Rooftop Storm MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Rooftop Storm offers unmatched mana efficiency for Zombie creatures, facilitating overwhelming board presence.
  2. It demands deckbuilding precision for optimized performance, potentially limiting its inclusion.
  3. Despite its high cost, its strategic value in meta-relevant Zombie combos is significant.

Text of card

You may pay rather than pay the mana cost for Zombie creature spells you cast.

"Let those idiot priests tremble! A new era in unlife begins here and now. Oglor, raise the lightning vane!" —Stitcher Geralf


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rooftop Storm dramatically alters the playing field by letting you bypass the mana cost for Zombie creature spells, effectively granting you the potential to deploy numerous threats without tapping any additional mana. This can lead to a significant card advantage as you are able to cast multiple zombies from your hand without expending the resources usually required.

Resource Acceleration: The enchantment acts as a powerful form of resource acceleration. Typically, playing high-cost creatures demands considerable mana investment over several turns. However, with Rooftop Storm on the battlefield, you can channel your mana into other spells or abilities, maximizing your plays per turn and overwhelming your opponents with a sudden flood of undead forces.

Instant Speed: Although Rooftop Storm itself does not operate at instant speed, its enduring effect on the game state enables you to utilize instant speed zombies (should any exist or become available through future expansions), or hold up mana for responses while still threatening a board state with zombie creatures swiftly cast from your hand at no mana cost.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rooftop Storm doesn’t force a discard, but it does demand precise deck construction to ensure you fully leverage its utility. If your deck isn’t optimized for Zombies, the card can often be a dead draw.

Specific Mana Cost: This enchantment costs six mana, specifically requiring one blue, which might not align with the mana curve or color scheme of all decks. Its specificity can hinder multi-colored or aggressive decks that strive to play smoothly and quickly.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana value of six is quite steep, meaning you may face situations where you draw it too early or can’t cast it quickly enough to impact the game. In fast-paced matches, you may find Rooftop Storm cumbersome compared to lower-cost alternatives.


Reasons to Include Rooftop Storm in Your Collection

Versatility: Rooftop Storm is an excellent addition for players who enjoy the undead flair in their decks. Its effect of allowing you to cast Zombie creature spells for no mana cost seamlessly integrates into various Zombie-themed decks, offering an undeniable boost to strategies centered around these relentless creatures.

Combo Potential: When it comes to building combinations, Rooftop Storm boasts impressive potential. With the right lineup of Zombie creatures and graveyard mechanics, you can unleash waves of Zombies without depleting your mana reserves, opening the door to a multitude of synergies and interaction opportunities with other cards.

Meta-Relevance: Remaining current with trends in gameplay can be vital, and Rooftop Storm holds its own in various metagames, especially those where unconventional or combo-based strategies thrive. Given its capacity to bypass mana costs for zombie deployment, it can rapidly tip the scales in a match focusing on creature presence and board control.


How to beat

Rooftop Storm is a notable card in the realm of MTG. It works as a game-changer for zombie decks by allowing you to cast your zombie creatures for free. While this can turn the tides in favor of zombie strategies, defeating a deck that hinges on Rooftop Storm is all about disrupting the mana base or neutralizing the enchantment itself.

Utilize cards that target and destroy enchantments or cause players to sacrifice them. The enchantment removal in colors such as green with Naturalize or white with Disenchant can be particularly effective. Counterspells also play a crucial role in hindering Rooftop Storm from hitting the battlefield in the first place. In addition, exerting pressure on the opponent’s mana sources, such as with land destruction cards or counters, can prevent the setup or execution of the enchantment’s costly casting requirement.

Ultimately, key to countering Rooftop Storm is to anticipate it in zombie-heavy decks and prepare accordingly with enchantment control strategies, adequate counter magic, or accelerated game plans to outrun this powerful game piece.


BurnMana Recommendations

For aficionados of undead onslaughts and those looking to maximize their MTG play, Rooftop Storm is an undeniable asset. Offering a relentless advantage for Zombie decks, this card can define the battlefield and ensure your creatures emerge without denting your mana pool. Strategic deck builders and combo enthusiasts will find Rooftop Storm’s potential to create a flurry of zombies both intriguing and rewarding. Understanding its capacity to shift games immensely, consider Rooftop Storm as a means to enhance your collection and gameplay. Dive deeper into its strategic uses and the wealth of possibilities it unveils for Zombie-themed dominance.


Cards like Rooftop Storm

Rooftop Storm stands out among Magic: The Gathering’s array of zombie-themed enablers. When you have Rooftop Storm on the field, it allows you to play Zombie creature cards for zero mana, which can be a game-changer for Zombie tribal decks. Its closest relative in terms of cost reduction for creatures would be cards like Urza’s Incubator, which reduces the cost of creature spells of the chosen type by two mana. While Urza’s Incubator affects a broader range of tribes, Rooftop Storm’s effect is more potent since it targets specifically Zombies and eliminates the mana cost entirely.

Another comparative card is Heartless Summoning, reducing the cost of creature spells by two mana and also giving them -1/-1, which can be a drawback in some situations. Despite Heartless Summoning affecting all creature spells regardless of type, Rooftop Storm’s ability to drop Zombies for free gives a strategic advantage in Zombie decks by enabling massive board presence without mana investment.

To conclude, Rooftop Storm is an exceptional enabler in Magic: The Gathering for Zombie tribal strategies, providing unparalleled cost-reduction benefits and allowing players to potentially overwhelm opponents with waves of undead without expending mana.

Urza's Incubator - MTG Card versions
Heartless Summoning - MTG Card versions
Urza's Incubator - MTG Card versions
Heartless Summoning - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rooftop Storm MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad and The List, 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 Rooftop Storm and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Rooftop Storm Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2011-09-30 and 2021-09-24. Illustrated by John Stanko.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-09-30InnistradISD 712003NormalBlackJohn Stanko
22020-09-26The ListPLST ISD-712003NormalBlackJohn Stanko
32021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 1032015NormalBlackJohn Stanko

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Rooftop Storm has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2011-09-22 The mana cost and mana value of the spell are unchanged. Rooftop Storm only changes what you pay.
2011-09-22 You must still pay any mandatory additional costs, such as exiling a creature card from your graveyard for Makeshift Mauler.

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