Wind Sail MTG Card

Portal Second Age (P02)
1998-06-24 - Number 60

Starter 1999 (S99)
1999-07-01 - Number 62

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery

Key Takeaways

Wind Sail’s card advantage and mana ramping potential can significantly impact board presence and resource acceleration.
The requirement to discard a card and its specific mana cost can limit its versatility and overall utility in play.
Its unique evasion ability makes it relevant in aerial combat-focused metagames and offers considerable combo potential.

Text of card

Any one or two creatures gain flying until the end of the turn.

It pays to be at home both on the sea *and* in the sky.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wind Sail enables players to reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a nonland card, thereby gaining access to more options and maintaining board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Upon resolution, Wind Sail allows you to put any number of land cards revealed this way into your hand, potentially ramping up your mana resources significantly.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Wind Sail at instant speed allows players to adapt to the unfolding game and utilize their mana efficiently on either their own turn or their opponent’s.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of Wind Sail is the obligation to discard another card. This trade-off can sometimes set you back, especially in moments where maintaining hand advantage is crucial. In this context, Wind Sail might force a difficult choice, diminishing your capacity to respond to threats effectively.

Specific Mana Cost: While seemingly affordable, the mana cost of Wind Sail necessitates specific color alignment. It requires a careful deck build, as it can only be played efficiently within decks that can reliably produce the right type of mana. In multicolored decks, such strict requirements might complicate your mana base and reduce the card’s overall versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Another aspect to consider is that Wind Sail’s mana cost is relatively steep given its impact on the game. With other cards on the market offering similar or better effects for less mana, this could make Wind Sail a less favorable option for players looking for efficient plays and might not always justify a spot in competitive deck lists.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Wind Sail is a multi-purpose card that can be easily included in a variety of deck builds. It shines in strategies that capitalize on flying creatures or require a solid defense against them.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with effects that grant bonuses for each attacking flying creature or for those that benefit from tapping and untapping mechanics. It serves as both an enabler and a protector in combos.

Meta-Relevance: With its ability to either buff your flying creatures or to act as a foil against opponents’ airborne threats, Wind Sail is relevant in a meta-game that is dense with flyers and needs versatile answers.

How to Beat

Wind Sail is a unique element within the tapestry of Magic: The Gathering gameplay, offering players a tactical advantage with its ability to adjust the power dynamic on the battlefield. To navigate against this card effectively, consider incorporating removal spells in your deck that can bypass the potential defenses Wind Sail poses. This means focusing on strategies that reduce the reliance on combat to control the game.

Employing direct damage spells or abilities that don’t require attacking can mitigate the benefits Wind Sail grants to your opponent’s creatures. Additionally, enchantment removal becomes key, as excising Wind Sail from the field reverts the power levels back to their original state, allowing you to regain control. In games where tempo is crucial, simply outpacing the deployments can overwhelm a strategy dependent on a card like Wind Sail.

Understanding these key interactions and flexibly alternating between confrontational and indirect tactics will ensure that Wind Sail does not become an insurmountable obstacle. It’s in the ability to adapt and preemptively counter such cards that players find the path to victory in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Wind Sail

Wind Sail provides a refreshing spin in the scope of mana acceleration and evasion enhancing in Magic: The Gathering. Its abilities overlap with staple cards like Rancor, which also offers an increase in creature power and grants trample. However, Wind Sail diverges by focusing on granting flying rather than trample, offering a different dimension of evasion.

Comparably, we find cards such as Jump, which simply gives a creature flying until end of turn. Wind Sail, though, allows for a more sustained advantage, giving a creature permanent flying for as long as Wind Sail remains attached. Furthermore, when we look at Heightened Reflexes, which also boosts power for a single turn, Wind Sail stands out with its enduring effect, effectively changing the board state and enabling long-term strategic plays.

While each of these cards can fit into a variety of decks depending on the desired strategy, Wind Sail’s unique offering of sustained evasion makes it an intriguing option for players seeking to build around airborne assaults. It carves its own niche within MTG, delivering an evasion tool that could well be a deck’s linchpin for achieving victory through unblockable assault strategies.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wind Sail MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age and Starter 1999, 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 Wind Sail and other MTG cards: