Spire Winder MTG Card

Spire Winder’s ascend ability enhances its power, offering significant in-game advantages when conditions are met. Limited versatility and high mana cost might deter its use in some decks, underscoring the importance of strategic deckbuilding. Its unique ascend mechanic positions Spire Winder as a game-changing option in specific MTG deck strategies.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Snake
Abilities	Ascend,Flying
Released	2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set name	Rivals of Ixalan
Set code	RIX
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	57
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Titus Lunter

Text of card

Flying Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) Spire Winder gets +1/+1 as long as you have the city's blessing.

Understanding the Spire Winder

Spire Winder has carved out its niche in Magic: The Gathering as a multi-faceted flying creature. When assessing its standing among similar cards, it stands out for its ascend mechanic and potential to be a game changer in the right situation. Ascension provides it with a boost in power and toughness, drawing parallels to cards such as Windreader Sphinx, which also capitalizes on flying creatures, enabling a player to draw a card whenever a creature with flying attacks.

Cards like Spire Winder

Spire Winder shares a kinship with other flying creatures such as Snapping Drake, which also boasts the same power for one less mana but lacks the ability to increase its strength through ascension. The adaptive nature of Spire Winder’s power level through city’s blessing allows it to become more formidable as the game progresses, which is not an option for Snapping Drake.

Another comparison can be drawn with Aven Wind Mage, a card that thrives on instant and sorcery spells to elevate its might. While Aven Wind Mage can consistently build its power within a spellslinger deck, Spire Winder needs a specific board state to unlock its full potential. The latter, therefore, can be a cornerstone in a deck seeking to leverage permanents and ascend for substantial aerial dominance.

In the grand tapestry of flying creatures within Magic: The Gathering, Spire Winder offers a unique proposition that hinges on the ascend mechanic. Its ability to scale up in power provides an edge in the long game, making it an interesting option for players looking to soar above their opponents in the latter stages of the match.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spire Winder offers a benefit to your board state when ascending, potentially drawing you more cards to secure a lead or catch up in a tight match.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing resources, Spire Winder can apply pressure in the air, forcing your opponent to respond and potentially using resources that could lead to advantageous trades in your favor.

Instant Speed: Though the Spire Winder itself is not an instant, its ‘Ascend’ ability takes advantage of instant speed interactions owing to the ‘City’s Blessing’ which remains for the rest of the game once obtained, thus making your subsequent instant speed plays more impactful.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Spire Winder card demands discarding as part of its cycling cost. Cycling allows you to draw a card, but losing another card from your hand can be a tactical setback, especially if your hand is already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a specific mana cost that includes blue mana. This requirement may restrict its inclusion to decks that are tailored to generate blue mana or are based on a blue-centric strategy, potentially reducing its versatility in multicolored deck options.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the Spire Winder brings benefits like flying and an ascend ability that bolsters its power, its four mana cost is on the higher side. Players often weigh the merit of including it against other cards with lower mana costs or cards that bring a more immediate impact to the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Spire Winder is a flexible card, finding a home in decks that capitalize on having a high ascend count. Its flying ability allows it to be a solid aerial threat in limited formats.

Combo Potential: When combined with cards that benefit from or enable the ascend mechanic, Spire Winder’s power and toughness can increase, turning it into a formidable force on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta filled with ground creatures or slower-paced decks, Spire Winder’s evasion capability lets it soar over obstacles and chip away at an opponent’s life total, proving to be a valuable asset in the right environment.

How to beat

Confronting a Spire Winder on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering can be daunting due to its ascend ability and its potential to become a serious aerial threat. To mitigate its impact, maintaining control of the board state and managing your opponent’s permanent count is key, thereby minimizing Spire Winder’s opportunity to gain the city’s blessing and the corresponding power boost.

Strategically, spot removal spells are efficient at dealing with Spire Winder before it can leverage its ascend advantage. Cards like Fatal Push or Cast Down can handle the creature at a low mana cost, preserving your tempo. Additionally, keeping pressure on the opponent with your own threats can divert their resources, hindering their ability to fulfill the ascend condition.

Another effective technique is to use counter spells when your opponent casts Spire Winder. Counters like Negate or Essence Scatter ensure Spire Winder never hits the field, avoiding the ascend complication altogether. Engaging in this kind of preemptive interaction favors a proactive game plan that can keep the Spire Winder at bay and maintain your pace in the game. Remember, analyzing the momentum and applying these strategies can be pivotal in claiming victory against a deck that wields the power of the Spire Winder.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spire Winder MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan, 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 Spire Winder and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spire Winder has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-01-19	A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren’t permanents.
2018-01-19	Ascend on a permanent isn’t a triggered ability and doesn’t use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can’t respond to getting the city’s blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can’t respond before you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19	If you cast a spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19	If you control ten permanents but don’t control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of one, then cast Golden Demise, you won’t have the city’s blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
2018-01-19	If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the “Legend Rule” or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city’s blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
2018-01-19	Once you have the city’s blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your permanents. The city’s blessing isn’t a permanent itself and can’t be removed by any effect.
2018-01-19	Some cards get power, toughness, and/or abilities once you have the city’s blessing. If another card has an ability that triggers when creatures with certain characteristics enter the battlefield (such as Mentor of the Meek or Elemental Bond do), use the entering permanent’s characteristics after you have the city’s blessing to determine whether those abilities trigger. This is true even if the entering permanent is your tenth permanent.