Boreal Outrider MTG Card
2021-02-05 - Number 163
2021-02-05 - Number 42
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Snow Creature — Elf Warrior |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Boreal Outrider offers card advantage through additional +1/+1 counters without depleting your hand.
- It encourages resource acceleration, amplifying the impact of creature spells with snow mana.
- Although it has certain limitations such as a specific mana cost, its strategic benefits can outweigh its cons.
Text of card
Whenever you cast a creature spell, if {S} of any of that spell's colors was spent to cast it, that creature enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. ({S} is mana from a snow source.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Boreal Outrider can enable the placement of additional +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, reinforcing your board position without depleting your hand.
Resource Acceleration: When coupled with snow mana especially, this creature promotes a form of resource acceleration by enhancing the value of each creature spell you cast, effectively increasing the power and resilience of your forces.
Instant Speed: Though not an instant itself, Boreal Outrider synergizes well with instant speed spells that can provide snow mana, allowing you to maximize the impact of your plays on both your turn and during opponents’ turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Boreal Outrider may require you to discard cards to achieve optimal play, potentially putting you at a disadvantage if your hand is already running low on cards.
Specific Mana Cost: This card has a snow mana cost element, which necessitates a dedicated snow land base within your deck. Not all decks may be able to accommodate this infrastructure, limiting Boreal Outrider’s versatility in deckbuilding.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that might be considered high for its stats and abilities, Boreal Outrider can be less appealing compared to other three-mana creatures that provide immediate impact or have more potent abilities.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Boreal Outrider is a card that easily adapts to various deck builds, granting a significant advantage in those that emphasize on snow mana and creature strategies. Its ability to give a creature an extra +1/+1 counter for using snow mana doesn’t just apply to casting creatures; it’s any permanent entering the battlefield under your control.
Combo Potential: This card has a synergistic nature that combos well with decks focused on +1/+1 counters, enabling you to create an increasingly formidable army as you deploy more creatures. Moreover, in combination with proliferate mechanics or other counter-doubling effects, Boreal Outrider’s value magnifies, allowing for exponential growth of your creatures’ power.
Meta-Relevance: Depending on the meta, a card like Boreal Outrider can be a sleeper hit. In a landscape filled with decks aiming to deploy creatures quickly and buff them, the Outrider ensures that every snow mana you spend contributes to a stronger presence on the board, keeping you competitive in creature-centric matches.
How to beat
Boreal Outrider presents a unique challenge on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This snow creature enhances other snow permanents by providing an additional power boost whenever you play a snow spell, ramping up the strength of an entire snow-themed deck. Dealing with this creature requires a smart approach. The key here lies in disrupting the advantageous snow synergy it offers. Targeted removal spells such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently remove Boreal Outrider before its effect becomes overwhelming. Counterspells also serve as an effective measure to prevent it from ever hitting the field.
Another tactic is to limit the effectiveness of snow spells. Artifacts like Grafdigger’s Cage halt creatures from entering the battlefield from graveyards or libraries, indirectly dampening the Outrider’s impact while controlling the overall pace. Alternatively, applying constant pressure with aggressive creatures can surpass the incremental advantages a Boreal Outrider may provide, forcing your opponent to switch to a defensive stance. MTG is a game of strategy, and cleverly timing your spells and leveraging the weaknesses in your opponent’s deck are pivotal for success against cards like Boreal Outrider.
BurnMana Recommendations
Mastering your MTG strategies takes insight and the right cards in your deck. Refining your gameplay means understanding the value each card brings to the table. With Boreal Outrider, you amplify your creature spells using snow mana, bolstering your board’s presence substantially. And while it’s vital to consider this creature’s limitations, such as its need for dedicated snow land bases, it’s equally important to recognize its potential in enhancing your creature-centric strategy. Dive deeper into your MTG journey, explore new tactics, and integrate cards like Boreal Outrider into your arsenal. Learn more and take your gameplay to the next level with us.
Cards like Boreal Outrider
Boreal Outrider is an intriguing card that finds its home among the green snow creatures of MTG. Much like the Juneau Avenger, Boreal Outrider thrives in decks that harness the power of snow lands. However, the outpacing factor for Boreal Outrider comes in its static ability to strengthen other creatures, similar to the nurturing ethos of Rime Tender. While Rime Tender provides utility by untapping snow lands, Boreal Outrider offers a consistent buff to creatures as you play more snow-permeated spells.
Conifer Wurm is another creature that benefits from a typically snow-heavy mana base, growing in power with each snow land you control. Yet, it lacks the synergistic ability to empower your entire board. Boreal Outrider does not require a snow-specific condition to boost creatures, making it broadly effective every time a snow land enters your battlefield. This is especially significant when compared to discrete snow boosters like Ice-Fang Coatl, which primarily focuses on individual advantage through abilities such as card draw and deathtouch.
Considering the encyclopedic range of MTG cards, Boreal Outrider holds its own when staking a claim among snow synergy enablers. It not only emboldens your board state but also encourages a play style intertwined with the use of snow mana, adding depth to both strategy and deck construction craft.
Cards similar to Boreal Outrider by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Boreal Outrider // Boreal Outrider MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim Art Series and Kaldheim, 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 Boreal Outrider // Boreal Outrider 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
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Printings
The Boreal Outrider // Boreal Outrider Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by Alex Konstad.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaldheim Art Series | AKHM | 42 | 2015 | Art series | Borderless | Alex Konstad | ||
| 2 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 163 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alex Konstad |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Boreal Outrider has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Boreal Outrider card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-05 | A creature affected by Boreal Outrider’s triggered ability will enter with only one additional +1/+1 counter on it, even if you spent more than one snow mana of the appropriate color(s) to cast it. |
| 2021-02-05 | If you control multiple Boreal Outriders, each of their triggered abilities will trigger separately. A creature could enter the battlefield with multiple +1/+1 counters on it this way, even if you spent only a single snow mana of the appropriate color(s) to cast the creature spell. |
| 2021-02-05 | Snow is a supertype, not a card type. It has no rules meaning or function by itself, but spells and abilities may refer to it. |
| 2021-02-05 | Snow isn’t a type of mana. If an effect says you may spend mana as though it were any type, you can’t pay for {S} using mana that wasn’t produced by a snow source. |
| 2021-02-05 | Some cards have additional effects for each {S} spent to cast them. You can cast these spells even if you don’t spend any snow mana to cast them; their additional effects simply won’t do anything. |
| 2021-02-05 | The Kaldheim set doesn’t have any cards with mana costs that include {S}, but some previous sets do. If an effect says such a spell costs less to cast, that reduction doesn’t apply to any {S} costs. This is also true for activated abilities that include {S} in their activation costs and effects that reduce those costs. |
| 2021-02-05 | The {S} symbol is a generic mana symbol. It represents a cost that can be paid by one mana that was produced by a snow source. That mana can be any color or colorless. |
| 2021-02-05 | Unlike effects that care only whether or not you spent snow mana to cast a spell, Boreal Outrider cares about the color of that snow mana. It doesn’t matter which part of the total cost to cast the creature spell the snow mana was spent on, only that the spent snow mana matches one of the creature spell’s colors. For example, if a red creature spell has an additional cost to cast it and you spend red mana from a snow source to pay that cost, Boreal Outrider’s ability will trigger. |
