Rune of Protection: Red MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Abilities | Cycling |
| Released | 1998-10-12 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Urza's Saga |
| Set code | USG |
| Number | 40 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Scott M. Fischer |
Key Takeaways
- Cycling ability lets players sift through their deck, maintaining tempo and uncovering key cards during play.
- An instant speed activation enables strategic protection against red spells, potentially altering the game’s course.
- Low casting cost fits smoothly into early turns, preventing resource blockage and paving the way for bigger plays.
Text of card
oo W Prevent all damage to you from a red source. (Treat further damage from that source normally.) Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Featuring a cycling ability that costs a mere two mana, Rune of Protection: Red allows you to replace it with another card from your deck, thus preventing any loss of momentum. This cycling feature is especially useful for navigating through your deck to find more relevant cards in the middle of the game.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana or resource acceleration, the card’s low casting cost of one white mana means it seamlessly slips into your game plan, paving the way for more robust plays. Its cost-efficiency helps keep resources available for critical turns.
Instant Speed: This enchantment card has the unique ability to be activated at instant speed, giving you the versatility to protect your permanents at a moment’s notice. This quick response feature can be a game-changer, shielding your assets from red spells and effects without delay.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing Rune of Protection: Red comes with the condition that you must discard a card from your hand when using its cycling ability. This requirement can be a major drawback, especially in a tight game where maintaining card advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: This enchantment needs both a white and a generic mana for casting, making it restrictive for deck-building. This mana demand confines its utility mostly to white or multicolored decks that can satisfy these requirements effortlessly.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two mana where one is color-specific, and the additional cost for its cycling ability, this card can be considered inefficient. There are often lower-costed alternatives that provide protection or other defensive mechanisms without such steep mana investments.
Reasons to Include Rune of Protection: Red in Your Collection
Versatility: Rune of Protection: Red shines in decks that anticipate red spells as key threats. Its ability to shield you from any red source offers a significant advantage, making it a flexible sideboard card against red-dominated strategies.
Combo Potential: This enchantment works well with cards that benefit from cycling, allowing you to draw a card while also avoiding damage from red sources. It can be a key piece in decks that exploit cycling synergies.
Meta-Relevance: If red decks are prevalent in the current meta, incorporating Rune of Protection: Red into your deck can be a strategic move. Its capacity to nullify red damage consistently could be a game-changer in matchups where red spells and creatures are the norm.
How to beat
Rune of Protection: Red is a unique card in MTG, serving as a specialized defensive tool against red spells and creatures. Its ability to provide protection from red for a mere single white mana can be pivotal in matchups against red-dominated decks. For those looking to circumvent this protection, strategies must evolve beyond direct damage and aggression.
One effective tactic is to utilize spells that don’t specifically target creatures or players, thereby sidestepping the protective barrier. Board-clearing cards like Wrath of God can prove invaluable by destroying all creatures, including those shielded by Rune of Protection: Red. Versatile removal spells that can target enchantments, such as Disenchant or Naturalize, can directly dispose of the Rune, eliminating the defensive advantage.
Additionally, employing a diverse deck with non-red threats can outmaneuver the protection rune offers. Black or blue creatures and spells can bypass the Rune’s effect, allowing a player to pivot their strategy mid-game. Consequently, incorporating flexibility in deck construction and in-match tactics, players can dismantle the security that Rune of Protection: Red provides.
Cards like Rune of Protection: Red
Rune of Protection: Red is a specialized piece of the protection puzzle in Magic: The Gathering. This card mirrors other cards in the Rune of Protection cycle, which grants similar abilities against other colors. Like Rune of Protection: Blue or Rune of Protection: Green, this card allows a player to pay a cost to prevent all damage from a red source to themselves or creatures they control for a turn.
While Circle of Protection: Red provides similar protection at the same cost, Rune of Protection: Red is distinct with its cycling ability, offering card draw flexibility not present in the Circle series. Story Circle is another comparable card, giving you the choice of which color to protect against when you play it. It has the adaptability of choice, but it lacks the cycling feature that can be crucial for deck fluidity.
Assessing the alternatives within the protective enchantments in Magic: The Gathering, it is clear that Rune of Protection: Red has its niche. It’s the combination of targeted protection and the strategic depth offered by the cycling ability that gives this card a unique edge in gameplay.
Cards similar to Rune of Protection: Red by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Rune of Protection: Red MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga, 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 Rune of Protection: Red 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Rune of Protection: Red has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Rune of Protection: Red card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | A source of damage is a permanent, a spell on the stack (including one that creates a permanent), or any object referred to by an object on the stack. A source doesn’t need to be capable of dealing damage to be a legal choice. |
| 2004-10-04 | Can be used even when there is no damage to prevent. It prevents the next damage (if any) from the source this turn. |
| 2008-10-01 | Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not. |
