Mother of Runes

Creature — Human Cleric

{T}: Target creature you control gains protection from the colour of your choice until end of turn. ((Remember the acronym debt.) The targeted creature can't be damaged, enchanted, equipped, blocked or targeted by anything of the chosen colour. Anything of the chosen colour attached to that creature immediately falls off.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (47)

SteelSentry on top cards of each color

3 weeks ago

Partly a list of the best, partly a list of pet cards

{W} Mother of Runes, Swords to Plowshares (I know Giver is usually better but mom protecting herself, or threatening to, has come up surprisingly often in my games)

{U} Telepathy, Dramatic Reversal

{B} Tainted Strike, Tainted AEther

{R} Goblin Welder, Greater Gargadon

{G} Crop Rotation, Constant Mists

Coward_Token on March of the Machine

3 weeks ago

Minor wall of text for Katilda and Lier Show

So, this lets you basically play Snapcaster Mage for 1 mana, but without the flash*. Not bad, as you got e.g. Esper Sentinel, Noble Hierarch, and Mother of Runes to work with. Probably not worth it to go over mana value 2 unless it's also a good spellslinger card? I feel like the Human tribal part is less important. There's some pretty good Humans with actual flash too, e.g. Zulaport Duelist and Cathar Commando.

I wish the trigger was on ETB for other nontoken Humans rather than casting; I don't see much abuse from flickering. At least you can be a Johnny with Crib Swap I guess.

Flavor and card references aside, I feel like this should have been a jeskai card?

• Humans are primarily associated with white
• In order to afford flashbacking, the card incitivizes casting small creatures, which is more of a white thing; green likes them big.
• The creature side of things feels like it's subservient to the spellslinging, which makes it kinda weird when blue is the only color in the arc that's really into nonpermanents.

Because of the above reasons, I feel that green is largely superflous to white's role in the card's ability, and would be better served replaced by red, the other spellslinging-oriented color. Plus, only having until end of turn to flashback feels a lot like red impulsive draw. However, I can see the merit in filling the niche of a bant spellslinger commander, and flavoring could be though for jeskai too.

(Rethinking things, you could instead go for mana value 1-2 for spell cards and just treat the flashbacking as Human cantriping.)

Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon

1 month ago

Reposting but with proper hyperlinks

IN:

Mardu Ascendancy

As previously mentioned, this card is nuts.

Mother of Runes

double wammy of helping us get in for damage or protecting our key pieces from removal

Swift Reconfiguration

1 mana ultra flexible spell. Protect your piece from a creature removal or board wipe. Blank a single attacker by removing it from combat. If you haven't tried it already, try this card. It will save your ass.

Audacious Thief

Need card draw, its as simple as that.

Azra Oddsmaker

There's usually a card in my hand that I dont mind discarding to draw 2. This deck naturally wants to get through for damage, but if this underperforms I could see it getting cut.

Blessed Hippogriff

Rare example of an innocuous card that impresssed me in draft that I want to try in constructed play. 1 mana protection for a key piece, which then gives you a solid flying body that helps smaller threats stay relevant in the mid- to late-game. 2-for-1 that fits the theme.

Aggravated Assault

This is the best extra combat spell available, and its not close. There's a handful of attack-based treasure token creators in the deck, so this can go infinite/semi infinite with relative ease.

Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip

I've always thought this card looked sick, so I'm testing it. Not super psyched about giving my opponents blockers, but here we are.

Shadowspear

This deck draws a LOT of ire at the table once it gets going. I have found that the lifegain on Mishra, Claimed by Gix  ^Meld has been an allstar if I'm racing other aggressive decks, so I want to add another effect that can help. Shadowspear also adds utility as this deck is a bit low on trample, and the hexproof/indestructible silver bullet is bound to come up.

OUT:

Moraug, Fury of Akoum, Port Razer, and Response / Resurgence

I am an extra combats enjoyer. That being said, these particular effects seem clunky after testing. Port Razer needs haste enabling and evasion in order to unlock its full potential, which is a high bar to clear for a 5 drop (and if I have those things ready, I'm probably already in a good position). Moroug is a tougher cut, but this deck just simply isn't built to take full advantage of repeated land ETB. Response//Resurgence was the hardest cut, and might be coming back in the future; the flexibility has been excellent in testing.

Pitiless Plunderer

This was by far my worst card in terms of ceiling-to-floor ratio. High end was having this plus a sac outlet and a ton of tokens. Low end was 4 mana for a 1/4. It feels too reliant on me drawing other specific pieces.

