Aether Web MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Enchantment — Aura |
| Abilities | Enchant, Flash |
| Released | 2006-10-06 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Time Spiral |
| Set code | TSP |
| Number | 189 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Justin Sweet |
Key Takeaways
- Aether Web gives creatures a defensive edge, allowing them to combat flying threats effectively.
- Instant speed and low mana cost make it a flexible and efficient tool during matches.
- Despite its strengths, the card’s Flashback discard requirement can lead to card disadvantage.
Guide to Flash card ability
Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.
Text of card
Flash (You may play this spell any time you could play an instant.) Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +1/+1, can block as though it had flying, and can block creatures with shadow as though they didn't have shadow.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Aether Web attaches to a creature to add significant combat utility, potentially offering card advantage by neutralizing threats that rely on flying to bypass defenses. This extra layer of protection keeps your valuable creatures on the board longer.
Resource Acceleration: For a low investment of just two mana, Aether Web can shift the momentum in your favor. By enabling a smaller creature to block and potentially eliminate a larger flying threat, it accelerates your strategy without the need for additional resources.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Aether Web at instant speed gives players the flexibility to react to an opponent’s actions. This tactical advantage allows you to surprise an attacker with an aerial blocker they didn’t account for, turning the tide of the match in your favor.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Aether Web necessitates that you discard another card to fully utilize its Flashback ability, which can put you at a card disadvantage, particularly when you’ve depleted your hand.
Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a mix of green mana and generic mana, limiting it to green-focused or multi-colored decks, potentially restricting its adaptability across different deck types.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial casting cost and an additional cost for its Flashback, Aether Web’s total potential mana investment can be considered steep, considering alternative enchantment cards that could perform similar functions with lower mana investments.
Reasons to Include Aether Web in Your Collection
Versatility: Aether Web can be slotted into a variety of green-centric decks which benefit from extra protection and evasion. As an enchantment that grants reach and can buff creatures, it’s useful in numerous situations, especially against flying-heavy strategies.
Combo Potential: In decks focused on spell synergy or graveyard mechanics, Aether Web shines. It’s not just about the immediate benefits – being able to self-mill it for value or recur it from the graveyard adds layers to your gameplay.
Meta-Relevance: Considering decks in the current meta that leverage flying creatures, Aether Web is a low-cost, efficient answer to those threats. It can tilt the balance in your favor by turning what would often be an unfavorable match-up into a winnable one.
How to beat
Aether Web is a card that can pose quite the conundrum due to its ability to grant reach and tangle up those flying threats. It’s a useful tool for spider-themed decks or any green deck needing added aerial protection. To play around Aether Web, consider flying creatures with higher toughness that won’t be easily ensnared by its web. Removal spells that can deal with enchantments, such as Disenchant or Naturalize, are also key in unbinding creatures from this sticky situation.
Alternatively, shifting your strategy to utilize non-flying threats can circumvent the need to interact with this card entirely. It can also be beneficial to bait out the Aether Web with a less critical creature before swinging in with your more vital flyers. Cards that offer hexproof or shroud, like Asceticism, can provide a preventative measure against such targeting enchantments, ensuring your creatures stay aloft and out of reach of the Aether Web. Winning against a player relying on Aether Web means adapting your offense and employing smart removal tactics.
Ultimately, while Aether Web can create a tricky barrier, a well-thought-out strategy that includes enchantment removal or evasion techniques can easily dismantle its tangled defense, ensuring your path to victory remains clear.
Cards like Aether Web
Aether Web is a unique enchantment that adds a tactical layer to creature protection in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to grant plus one plus zero and reach mirrors that of cards like Spider Umbra, which also provides reach and a power boost to your creatures. What differentiates Aether Web is its secondary trait that can exile creature cards with shadow, giving it a defensive advantage against certain decks.
Comparably, Aspect of Mongoose offers protection by making the enchanted creature harder to remove, but lacks the combat advantages given by Aether Web. Additionally, Talons of Wildwood provides a similar power boost and the benefit of returnability from the graveyard to hand, ensuring resilience throughout the game. While it does not offer the shadow creature control, it compensates by being a recurring asset.
Assessing these alternatives, Aether Web holds up as a card with both offensive and defensive capabilities. While other enchantments might offer better longevity or resilience, Aether Web’s unique shadow exile feature can be pivotal in matches against decks that utilize such strategies, making it a card worth considering for specialized MTG defense tactics.
Cards similar to Aether Web by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Aether Web MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral, 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 Aether Web and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Aether Web has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Aether Web card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2006-09-25 | If the enchanted creature has shadow, it won’t be able to block any creatures (not even those with shadow). |
| 2006-09-25 | The enchanted creature can block creatures with shadow and creatures without shadow. |
