Rolling Thunder MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Excellent for removing multiple threats at once, offering a significant board control advantage.
  2. Mana adaptability makes it versatile for early or late-game plays, fitting various game stages.
  3. Sorcery speed enforces strategic play, timing attacks and defenses for optimal impact.

Text of card

Rolling Thunder deals X damage divided any way you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players.

"Such rage," thought Vhati, gazing up at the thunderhead from the *Predator*. "It is Greven's mind manifest."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rolling Thunder is an impactful card that can deal with multiple threats at once. By adjusting the mana you spend, you can strategically eliminate several creatures, thereby gaining an advantageous position on the board.

Resource Acceleration: This card doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, but its flexible cost allows you to adapt to your available mana. This ensures you can always make the most of your resources, whether you’re in the early or late game.

Instant Speed: While Rolling Thunder is a sorcery, its ability to clear the board during your turn sets the stage for safe attacks or defending against an opponent’s creatures with the confidence that their opposing forces have been diminished.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Even though Rolling Thunder doesn’t ask for discarding cards, it still requires a substantial resource commitment, which could hinder your hand if your strategy involves maintaining card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: As a spell reliant on Red mana, Rolling Thunder necessitates a mana base that can consistently produce large amounts of Red mana, potentially constraining deck-building options and making it less versatile in multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Compared to other removal or damage spells, Rolling Thunder can be mana-intensive. This might not always align with a player’s curve, especially when dealing with smaller threats or when a more mana-efficient response is needed.


Reasons to Include Rolling Thunder in Your Collection

Versatility: Rolling Thunder is a flexible card that can be slotted into various decks. Its scalability allows it to be effective both in the early game for pinpoint removal or in the late game to clear the board or deal a finishing blow to your opponent.

Combo Potential: This card works well with strategies that amplify spell damage or benefit from casting high-cost spells. It’s fantastic for decks that utilize spellslinging synergies or require large amounts of damage spread across multiple targets.

Meta-Relevance: With a meta that adapts constantly, Rolling Thunder can be a game-changer. It has the potential to shift games in your favor by dealing with creature-heavy boards or pressuring life totals, making it a relevant inclusion for many competitive formats.


How to beat

Rolling Thunder is a dynamic red sorcery card that is known for its ability to flexibly deal damage divided as you choose among any number of targets. Its strength lies in its scalability, allowing players to invest as much mana as available to wipe out numerous creatures or even direct a significant blow to an opponent’s life total.

To combat this card, careful management of your board presence is key. Avoid overextending with too many low-toughness creatures if you suspect Rolling Thunder is in your opponent’s hand. Instead, focus on applying pressure with creatures that have higher toughness to survive the blast or those with abilities that can negate the damage. Spell-based counters or instant-speed protection spells can be crucial in shielding your most valuable assets from Rolling Thunder’s fiery wrath. Additionally, disrupting your opponent’s mana base to limit the spell’s power or applying hand disruption tactics to remove the threat before it’s cast, can be effective strategies. Keep your play tight and adaptive to minimize the impact of Rolling Thunder on your game strategy.

In essence, mitigating the threat posed by Rolling Thunder requires strategic foresight and timely responses, ensuring that you maintain control over the battlefield while keeping your opponent’s potential for massive damage in check.


BurnMana Recommendations

Rolling Thunder encapsulates much of what it means to play Red in MTG – the ability to unleash power directly at your adversaries. As you’ve seen, it can alter the game’s state significantly, either by clearing a path for your victory or by turning the tables when you’re behind. It is an essential spell for those who revel in the strategic depth MTG offers, allowing for a calculated, yet formidable display of force. Our invitation to you, fellow MTG enthusiasts, is to delve deeper into the utility of cards like Rolling Thunder and continuously refine your gameplay. Discover more with us and harness the ability to dictate the pace of the match, wielding your spells to achieve triumphs that resonate throughout your MTG journey. Join us to amplify your MTG tactics and deck-building finesse.