Company Commander + Myrel, Shield of Argive

The soldier tribal dream will live on, just not here. Both of these (in particular Myrel) are 4 drops that feel too slow without external setup

MOVED TO SIDE BOARD:

I have moved 3 cards to sideboard because I don't have the physical cards yet, and therefore haven't gotten to play test them yet:

-> Anger

-> Laelia, the Blade Reforged

-> Cursed Mirror

Mortlocke on The Song of Phyresis

1 month ago

Vlasiax,

Thanks for posting! ONE is definitely going to shake this deck up considerably in that I absolutely plan to incorporate some of the spells that give opponents Poison counters - without targeting them, no less. I have a number of changes already planned and would love to hear your thoughts as I'm honestly having a bit of a tough time speculating on what to cut to make room. So far, here are my planned changes

• Ixhel, Descendent of Atraxa for Hand of the Praetors: Given that Infect will be less dominant of a mechanic among creatures in this deck cutting Hand of the Praetors seems logical. Besides, with the host of cards that allow me to place poison counters directly on opponents, Hand of the Praetors seems even less relevant.

• Skrelv, Defector Mite for Viridian Corrupter: Skrlev provides so many benefits being a psudo Mother of Runes that also grants Toxic and evasion. Viridian Corrupter's ETB effect is far too narrow for my liking, and only amounts to just a 2/2 with Infect. Toxic creatures such as Skrlev boast so many "goodstuff" effects that it's a no brainer why Corrupter has to be cut.

• Myr Convert for Grateful Apparition: Apparition has long been on the replacement list as it's a non-phyrexian. Myr Convert is a perfect replacement as it's another mana dork that can put poison counters on players. Losing a proliferation source is a loss, but given the horde of new Toxic creatures that proliferate off of one trigger or another, this overall is a net gain.

• Bloated Contaminator for Priests of Norn: Bloated Contaminator is actually my dream creature for the set. Evasion, Poison and Proliferate on a great body is just a dream come true. My only hope is that there is another creature just like it in March of the Machines. Priests of Norn is an okay creature for the most part but doesn't amount to much beyond just being a 1/4 infect creature.

• White Sun's Twilight for Winds of Abandon: I've always been somewhat disappointed with Winds of Abandon as it more likely than not can ramp my opponent far beyond my ability to stop them. Sure, a horde of tokens can be wiped out - but at what cost? White Sun's Twilight isn't exactly a one sided boardwipe, but it can get me a bunch of 1/1 creatures that put Poison counters on players on top of slowing them down.

• Vraska, Betrayal's Sting for Sheoldred, Whispering One: Obviously i'm happy to see Phyrexian themed planeswalkers and I'm overjoyed to see another Planeswalker with a focus on Poison counters. Swapping Vraska in for Sheoldred is both a mechanics and a flavor win - Sheoldred turned her back on Elesh Norn to pursue her own misguided and selfish desires along with the heretic Urbrask.

• Tyrranax Rex for Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I've enjoyed the Soft lock VoH places on the board just by virtue of being there alone, but I've felt that his control never really synchronized with the rest of the deck. Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider compliments the deck directly and is a huge flavor win. Tyrranax Rex just seems like the perfect upgrade as it is {1} CMC cheaper, has almost as many keywords as Questing Beast and places multiple Poison counters on an opponent when it hits. Rex in my eyes is a "backup" Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon in terms of power level and "feel".

• Phyresis Outbreak for Toxic Deluge: Phyresis Outbreak is the mass removal I've always wished for and is a direct upgrade to Deluge - within the context of this deck that is. This card is absolutely a must include.

• The Seedcore for Swamp: The Seedcore gives me Sliver Hive vibes, but having a card that fixes my mana in a 4 color deck and is a flavor win just seems like a no-brainer.

• Venerated Rotpriest for Glistener Elf: Venerated Rotpriest is just a deterrent as this deck has very few spells that I would consider worthwhile for targeting my own creatures. Glistener Elf is an okay card but within the context of EDH it's "meh". Late game it hardly makes an impact without a horde of +1/+1 counters and some form of evasion.

• Contaminant Grafter for Blight Mamba: Containment Grafter feels like a great card that can help reinforce a boardstate and put additional pressure on opponents mid to late game. Early game it would essentially help me run away with the game through conditional ramp and card advantage. Blight Mamba has honestly never done much for me and generally is as impactful as Glistener Elf.

Now comes the list of cards I think are at least worth considering (that I may or may not include) but don't exactly know what to cut to make room for:

• Staff of Compleation: This is a big flashy card that caught my attention given the myriad of things it can do. However without the right combo piece this card could end up doing me more harm than good.

