Runeforge Champion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Dwarf Warrior
Power 2
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances decks by fetching runes directly from the library, ensuring card advantage and strategic setup.
  2. Reduces casting cost of runes, allowing for a more efficient use of mana and optimal play.
  3. Comparatively high casting cost may deter players despite its potential for game-changing rune interactions.

Text of card

When Runeforge Champion enters the battlefield, you may search your library and/or graveyard for a Rune card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you search your library this way, shuffle. You may pay rather than pay the mana cost for Rune spells you cast.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Runeforge Champion enhances your card value by allowing you to search your library for a Rune card and put it into your hand upon entering the battlefield. This effect secures you an additional card to play, which can significantly influence the game’s progression by setting up further advantageous plays.

Resource Acceleration: This dwarven warrior reduces the cost of casting Rune spells you control. By decreasing the generic mana required to play Rune spells, the Runeforge Champion accelerates your resource management, allowing you to deploy more threats or answers with the same amount of mana, efficiently optimizing your gameplay strategy.

Instant Speed: While the Runeforge Champion itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the efficiency it provides in casting runes can lead to surprising instant-speed interactions, as many runes can be attached to permanents, including creatures with flash, enabling unexpected combat tricks or last-minute defenses that can catch an opponent off guard.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging in MTG gameplay with Runeforge Champion can be challenging for players who face its discard requirement. This card stipulates the forfeiture of another card, potentially putting you at a disadvantage when your hand is already depleting.

Specific Mana Cost: Incorporating Runeforge Champion into your deck requires a dedication to white mana, as its casting cost is strictly color-restricted. This condition can make it less versatile and could be prohibitive in multicolored decks not heavily favoring white.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that competes with other cards offering similar effects, Runeforge Champion may not be the ideal choice. Savvy players might find that this cost is rather steep for its abilities, especially when there are options that may provide more bang for your buck mana-wise.


Reasons to Include Runeforge Champion in Your Collection

Versatility: Runeforge Champion is a dynamic addition to any deck that leverages Equipment or Aura spells. It streamlines your strategy by allowing you to fetch the necessary runes to enhance your creatures.

Combo Potential: With this card, you unlock the ability to create synergies with existing runes in your deck, making them cost-less to cast, which can lead to powerful turn sequences and give you an edge on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the shifting landscape of competitive play, Runeforge Champion holds its ground by offering consistent value in decks that revolve around Equipment and Aura spells, staying relevant in various meta environments.


How to beat

Runeforge Champion presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering as a card that can significantly enhance play by reducing rune costs and tutoring a rune card straight to your hand. Nonetheless, there are strategies to triumph over this formidable card. Interaction is your primary tool; Aim for instant-speed removal to handle the Champion before it can capitalize on its rune tutoring ability. Cards like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently dispatch it before any runes come into play. It’s vital to keep disruption at the ready, though, as waiting until your turn may already be too late.

Additionally, consider employing counter magic to prevent Runeforge Champion from ever hitting the battlefield. A well-timed Counterspell or Mana Leak can be far more effective than attempting to deal with multiple runes later in the game. Lastly, win the attrition battle. Runeforge Champion can be a one-trick pony, so if you can outlast its initial impact and mitigate the advantage of rune cards, victory can shift to your favor. In essence, prompt removal, strategic countering, and tiring your opponent’s resources are keys to dominate over Runeforge Champion.


Cards like Runeforge Champion

Runeforge Champion is a notable component in the pantheon of rune-centric strategies within Magic: The Gathering. It shares a kinship with cards like Stoneforge Mystic, which offers a similar function in fetching pivotal equipment cards from your library. However, where Runeforge Champion excels is in its synergy with rune cards, specifically reducing their casting cost and providing direct access to these enchantments, unlike Stoneforge Mystic which is confined to equipment only.

Another peer in this comparison is the Gallant Cavalry, a creature card that brings a friend along upon entering the battlefield, bolstering your army’s ranks. While Runeforge Champion does not create additional creature tokens, the value it adds by reinforcing your existing forces with runes can be game-changing. On the flipside, Danitha Capashen, Paragon, brings cost reduction and multiple static abilities for equipment and auras, yet lacks the rune-focused advantages that Runeforge Champion introduces, making the Champion a more specialized asset in rune-based decks.

Assessing the intricacies of these cards, Runeforge Champion stands out with its unique role in rune magic, crafting a niche where it not only shaves mana costs but also connects you instantly with the tools to customize and empower your battlefield presence.

Stoneforge Mystic - MTG Card versions
Gallant Cavalry - MTG Card versions
Danitha Capashen, Paragon - MTG Card versions
Stoneforge Mystic - Grand Prix Promos (PGPX)
Gallant Cavalry - Core Set 2019 (M19)
Danitha Capashen, Paragon - Dominaria (DOM)

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Argivian Blacksmith - Antiquities (ATQ)
Jamuraan Lion - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Snow Hound - Ice Age (ICE)
Femeref Knight - Mirage (MIR)
Border Guard - Portal (POR)
Stern Marshal - Portal (POR)
Benalish Knight - Anthologies (ATH)
Regal Unicorn - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Wild Griffin - Starter 2000 (S00)
Pianna, Nomad Captain - Odyssey (ODY)
Dogged Hunter - Odyssey (ODY)
Diving Griffin - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Faithful Squire // Kaiso, Memory of Loyalty - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Kitsune Palliator - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Freewind Equenaut - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Sanctum Guardian - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Field Marshal - Coldsnap (CSP)
Kithkin Healer - Lorwyn (LRW)
Kor Hookmaster - Zendikar (ZEN)
Zhalfirin Commander - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Runeforge Champion MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos 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 Runeforge Champion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Runeforge Champion Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-06. Illustrated by Andrey Kuzinskiy.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 882082015normalblackAndrey Kuzinskiy
22021-02-05KaldheimKHM 262015normalblackAndrey Kuzinskiy
32021-02-05KaldheimKHM 3392015normalblackAndrey Kuzinskiy
42021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 26p2015normalblackAndrey Kuzinskiy
52021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 26s2015normalblackAndrey Kuzinskiy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Runeforge Champion has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-05 Casting a Rune spell for an alternative cost doesn’t change its mana cost or converted mana cost.
2021-02-05 Runeforge Champion’s last ability doesn’t change when you can cast a Rune spell.
2021-02-05 Runeforge Champion’s last ability provides an alternative cost to cast Rune spells. You can’t combine this with other alternative costs that may apply. In the unusual case that a Rune spell has additional costs, you can pay those in addition to the . If those additional costs are mandatory, you must pay them in order to cast the spell.

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