Archmage of Runes – Foundations
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.50
Casual: 4.63
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
There was a period when some people wondered out loud when Wizards of the Coast would make powerful enablers for spell-based strategies, which is kind of crazy on its face. What they actually meant was enablers that spelled it out on the card, and their prayers were actually answered some years ago (Young Pyromancer and Snapcaster Mage, among others). The selection has only grown and improved since then, and Archmage of Runes has intensely powerful game text, albeit text that doesn’t necessarily have an obvious deck for it. This is more the case in tournament settings, where the decks that could benefit the most usually want the game to be functionally over by the time they reach five mana. Casual decks are going to love this guy alongside all the fun big spells that don’t get as much attention in competitive play – I’m thinking of cards like Second Harvest or Wildest Dreams. Some of those are quite well balanced at four or more mana; taking off just one changes a lot, as does adding the text “draw a card”.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
A pairing of effects that makes any blue mage excited, cost reduction and additional card draw for their particular game plan, Archmage of Runes has the pro of being a potent body…and the con of costing five mana. While this is still a powerful creature if it’s allowed to live, and 6 toughness helps a lot with the “living” bit, you’re likely going to want to cast this until you have the means to make sure it won’t just eat a kill spell. Still, as far as “answer me now” threats go, this is certainly a dangerous one, and if there are tempo decks that can live long enough to put this in play, they will surely reap the rewards.
Constructed: 3.5 (I think it’s probably just a step too slow)
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4 (good wall, and decent enabler)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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