Rath's Edge MTG Card

Rarity	Rare
Type	Legendary Land
Released	2000-02-14
Set symbol
Set name	Nemesis
Set code	NEM
Number	142
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ron Spencer

Key Takeaways

Rath’s Edge can eliminate creatures at instant speed, offering strategic removal and game pacing control.
The card requires land sacrifice, which can hinder mana development and affect board presence.
Its unique damage ability as a land card makes it a versatile and tactical late-game asset.

Text of card

oc T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. o4, oc T, Sacrifice a land: Rath's Edge deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rath’s Edge offers a unique form of card advantage. While it doesn’t allow you to draw additional cards directly, it provides a utility that can repeatedly target and eliminate smaller creatures your opponents control. This constant threat can dissuade opponents from playing low-toughness creatures, leading to a subtle, long-term advantage.

Resource Acceleration: As a land, Rath’s Edge has the intrinsic benefit of resource acceleration. It taps for mana, contributing to your pool without costing you a card from your hand. This helps keep your hand full while still advancing your board state each turn.

Instant Speed: The ability to deal damage to target creature at instant speed gives you the flexibility to disrupt your opponents’ plays during their turn. You can use Rath’s Edge’s ability to remove key creatures in combat or in response to an opponent’s actions, making it a powerful tool for maintaining control over the pace of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the limiting aspects of Rath’s Edge is its requirement that you sacrifice a land to activate its ability. This can set you back in your mana development, especially if you’re aiming to maintain a strong board presence with other land-dependent strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Rath’s Edge demands a specific mana alignment to utilize its ability, costing one colorless and one red mana. This cost may restrict its incorporation into multi-color decks that might not always have the required mana readily available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card’s activation cost, while not exorbitant, is still significant. Since you have to pay both mana and sacrifice a land to deal damage, there are times when Rath’s Edge may not be the most mana-efficient option for controlling the board or finishing off an opponent, compared to other cards in your arsenal with lower activation thresholds.

Reasons to Include Rath’s Edge in Your Collection

Versatility: Rath’s Edge offers a unique utility as a land capable of direct damage. Its ability to fit into various deck types, such as control or land-focused strategies, makes it a versatile addition to any MTG player’s arsenal.

Combo Potential: In decks that synergize with lands or direct damage, Rath’s Edge can become a key piece. Its ability can be amplified with cards that untap lands or double land activations, providing unexpected combo opportunities.

Meta-Relevance: Given that MTG often involves intricate board states and matches where every damage point matters, Rath’s Edge can be particularly effective. Its relevance grows in metas where reaching untargetable creatures or finishing off opponents is crucial.

How to beat

Rath’s Edge is a unique land card that offers a tactical advantage in Magic: The Gathering, allowing players to deal damage directly to creatures. This direct damage can disrupt an opponent’s strategy, but beating Rath’s Edge requires forethought. To mitigate its impact, consider engaging in faster gameplay to outpace its land-based ability. Prioritize aggressive strategies that advance your board state quickly, compelling your opponent to use Rath’s Edge defensively rather than offensively.

It’s also effective to use land destruction or control elements to neutralize Rath’s Edge’s advantage. Cards with the ability to target lands can be pivotal in removing Rath’s Edge from the battlefield. Additionally, employing strategies that limit the number of cards in your opponent’s hand will constrain their potential to utilize Rath’s Edge’s ability to its fullest, as it requires discarding a card as part of its activation cost. By diminishing your opponent’s resources, you can effectively dampen the utility of Rath’s Edge and secure your position in the game.

Overall, Rath’s Edge can be a formidable card when left unchecked. However, with the right approach and understanding of its mechanics, players can craft strategies to overcome it and maintain the upper hand in their matches.

Cards like Rath's Edge

Rath’s Edge holds a unique position in the arsenal of lands within Magic: The Gathering. When examining its ability to deal direct damage, it draws parallels with cards such as Keldon Megaliths. Both are capable of dealing damage directly to players or creatures, but the Megaliths require the player to have no cards in hand to activate. Rath’s Edge, on the other hand, requires sacrificing a land, making it a more flexible option in land-rich decks.

Comparing Rath’s Edge with Ghitu Encampment presents an interesting contrast. While the Encampment turns into a creature, thus becoming a more aggressive option, Rath’s Edge serves as a versatile tool that can disrupt your opponent’s strategy by picking off key creatures. Moving to utility lands like Ghost Quarter offers a different angle, focusing on disrupting land bases instead of damage output, thereby showcasing Rath’s Edge’s uniqueness in providing direct damage from a land card.

Given its ability to both contribute mana and provide a tactical edge by removing creatures or pressuring opponents, Rath’s Edge stands out among its peers as a land card that can be particularly effective in the late game, where the sacrifice of a land is a small price to pay for the potential to change the course of the match.

Cards similar to Rath's Edge by color, type and mana cost

Terramorphic Expanse - MTG Card versions

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rath's Edge MTG card by a specific set like Nemesis, 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 Rath's Edge and other MTG cards: