Cloudfin Raptor MTG Card
2013-02-01 - Number 32
2019-02-15 - Number 108
2024-01-12 - Number 310
2024-01-12 - Number 37
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Bird Mutant |
| Abilities | Evolve,Flying |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Evolves with creature plays, offering card advantage and stronger board state over time.
- Low cost and aerial ability make it versatile in aggressive metas and combo decks.
- Weak against fast removal and can strain hand resources if not managed well.
Text of card
Flying Evolve (Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Cloudfin Raptor shines in its potential for card advantage through its evolve mechanic. As you play creatures with higher power or toughness, Cloudfin Raptor gets bigger. This means you’re effectively gaining value from other creature plays, bolstering your board presence without dipping further into your hand.
Resource Acceleration: While Cloudfin Raptor itself doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, it can be a key player in decks that thrive on fast development. Due to its low cost, you can get this creature out early, creating a favorable setup for larger creatures to follow more quickly and efficiently.
Instant Speed: While the Cloudfin Raptor doesn’t operate at instant speed, it benefits greatly from creatures that do. Playing creatures with flash at the end of your opponent’s turn can trigger the Raptor’s evolve ability unexpectedly, potentially altering the board state in your favor without prior telegraphing to your opponent.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Cloudfin Raptor itself doesn’t require a discard, it’s important to consider that in a deck built around its evolve mechanic, you may need to keep casting creatures to trigger its ability. This could deplete your hand quickly, and without additional card draw, you could find yourself at a disadvantage.
Specific Mana Cost: Cloudfin Raptor requires blue mana to play, which means it naturally fits into blue or blue-centric decks. This can be restrictive as it may not synergize well with decks that don’t support blue mana or evolve strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While a single blue mana may seem low, the true cost of Cloudfin Raptor comes from the need to continuously play creatures with greater power or toughness to evolve it. In some cases, investing mana in other creatures to grow the Raptor could lead to less mana available for instant-speed interactions or more impactful plays during your turn.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Cloudfin Raptor is a flexible addition to numerous deck types, providing an early aerial threat that can scale effectively as the game progresses. Its Evolve mechanic allows it to grow alongside the creatures you play, making it a persistent force to count on.
Combo Potential: This creature’s capacity to accumulate +1/+1 counters makes it a synergistic choice for strategies built around counter manipulation. Whether it’s proliferate mechanics or benefiting from other creatures entering the battlefield with counters, Cloudfin Raptor can become a formidable flyer quickly.
Meta-Relevance: Given its low mana cost and scalable presence, Cloudfin Raptor can be particularly potent in metas that favor aggressive strategies. It’s a card that matches well against slower, developing boards, allowing players to maintain pressure from the outset of the match.
How to beat
Cloudfin Raptor excels in Magic: The Gathering as an early game flying creature that grows through evolve as you steadily summon larger creatures. Its initial fragility, however, is an exploitable weakness. One effective approach to counter Cloudfin Raptor lies in removing it swiftly before it has the chance to grow. Instant speed removal spells, such as Fatal Push or Shock, can dispatch the Raptor for a low mana cost, thereby throttling its potential before it escalates.
Another strategy involves managing the battlefield through board wipes like Wrath of God or Doomskar, which clear out evolved Raptors regardless of their size. To blunt the momentum gained from evolving creatures, spells like Essence Scatter can counter pivotal creatures as they are cast, preventing the Raptor from developing. Lastly, employing creatures with reach or those that can block flyers ensures such threats don’t go unchecked, maintaining board stability against aerial assaults.
By staying proactive about your removal strategy and preparing to curb early threats, you can mitigate the impact of Cloudfin Raptor and maintain control over the game’s tempo.
Cards like Cloudfin Raptor
Cloudfin Raptor stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a creature card that can rapidly grow its presence on the battlefield. It is easily likened to cards such as Experiment One due to their evolve mechanic that allows them to accumulate +1/+1 counters whenever a creature with greater power or toughness enters the battlefield. However, Cloudfin Raptor takes flight with its flying ability, giving it an aerial advantage over its ground-bound counterpart.
Diving deeper, Strangleroot Geist shares the capability of incrementally becoming a bigger threat with its undying ability, yet it lacks the potential for consistent growth that Cloudfin Raptor possesses. The Raptor also synergizes well with decks focusing on a mass of creatures entering the battlefield, while Strangleroot Geist is often a solitary force.
By exploring the ecosystem of similarly adaptable creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Cloudfin Raptor demonstrates its versatility and staying power in the game. Its unique blend of the evolve ability with flight positions it as a formidable early-game creature that can soar above competition and control the skies.
Cards similar to Cloudfin Raptor by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Cloudfin Raptor MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash and RNA Guild Kit, 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 Cloudfin Raptor and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Cloudfin Raptor Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2013-02-01 and 2024-01-12. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2013-02-01 | Gatecrash | GTC | 32 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Peter Mohrbacher | |
| 2 | 2019-02-15 | RNA Guild Kit | GK2 | 108 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Peter Mohrbacher | |
| 3 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 310 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Maxime Minard | |
| 4 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 37 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Maxime Minard |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Cloudfin Raptor has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cloudfin Raptor card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-04-15 | If a creature enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it, consider those counters when determining if evolve will trigger. For example, a 1/1 creature that enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it will cause the evolve ability of a 2/2 creature to trigger. |
| 2013-04-15 | If evolve triggers, the stat comparison will happen again when the ability tries to resolve. If neither stat of the new creature is greater, the ability will do nothing. If the creature that entered the battlefield leaves the battlefield before evolve tries to resolve, use its last known power and toughness to compare the stats. |
| 2013-04-15 | If multiple creatures enter the battlefield at the same time, evolve may trigger multiple times, although the stat comparison will take place each time one of those abilities tries to resolve. For example, if you control a 2/2 creature with evolve and two 3/3 creatures enter the battlefield, evolve will trigger twice. The first ability will resolve and put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. When the second ability tries to resolve, neither the power nor the toughness of the new creature is greater than that of the creature with evolve, so that ability does nothing. |
| 2013-04-15 | When comparing the stats as the evolve ability resolves, it’s possible that the stat that’s greater changes from power to toughness or vice versa. If this happens, the ability will still resolve and you’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. For example, if you control a 2/2 creature with evolve and a 1/3 creature enters the battlefield under your control, it toughness is greater so evolve will trigger. In response, the 1/3 creature gets +2/-2. When the evolve trigger tries to resolve, its power is greater. You’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. |
| 2013-04-15 | When comparing the stats of the two creatures for evolve, you always compare power to power and toughness to toughness. |
| 2013-04-15 | Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, check its power and toughness against the power and toughness of the creature with evolve. If neither stat of the new creature is greater, evolve won’t trigger at all. |
