Heart of Ramos MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides vital mana at critical moments for impactful plays, enabling card advantage and strategic depth.
  2. Acts instantly without tapping, offering a surprise element and flexible response to opponents’ actions.
  3. Despite a high cost, it can fuel powerful strategies with its versatility and combo potential.

Text of card

oc T: Add one red mana to your mana pool. Sacrifice Heart of Ramos: Add one red mana to your mana pool.

Ramos bled, and there was fire.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Heart of Ramos can be sacrificed to add a significant boost of mana to your reserve at a critical moment, potentially leading to card advantage by enabling large, impactful plays or by helping deploy multiple spells in a single turn.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact plays a key role in resource acceleration by offering a colored mana source that goes beyond your land drop for the turn. This can be crucial for advancing your board state faster than your opponents.

Instant Speed: The ability to sacrifice Heart of Ramos doesn’t require tapping, which means it can be used at instant speed. This flexibility allows you to respond to your opponents’ actions or make unexpected plays during their turns, taking advantage of the element of surprise.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Heart of Ramos necessitates a discard to activate certain abilities. This can pose a hurdle when your hand is nearly depleted or if the cards you possess are crucial for your game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The artifact demands a specific amount of mana to convert into a usable resource. This can reduce the flexibility of your mana base, especially in multicolor decks that need various types of mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The cost to get Heart of Ramos on the field can be steep, and utilizing its full potential takes valuable turns. Players might find other mana sources or accelerants that bring more immediate impact to the game with less investment.


Reasons to Include Heart of Ramos in Your Collection

Versatility: Heart of Ramos adapts seamlessly to various deck builds, serving as a robust mana accelerator for spell-casting or mobilizing heavy-hitters onto the battlefield expeditiously.

Combo Potential: This artifact not only ramps up your mana pool but can be sacrificed for an immediate mana boost, meshing well with strategies hinged on sacrifice-triggered synergies or needs for instant-speed mana.

Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating nature of the meta, Heart of Ramos holds potential value in environments where mana flexibility can outpace or respond to dominant board states, making it a prudent speculative addition to your arsenal.


How to beat

Heart of Ramos is a notable artifact from the Mercadian Masques set that offers a strategic mana boost in Magic: The Gathering. The ability to sacrifice Heart of Ramos for a single red mana can be pivotal for casting powerful spells or initiating game-turning combos. When sizing it up against other mana-producing artifacts like Fire Diamond, Heart of Ramos has the distinct advantage of producing mana without entering the battlefield tapped. On the other hand, Fire Diamond provides a sustained source of mana but lacks the one-time surge offered by Heart of Ramos.

Defeating a player wielding Heart of Ramos hinges on disrupting artifact synergy and timing the removal of key artifacts. Cards such as Abrade or Naturalize can dismantle the artifact’s impact on the game, denying opponents the extra mana at a critical moment. Keep a lookout for spells or abilities that allow targeted artifact destruction or consider a more widespread approach with cards like Shatterstorm. In essence, staying one step ahead of your opponent’s mana curve is crucial. This strategic anticipation ensures that Heart of Ramos doesn’t tilt the battlefield in your adversary’s favor.


Cards like Heart of Ramos

The Heart of Ramos is a distinctive mana-generating artifact within Magic: The Gathering. Its functionalities resemble those of other mana rocks, such as the color-fixing Darksteel Ingot, which provides similar utility in the form of a mana of any color. While both can be tapped for mana, Heart of Ramos holds an advantage by being able to sacrifice itself for an additional burst of red mana, something the indestructible Darksteel Ingot cannot do.

Comparing it to Fire Diamond, which also taps for red mana, Heart of Ramos has a higher initial casting cost but offers that potential extra mana upon sacrifice. Gilded Lotus, another comparable card, taps for three mana of any one color, providing more immediate color-fixing power but without the sacrifice ability. It’s also more costly to cast, positioning Heart of Ramos as a mid-range option in terms of both versatility and mana curve optimization.

Heart of Ramos stands out in its niche, offering both steady mana production and a one-off mana boost capability, which makes it a versatile choice for decks that can capitalize on instances of sudden mana influx.

Darksteel Ingot - MTG Card versions
Fire Diamond - MTG Card versions
Gilded Lotus - MTG Card versions
Darksteel Ingot - Arena League 2004 (PAL04)
Fire Diamond - Mirage (MIR)
Gilded Lotus - Mirrodin (MRD)

Cards similar to Heart of Ramos by color, type and mana cost

Breya's Apprentice - MTG Card versions
Cursed Mirror - MTG Card versions
Battlemage's Bracers - MTG Card versions
Komainu Battle Armor - MTG Card versions
Geistflame Reservoir - MTG Card versions
Granite Shard - MTG Card versions
Goblin Replica - MTG Card versions
Foriysian Totem - MTG Card versions
Vulshok Replica - MTG Card versions
Spin Engine - MTG Card versions
Weldfast Monitor - MTG Card versions
Mizzium Tank - MTG Card versions
Brimstone Trebuchet - MTG Card versions
Glittering Stockpile - MTG Card versions
The Reaver Cleaver - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Hammer - MTG Card versions
Bearded Axe - MTG Card versions
Gilded Assault Cart - MTG Card versions
Arcbound Tracker - MTG Card versions
Mountain Mover - MTG Card versions
Breya's Apprentice - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Cursed Mirror - Doctor Who (WHO)
Battlemage's Bracers - Commander 2021 (C21)
Komainu Battle Armor - Neon Dynasty Commander (NEC)
Geistflame Reservoir - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Granite Shard - Mirrodin (MRD)
Goblin Replica - Mirrodin (MRD)
Foriysian Totem - Time Spiral (TSP)
Vulshok Replica - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)
Spin Engine - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Weldfast Monitor - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Mizzium Tank - The List (PLST)
Brimstone Trebuchet - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Glittering Stockpile - Streets of New Capenna (SNC)
The Reaver Cleaver - Dominaria United Commander (DMC)
Dwarven Hammer - Commander Masters (CMM)
Bearded Axe - Kaldheim (KHM)
Gilded Assault Cart - Kaldheim (KHM)
Arcbound Tracker - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Mountain Mover - 2020 Heroes of the Realm (PH20)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Heart of Ramos MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and World Championship Decks 2000, 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 Heart of Ramos and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Heart of Ramos Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2000-08-02. Illustrated by David Martin.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 2961997normalblackDavid Martin
22000-08-02World Championship Decks 2000WC00 nl296sb1997normalgoldDavid Martin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Heart of Ramos has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 You can activate the sacrifice ability while this card is tapped.

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