Cards like Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a versatile damage-dealer, reminiscent of cards like Fireball and Comet Storm. Much like Fireball, Rolling Thunder allows players to spread damage across multiple targets, offering strategic flexibility. Nevertheless, Rolling Thunder diverges by requiring a single red mana per target, which distinguishes it from Fireball’s more variable mana costs that scale with its damage output.

Akin to Comet Storm, a key feature of Rolling Thunder is its potential to impact numerous targets. However, Comet Storm’s multikicker cost permits an unmatched level of scalability that can often turn the tides of a game. In contrast, Rolling Thunder’s fixed cost per target imposes a stricter limit on its potential range of destruction. Additionally, Comet Storm’s instant speed gives it an edge in responsiveness over the sorcery-speed Rolling Thunder.

Evaluating these spells side by side, Rolling Thunder presents a balanced option for players who seek damage distribution without the higher mana investments required by other area effect spells. Its reliable damage dispersal allows it to remain a formidable contender within its category in Magic: The Gathering, especially for those looking to showcase Red’s direct damage capabilities.

Fireball - MTG Card versions
Comet Storm - MTG Card versions
Fireball - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Comet Storm - Worldwake Promos (PWWK)

Cards similar to Rolling Thunder by color, type and mana cost

Scent of Cinder - MTG Card versions
Spitting Earth - MTG Card versions
Fanning the Flames - MTG Card versions
Strategy, Schmategy - MTG Card versions
Disorder - MTG Card versions
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Tribal Flames - MTG Card versions
Breath of Darigaaz - MTG Card versions
Volcanic Hammer - MTG Card versions
Incendiary Flow - MTG Card versions
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - MTG Card versions
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Pyroclasm - MTG Card versions
Goblin Sleigh Ride - MTG Card versions
Hurly-Burly - MTG Card versions
Scent of Cinder - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Spitting Earth - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Fanning the Flames - Stronghold (STH)
Strategy, Schmategy - Unglued (UGL)
Disorder - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Warrior's Oath - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Tribal Flames - Modern Masters (MMA)
Breath of Darigaaz - Commander 2015 (C15)
Volcanic Hammer - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Incendiary Flow - Friday Night Magic 2017 (F17)
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Nahiri's Lithoforming - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mizzium Mortars - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Burning Wish - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mana Seism - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Yamabushi's Storm - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Face to Face - Unhinged (UNH)
Pyroclasm - Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt (DDK)
Goblin Sleigh Ride - Happy Holidays (HHO)
Hurly-Burly - Lorwyn (LRW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rolling Thunder MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Battle Royale Box Set, 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 Rolling Thunder and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Rolling Thunder Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-10-14TempestTMP 1981997normalblackRichard Thomas
21999-11-12Battle Royale Box SetBRB 601997normalwhiteRichard Thomas
32009-09-04PlanechaseHOP 642003normalblackRichard Thomas
42015-05-06Tempest RemasteredTPR 1522015normalblackRichard Thomas
52015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 1542015normalblackYohann Schepacz
62018-11-16Game NightGNT 402015normalblackYohann Schepacz
72019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 10432015normalblackYohann Schepacz
82020-09-26The ListPLST BFZ-1542015normalblackYohann Schepacz

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Rolling Thunder has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Rolling Thunder 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 If X is 0, you can’t choose any targets.
2015-08-25 If Rolling Thunder is copied, the copy will retain the original damage divsion. The spell or ability will likely allow you to choose new targets, but you can’t change the way damage is divided.
2015-08-25 If some, but not all, of the targets become illegal by the time Rolling Thunder tries to resolve, the original division of damage still applies, but no damage is dealt to illegal targets. If all the targets are illegal, the spell won’t resolve.
2015-08-25 You choose how many targets Rolling Thunder has and how the damage is divided as you cast the spell. Each target must receive at least 1 damage.

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