Hum of the Radix MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2003-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Mirrodin
Set code	MRD
Number	122
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Avon

Key Takeaways

Hum of the Radix indirectly creates card advantage by making artifacts more costly for opponents.
It serves as a pre-emptive measure to control instant-speed artifact plays and interactions.
Despite its niche usage, it shines in metas dominated by artifacts and combos with stax effects.

Text of card

Each artifact spell costs more to play for each artifact its controller controls.

The elves learned long ago that anything left here slowly vanishes. Now it is a sacred site where the dead are laid to rest and where unnatural magic is erased forever.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hum of the Radix is a unique enchantment for MTG players looking to disrupt opponents’ strategies. It doesn’t directly draw cards but can generate a card advantage by slowing down your opponent’s artifact plays, effectively causing them to have fewer usable cards in comparison to your undisturbed game plan.

Resource Acceleration: Although Hum of the Radix doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it taxes your opponents’ for using artifacts. This can indirectly lead to resource acceleration as opposed to your adversaries. In a meta dominated by artifacts, Hum of the Radix can put you ahead simply by constraining your opponents’ mana.

Instant Speed: While Hum of the Radix is played at sorcery speed, it influences battles waged at instant speed. By increasing the cost of artifact spells and abilities, it forces opponents to reconsider their instant speed interactions, whether it be holding up mana for a counterspell, activating an artifact’s ability, or casting a flash artifact creature. Hum of the Radix can serve as a pre-emptive strike to impede their instant-speed plays significantly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hum of the Radix doesn’t ask players to discard, it features a restrictive integration in decks, requiring a build around its specific static ability which may not align with all strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Hum of the Radix demands a double green mana cost, potentially complicating its inclusion in multi-colored decks that might be mana-hungry for other colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana might deter players given that there are alternative artifacts or enchantment options that affect opponent resources or board state at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hum of the Radix is a unique enchantment capable of seamlessly integrating into decks that aim to suppress opponents’ artifact strategies. It ups the ante for players trying to cast artifacts, making it a strategic piece in formats where artifacts are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that increase the cost of spells or abilities, making it a punishing addition to a stax-style strategy. Deploying Hum of the Radix can be a game-changer when aiming to lock down an opponent’s game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In environments heavily reliant on artifacts, Hum of the Radix becomes particularly impactful. It can skew the balance of power in your favor by turning your opponents’ key strategies against them, making it a worthy inclusion in any metagame where artifact decks are dominant.

How to beat

Hum of the Radix may seem like a sturdy wall against artifact-heavy decks in Magic: The Gathering. This enchantment increases the cost of playing artifacts, which can quickly become a hindrance for opponents who rely on these. When facing off against Hum of the Radix, the key is to prioritize the removal of enchantments or adjust your strategy to avoid heavy artifact play.

Direct enchantment removal such as Naturalize or Disenchant can swiftly handle Hum of the Radix, allowing you to proceed with your game plan uninterrupted. Alternatively, shifting focus from artifacts to creature-based strategies can bypass the tax imposed by Hum of the Radix. This way, you maintain momentum while your opponent’s enchantment loses its relevance.

Adapting to circumvent Hum of the Radix helps to illustrate the flexibility and depth of strategic play in Magic: The Gathering. Recognizing when to destroy, ignore, or dance around potential obstacles like Hum of the Radix can make the difference between victory and defeat.

Cards like Hum of the Radix

Hum of the Radix stands as a unique enchantment in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering a deterrent to artifact-heavy strategies. It’s akin to cards like Stony Silence, which also inhibit artifact abilities, rendering them dormant. While Stony Silence completely prevents the activation of artifact abilities, Hum of the Radix takes a different route by making artifacts more costly to play for each one already on the battlefield.

Another comparable card is Damping Sphere, which similarly increases costs for players exploiting certain strategies – not by targeting artifacts but by penalizing the repeated casting of spells or utilizing lands for multiple mana. Though it doesn’t scale with the number of artifacts or lands, its constant tax affects the game dynamically. Then, we have Energy Flux, an older yet still impactful enchantment. It forces players to pay additional mana during their upkeep for each artifact they control or to sacrifice them, challenging opponents to maintain their board presence at a steep cost.

Each of these cards offers a strategic edge in controlling opponents’ advantage from specific card types. Hum of the Radix may not halt abilities or demand upkeep costs, but it’s a tool that can escalate the mana expense for artifact-centric decks significantly, thereby altering the tempo and resource management of the game.

Cards similar to Hum of the Radix by color, type and mana cost

Defense of the Heart - MTG Card versions

Arasta of the Endless Web - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hum of the Radix MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin, 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 Hum of the Radix and other MTG cards: