Strider Harness MTG Card
2010-10-01 - Number 207
2016-01-22 - Number 167
2018-01-19 - Number 183
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact — Equipment |
| Abilities | Equip |
Text of card
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has haste. Equip
Each journey begins with a single step—and sometimes ends with that single step as well.
Cards like Strider Harness
The Strider Harness is an intriguing equipment card in Magic: The Gathering that grants a creature a quick power boost and haste, which is essential for players looking to make an immediate impact on the battlefield. Comparing Strider Harness with other equipment cards such as Swiftfoot Boots, we notice a nuanced difference. Swiftfoot Boots not only provides haste but also gives the creature hexproof, offering valuable protection from spells and abilities that target creatures.
Looking at Lightning Greaves, another common equipment used to grant haste, we see that it also confers shroud, meaning the creature can’t be the target of spells or abilities whatsoever. This can be a double-edged sword, as it also prevents the equipped creature from being the target of beneficial abilities from its own controller. Whereas the Greaves costs zero to equip, Strider Harness has an equip cost of one.
Finally, when assessing options for granting haste and other boons to creatures, Strider Harness is often a considerable choice for players who favor an inexpensive mana investment to get their big threats moving immediately, though it lacks the additional protective features found in some similar equipment cards.
Cards similar to Strider Harness by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Strider Harness is a versatile tool for your deck, providing you with a repeatable way to enhance your creatures. Although it doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, its ongoing utility can be equivalent to gaining card advantage as it keeps making your individual creature threats more formidable on the battlefield.
Resource Acceleration: The biggest boost Strider Harness offers is resource acceleration in the form of increased creature speed. When equipped, your creature gains haste, enabling you to pivot more quickly and apply pressure on your opponent. This can be pivotal for leveraging new creatures as immediate threats without waiting a turn.
Instant Speed: While Strider Harness doesn’t operate at instant speed itself, the fact that it grants haste to a creature means it can instantly make a creature a viable attacker or blocker as soon as it hits the field. This effectively gives the creatures you play a form of “instant speed” action, broadening your strategic options and catching your opponent off guard.
Card Cons
Specific Mana Cost: Strider Harness requires a set amount of mana to both cast and equip. This can be a limiting factor for decks that need to manage their mana carefully or for those that operate on a multi-color scheme where the specific mana requirement can be restrictive.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Strider Harness offers a boost in speed and power to creatures, its combined costing for casting and equipping might deter some players. There are alternatives available that may provide a better cost-to-benefit ratio, especially if the deck is not built to consistently utilize the equipment.
Discard Requirement: Despite not having a direct discard requirement, Strider Harness can indirectly contribute to a thinner hand. This is due to its mana cost and the fact that it might not significantly impact the board state, leading players to possibly discard other potentially more useful cards in favor of equipping it.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Strider Harness is a flexible equipment card that can easily slot into numerous deck archetypes. Its ability to grant both a slight power boost and haste to a creature helps accelerate your game plan regardless of your strategy.
Combo Potential: This card shines in scenarios where you can quickly swap it between creatures to make the most of its haste-giving property. It works well with creatures that have tap or enter the battlefield abilities, allowing you to maximize their effects the turn they are played.
Meta-Relevance: Within the ever-shifting landscape of competitive play, Strider Harness maintains relevance. It bolsters your creatures’ survivability against sweepers and enables key hasty attacks in a meta that might not expect instant-speed aggression from multiple fronts in a single turn.
How to beat
Strider Harness is a unique equipment card that equips creatures with a much-needed haste and a modest power boost, allowing for immediate impact on the battlefield. To effectively neutralize the advantages of Strider Harness, consider using removal spells that target artifacts directly. Naturalize or Disenchant can dismantle the equipment strategy with ease, ensuring that the tempo benefit from haste is lost. Similarly, countering the Harness with spells like Negate when it’s on the stack keeps your opponent’s creatures from sneaking through unexpected attacks.
Control strategies work well too; ensuring that the harness never latches onto a creature can be accomplished through creature removal. Instant speed removal like Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt can disrupt the equipment process by removing potential targets before they are equipped. By prioritizing the removal of creatures with evasion or those that could become significantly more problematic when given haste, you strip Strider Harness of its utility and effectively shut down one of your opponent’s tactical avenues.
Lastly, including versatile answers in your deck that can handle a myriad of threats will always be beneficial. Tackling Strider Harness is no different; having flexible solutions will often lead to a well-deserved victory.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Strider Harness MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and Oath of the Gatewatch, 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 Strider Harness and other MTG cards:
BUY NOW BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Strider Harness Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2018-01-19. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010-10-01 | Scars of Mirrodin | SOM | 207 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Matt Stewart | |
| 2 | 2016-01-22 | Oath of the Gatewatch | OGW | 167 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Kev Walker | |
| 3 | 2018-01-19 | Rivals of Ixalan | RIX | 183 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Kev Walker |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Strider Harness 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 |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Strider Harness 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 | If a creature enters the battlefield under your control and gains haste, but then loses it before attacking, it won’t be able to attack that turn. This means that you can’t use one Strider Harness to allow two new creatures to attack in the same turn. |