• Glistening Sphere: There are very few {3} drop mana rocks that are worthwhile, but this one definitely caught my eye. I'm not sure if it's any better than Astral Cornucopia though, as i've been ramped into the stratosphere with just a few proliferation triggers. Not to mention it only gets better just by having Atraxa on the field. I really want to like this card, but it doesn't seem to make the cut. If only it were {2}

• Infectious Inquiry: this seems like an absolute must have and am honestly considering cutting Phyrexian Arena for it. Arena does nothing the turn it ETBs and if I draw it late game it'll literally do nothing. Infectious Inquiry on the otherhand is always relevant, replaces itself and draws me a card. I just can't help but feel like i'm missing something by cutting Phyrexian Arena. I want to go ahead with this decision but I can't help but feel apprehensive and would really like your thoughts on this one.

• Infectious Bite: I want to love this card but unfortunately besides the commander there are relatively few creatures whose bite would make any meaningful impact on the game. I think I might pass on this one.

• Prologue to Phyresis: Everything you said about this card is spot on, and it is relevant at any point of the game. The question is - what to cut for it? I think cutting Contagion Clasp might be the move on this one, but i'm not entirely sure. Clasp is very conditional removal but what's important is that it's a repeatable proliferation source. But, maybe the new inclusions will help offset the loss of a proliferation source? I think this is the right move but I would like to hear your thoughts.

"What's your experience with Blightsteel Colossus and Contagion Engine? Do they ever come out to the battlefield or just happen to be on-theme inclusions?" To answer your question both hit the battlefield on a regular basis. Blightsteel Colossus is surprisingly easy to cast with a proliferated Astral Cornucopia or Everflowing Chalice. One of my best plays was countering a Villainous Wealth with {X} being equal to 8 with Mana Drain and funneling that mana into a turn 5 Blightsteel. Contagion Engine is great for mass removal as well as a proliferation engine. If I tutor for it it's usually alongside Tangle Wire after Ichor Rats hit the field. It essentially grinds the game down to a snail's pace - or a halt under the right conditions.

End rant, sorry to write you a book but I had a lot on my mind. Please let me know what you think of all the upcoming changes!

Rhadamanthus on What happens when oblivion ring …

1 month ago

In the way you describe the situation, the triggered ability from Oblivion Ring would simply fizzle and do nothing. There won't be another target chosen.

The ability that triggers when Oblivion Ring enters the battlefield has a target, but Oblivion Ring doesn't have any targets when it's being cast as a spell (contrast this with Auras, which do need to have a valid target for their "Enchant N" ability when being cast). It would be perfectly legal to cast an Oblivion Ring while no nonland permanents are on the board, and then the trigger will just do nothing if a legal target can't be chosen for it.

In your example: Oblivion Ring is cast, it enters the battlefield, the ability triggers and targets Mother of Runes, then Mother of Runes is activated in response to protect itself. When the triggered ability tries to start resolving it will see that it has no legal targets and will fizzle.

However, if Mother of Runes was activated after Oblivion Ring was cast but before it entered the battlefield (and before a target for the trigger is chosen), then Oblivion Ring's controller will have to choose something else to target with the triggered ability after it enters the battlefield.

evantyde on What happens when oblivion ring …

1 month ago

I think I might have figured it out: Oblivion Ring must have a legal target when being played, so by tapping Mother of Runes, that target is no longer legal and can not be chosen. If there were another creature out that creature would have to be chosen instead as a legal target.

JoosetheMuice on It Get the People Going

1 month ago

The plan was to make this token themed correct? Assuming that's still the case, I would definitely like to see more producers and support. Some ideas"

Deep Forest Hermit - producer Tempt with Vengeance - producer Anointed Procession - support Ghired, Conclave Exile - producer Jetmir, Nexus of Revels - support Assemble the Legion - producer One Dozen Eyes - producer Rith, Liberated Primeval - producer

Aside from that I feel like Master Warcraft is a must here. Soltari Foot Soldier is a cool possibility to trigger Marisi and Soltari Champion could be kinda scary. Mother of Runes also seems really good here. Trample lands like Kessig Wolf Run and the rage pits could also be nice.

Squee_Spirit_Guide on Mono White Wand Combo

4 months ago

I do enjoy a complex combo! And I like your philosophy of the pieces having utility outside of the combo as well. I try to do that in my combo builds, but I never succeed.

Spirit Link would be a good option to replace one of your other lifelink enchantments since it only costs {W}. Mother of Runes is good if you run into opponent's with removal. If you want to keep it budget this suggestion is kind of useless, but Enlightened Tutor would be great for finding some of your combo pieces.

Good luck with the build, it looks like fun!