is night, permanents with daybound that enter the battlefield without being cast will enter with their nightbound faces up.
2021-09-24 If it's neither day nor night, and a creature with daybound and a creature with nightbound somehow appear on the battlefield at the same time, it becomes day. The creature with nightbound will transform.
2021-09-24 If you cast a spell with daybound during night, that spell will be front face up (that is, daybound face up) on the stack. However, it will enter the battlefield with its back face up (that is, with its nightbound face up). It won't enter with its daybound face up and then transform.
2021-09-24 Permanents with daybound and nightbound can't transform via any means other than their daybound and nightbound abilities. Notably, older cards such as Moonmist that instruct a player to transform permanents don't affect permanents with daybound or nightbound.