Nightwind Glider MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nightwind Glider is remarkable for its ability to evade many common forms of removal, offering a subtle form of card advantage as it remains an elusive threat on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing a mana boost, its low casting cost combined with potential cost reduction for creature spells of the same type allows for efficient mana utilization and a faster deployment of your strategy.

Instant Speed: The capability of Nightwind Glider to block creatures with flying or reach at instant speed gives you significant leverage, allowing you to surprise opponents and potentially eliminate key threats during combat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nightwind Glider’s abilities don’t necessitate discarding, but it requires careful deck construction. To activate its protection capability, you must have a significant number of Rebels, which may lead to discarding beneficial non-Rebel cards for strategic alignment.

Specific Mana Cost: Nightwind Glider demands both white and generic mana for casting, which can be less than ideal in multi-colored decks that need mana flexibility. Its dependency on white means it fits best in mono-white or decks with a heavy white influence.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two white, Nightwind Glider may be a steep investment for a 2/1 creature. Players might find other creatures or spells that offer more immediate board presence or utility for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Nightwind Glider in Your Collection

Versatility: Nightwind Glider stands out with its protection ability, making it a resilient choice for decks combating permanents with certain colors. Its adaptability in evading enemy spells and creatures is a significant asset.

Combo Potential: Its protection attributes can be combined with various equipment and aura spells to create a formidable defense while opening up opportunities for offense in otherwise challenging board states.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment teeming with multicolored decks, Nightwind Glider could serve as an effective countermeasure. It thrives in metas saturated with targeted removal, giving you an edge by maintaining board presence where other creatures might not.

How to beat

Nightwind Glider presents a unique challenge in MTG due to its protection from black and from green. This means that it can’t be targeted, damaged, or enchanted by anything that’s black or green, which could limit your traditional removal options. However, there are strategies to outmaneuver this evasive creature.

One effective tactic is to use colorless or artifact-based removal cards, such as those found in utility cards like Oblivion Ring or Engineered Explosives. These can bypass the color protection of Nightwind Glider. Additionally, board wipes that do not target, like Day of Judgment or Wrath of God, can clear the Glider away as part of the collateral damage, neatly sidestepping its protections.

Another strategy is to use cards that force your opponent to sacrifice creatures. Since these effects do not target, they circumvent the protection provided to Nightwind Glider, compelling your opponent to say goodbye to their flyer. Cards like Liliana of the Veil’s edict effect or Diabolic Edict are prime examples of such tools in a player’s arsenal.

Consider also redirecting your focus. Instead of attempting to remove it, enhance your board’s resilience or race your opponent with aggressive plays. This way, Nightwind Glider becomes less of a threat as you outpace it with your strategy.