Medicine Runner MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elf Cleric
Released	2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set name	Shadowmoor
Set code	SHM
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	230
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chippy

Key Takeaways

Medicine Runner refills your hand, potentially swinging the game in your favor during resource-tight matches.
Instant speed allows for reactive play, offering Medicine Runner users a tactical upper hand.
It aids in mana acceleration, enabling faster deployment of higher-cost, impactful spells or creatures.

Text of card

When Medicine Runner comes into play, you may remove a counter from target permanent.

Elvish healers carry vials of the balm known as dawnglow, reserving it for those wounds that herbs cannot treat.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Medicine Runner card shines when it comes to replenishing your hand. Each time it’s deployed, its ability can potentially turn a losing game around by providing you with additional options. Gaining extra cards is a strategic move, especially in drawn-out matches where resources can run thin.

Resource Acceleration: In the realm of MTG, time is mana, and the faster you can accumulate resources, the quicker you can unleash devastating spells or creatures. Medicine Runner helps accelerate your mana resources, enabling you to outpace your opponent and deploy your most powerful cards ahead of schedule, potentially tipping the scales in your favor.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed cannot be overstated in MTG. Having the ability to respond to your opponent’s actions in real time gives you a significant tactical advantage. Medicine Runner’s instant-speed capability allows for surprise plays and strategic depth, offering you the option to adapt dynamically to the ever-changing landscape of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Medicine Runner prompts you to discard another card from your hand when casting it. This can lead to a depleted hand, reducing your options in future turns and potentially leaving you at a strategic disadvantage against opponents with more cards at their disposal.

Specific Mana Cost: Necessitating both green and white mana, Medicine Runner can be challenging to cast in a timely manner, especially in multicolored decks where mana is already being stretched across various other spells and abilities.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is somewhat steep for its provided benefits, Medicine Runner might not always represent the best return on investment. There are other creatures or spells in the same cost bracket that could offer greater impact on the board or more immediate value to your strategic position in the game.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Medicine Runner’s ability to interact with counters makes it a flexible addition to decks that manipulate +1/+1 counters or need protection from negative counter effects. It can smoothly fit into a variety of strategies while providing incremental value.

Combo Potential: In decks that thrive on +1/+1 synergies, Medicine Runner can be a key component, potentially removing detrimental counters from your creatures to maintain board dominance or simply to enable counter-centric combos.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right meta where counters are prevalent, Medicine Runner could prove to be an essential tool. Its capacity to remove counters can disrupt opponent strategies, making it a worthwhile inclusion in decks aiming to remain competitive.

How to beat

Medicine Runner is a unique creature card that has the potential to influence the health of both players in a game of Magic: The Gathering. This utility creature can be particularly impactful in decks that focus on life gain and disruption strategies. To effectively combat Medicine Runner, you need to consider its strengths and weaknesses. One approach to overpowering this card is to limit the life gain abilities of your opponent by implementing cards that prevent or reverse life gain, such as Tainted Remedy.

Additionally, removal spells are always a straightforward solution to deal with troublesome creatures. Instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can dispatch Medicine Runner before it gets a chance to activate its abilities. Considering Medicine Runner’s low toughness, even a simple Shock could prove sufficient. Board wipes are also an effective strategy against decks that aim to establish a wide board presence with creatures like Medicine Runner.

Lastly, a more subtle tactic is to outpace the creature’s moderate impact by accelerating your own strategy, focusing on rapid aggro or combo decks that can achieve victory before Medicine Runner’s effects become relevant. Each of these approaches offers a viable plan to ensure Medicine Runner doesn’t disrupt your path to victory.

Cards like Medicine Runner

Medicine Runner has a unique place amongst the utility creatures of Magic: The Gathering. This Green and White hybrid can remove a counter from target permanent when it enters the battlefield. It shares this counter-removal trait with creatures like Thrashing Brontodon, although the latter is focused on artifact and enchantment destruction. Medicine Runner’s versatility in handling various counters makes it a notable choice, especially in a meta filled with +1/+1 counter strategies.

Comparing further, we see similarities with Aether Snap, which removes all counters from all permanents and extinguishes all tokens. Aether Snap offers a sweeping remedy but lacks the creatures’ board presence. Meanwhile, cards like Hex Parasite provide another method for managing counters, allowing targeted removal at a flexible Phyrexian mana cost. However, this flexibility comes at the price of life points, which may be unfavorable in tight situations.

Therefore, Medicine Runner carves out its niche effectively by combining the utility of counter removal with creature presence on the battlefield. It’s a hybrid solution for players looking to tame the growing tide of counters while establishing their own field of play.

Cards similar to Medicine Runner by color, type and mana cost

Knight of the Skyward Eye - MTG Card versions

Shanna, Sisay's Legacy - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Medicine Runner MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Medicine Runner and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Medicine Runner has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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