Ramunap Ruins MTG Card
2017-07-14 - Number 181
2020-08-13 - Number 326
2021-03-19 - Number 409
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land — Desert |
Key Takeaways
- Ramunap Ruins offers dual utility, acting as both mana source and direct damage dealer, enhancing strategic play.
- The land demands strategic sacrifices, exemplifying a trade-off between land count and potential damage output.
- Its role in MTG decks is solidified by its versatility and the added depth it brings to red-centered strategies.
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , Pay 1 life: Add to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice a Desert: Ramunap Ruins deals 2 damage to each opponent.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ramunap Ruins doesn’t traditionaly provide card advantage in the usual sense, but its ability to offer an additional option without taking up a slot in your hand can indirectly lead to an advantage. Particularly in longer games, the flexibility to use it as both a land and a source of damage can tip the scales in your favor.
Resource Acceleration: This land is a cornerstone in decks that require a consistent mana base while also seeking to maintain pressure. By tapping for colorless or red mana, it seamlessly integrates into your strategy, ensuring you don’t fall behind on critical turns. The ability to sacrifice a Desert—including itself—for an extra punch of damage can often accelerate the closing stages of a match.
Instant Speed: Ramunap Ruins’ damage-dealing ability can be activated at instant speed, which is exceptionally valuable. This flexibility permits players to end the game or remove key threats during the opponent’s turn, keeping them guessing and providing strategic depth to each match. It adapts to the ebb and flow of gameplay, making it an unpredictable and tactical asset.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Ramunap Ruins doesn’t require you to discard a card, it does require sacrificing a Desert, which can be akin to discarding a useful land resource from the field. This can set you back if you’re relying on your lands for mana diversity or other land-related synergies.
Specific Mana Cost: The activation cost of Ramunap Ruins’ ability is specifically red mana. This means that in multi-colored decks, you need to ensure you have the right mana available, which can sometimes complicate your mana base and make it less flexible.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: To utilize the direct damage ability of Ramunap Ruins, you are required to pay a total of four mana, including two life. When planning your turns, the cost might be too steep compared to other cards that offer damage output or utility without such a sacrifice, especially in the late game where every life point can be crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Ramunap Ruins offers flexible utility in that it can be a land drop in the early game providing mana stability, and later, a source of direct damage to close out the game or push through crucial points of damage.
Combo Potential: This card works well with strategies emphasizing land synergies and can act as an additional damage source in decks that spread out damage over several turns.
Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, Ramunap Ruins maintains its status as a dynamic card, particularly in environments where every point of damage is vital to secure a victory against resilient decks that can stabilize in the late game.
How to beat
Ramunap Ruins is a versatile land card that can be a powerhouse in red-based aggro or burn decks in MTG. It provides not just mana acceleration but also an additional damage source that can close out games. To effectively counter Ramunap Ruins, it’s imperative for players to manage their life total cautiously, as the damage from the Ruins can be the difference in tight matches.
Employing life gain strategies can mitigate the impact of Ramunap Ruins’ ability. Cards that offer incremental life boosts can preserve your health buffer against the inevitable damage. Additionally, incorporating land destruction or land containment cards within your deck can directly target and remove Ramunap Ruins from play, preventing your opponent from utilizing its damaging ability altogether. Cards such as Field of Ruin or Ghost Quarter allow you to interact with problematic lands, which could be essential when facing decks that rely on Ramunap Ruins as a win condition.
It’s also beneficial to apply pressure and force the Ramunap Ruins deck to use its resources defensively. Aggressive strategies might compel your opponent to use the land for mana rather than its sacrifice ability. Through thoughtful gameplay and strategic deckbuilding, one can navigate around the challenges posed by Ramunap Ruins and secure victory.
Cards like Ramunap Ruins
Ramunap Ruins has secured its place in Magic: The Gathering as an innovative land card that goes beyond mere mana generation. Its kinship lies with other utility lands such as Sunscorched Desert and Lavaclaw Reaches that also furnish extra abilities to wield strategically. Reminiscent of Sunscorched Desert, Ramunap Ruins can directly deal damage to opponents, yet it surpasses the Desert with its recurrence ability, enabling multiple uses when conditions are ripe.
Diving deeper into comparisons, Ramunap Ruins shares ground with the iconic Keldon Megaliths, both entering the battlefield tapped and presenting an opportunity to chip away at an opponent’s life total. Keldon Megaliths, however, is conditional on having no cards in hand to activate. Ramunap Ruins, on the contrary, demands no such condition, only the sacrifice of a Desert, which makes it a more flexible and often a preferred option for players crafting a Desert-themed deck.
In sum, Ramunap Ruins offers a unique blend of utility and flexibility, standing out among land cards that deal damage. This versatility, accompanied by its innate synergy with Desert cards, establishes Ramunap Ruins as a compelling choice for players looking to optimize their mana base while weaving in potential game-ending capabilities.
Cards similar to Ramunap Ruins by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ramunap Ruins MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Amonkhet Remastered, 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 Ramunap Ruins 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
Printings
The Ramunap Ruins Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Florian de Gesincourt.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-07-14 | Hour of Devastation | HOU | 181 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Florian de Gesincourt | |
| 2 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 326 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Florian de Gesincourt | |
| 3 | 2021-03-19 | Time Spiral Remastered | TSR | 409 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Florian de Gesincourt |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ramunap Ruins has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ramunap Ruins card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | Desert is a land subtype with no special meaning. It doesn’t grant the land an intrinsic mana ability. Other cards may care about which lands are Deserts. |
| 2017-07-14 | If a Desert has an ability with a cost of “Sacrifice a Desert,” you can sacrifice that Desert to pay the cost for its own ability. |
