Stratus Walk MTG Card

Born of the Gods (BNG)
2014-02-07 - Number 52

Magic Origins (ORI)
2015-07-17 - Number 77

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Stratus Walk excels in card advantage and aerial combat tactics, making it crucial for deck versatility.
Its precise mana cost and lack of discard feature may limit strategic depth in varied decks.
Despite the cost, its combination of flight and drawing upon entry cements Stratus Walk’s utility.

Text of card

Enchant creature When Stratus Walk enters the battlefield, draw a card. Enchanted creature has flying. Enchanted creature can block only creatures with flying.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Stratus Walk enters the battlefield, the drawn card ensures that you keep your hand replenished. This is particularly beneficial as it helps you to continue developing your board presence while maintaining options in hand.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources, Stratus Walk’s low mana cost aids in curving out your plays efficiently. By enchanting creatures early, it allows you to continue deploying threats without major resource commitment.

Instant Speed: Stratus Walk is an enchantment played at sorcery speed; however, the flying ability granted can be tactically revealed during your turn to bypass blockers unexpectedly. While not played at instant speed itself, the capability it provides can change combat dynamics at crucial moments.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Stratus Walk may allow you to draw a card upon casting, but it lacks a discard requirement. This means there’s no opportunity to utilize strategies that benefit from discarding, such as activating madness or threshold abilities, which can be a missed tactical advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Stratus Walk requires both blue mana and generic mana to cast. This specificity can make it less flexible in multicolored decks that might need mana for other spells or abilities, potentially affecting your game strategy by limiting your mana availability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two mana, Stratus Walk could be perceived as less efficient compared to other blue enchantments that offer similar or better abilities for a lower cost. Other cards at the same mana point could provide a greater impact on the game, which is a key consideration when optimizing your deck for performance.

Reasons to Include Stratus Walk in Your Collection

Versatility: Stratus Walk is a blue aura that can be applied to any creature, enabling it to fly and draw a card upon entry. This makes it a flexible inclusion in decks focused on evasion or in need of card draw.

Combo Potential: Giving creatures flying can activate synergies with cards that benefit from flying creatures or use the skies as a pathway to victory. Additionally, entering the battlefield triggers can be leveraged with Stratus Walk for various combo setups.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where flying creatures often have free reign, Stratus Walk provides an accessible way to either develop your own aerial threats or adapt your ground forces to new strategies, keeping your deck competitive as the meta evolves.

How to beat

Stratus Walk is a unique aura in Magic: The Gathering that can turn the tide by granting a creature flying and drawing a card upon entering the battlefield. Such abilities make it a handy tool for evasion and card advantage. When plotting to overcome an opponent’s use of Stratus Walk, prioritizing removal spells that can target enchanted creatures or the enchantments themselves is crucial.

Enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or Naturalize are efficient ways to directly counteract the Stratus Walk advantage. If your opponent has already drawn a card from Stratus Walk, consider leveraging spells that can remove multiple threats at once. Board wipes like Wrath of God or targeted removals like Murder can clear creatures regardless of their flying status, negating the lift given by the aura. Recognizing the right moment to use these spells can minimize the impact of Stratus Walk on the game.

Ultimately, outmaneuvering Stratus Walk requires a mix of strategic removal and anticipating your opponent’s strategy. Keeping a balanced mix of creature and enchantment removal in your deck, alongside a keen sense for advantageous plays, will help maintain your edge when facing cards that offer multifaceted benefits like Stratus Walk.

Cards like Stratus Walk

Stratus Walk is a unique enchantment aura in Magic: The Gathering that grants a creature flying and when it enters the battlefield, allows its controller to draw a card. Comparable auras like Flight grant creatures flying ability but lack the added bonus of drawing a card. This makes Stratus Walk a more versatile option as it can turn any ground creature into a potential aerial threat while also providing card advantage.

Voyage’s End is another card that could be compared, though it’s an instant that bounces and scrys instead of boosting a creature permanently. Though it doesn’t provide the sustained evasive ability that Stratus Walk does, it offers a temporary solution to deal with opponents’ threats and smoothens out future draws. Another comparable magic card is Leap which costs less and also grants flying, but similar to Flight, it doesn’t offer card draw. The ability to draw a card is where Stratus Walk shines, combining enhancement with an immediate effect on the player’s hand.

In the grand scheme of MTG enchantments, Stratus Walk presents a compelling choice for players looking to increase their evasion tactics while also maintaining card flow. This dual nature of the aura makes it stand out in its category.

Cards similar to Stratus Walk by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stratus Walk MTG card by a specific set like Born of the Gods and Magic Origins, 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 Stratus Walk and other MTG cards: