With the new Runeblade heroes emerging from Rosetta, the need for Arcane Barrier has never been greater (except maybe when Viserai, Chane, and Briar were legal). While it might seem logical to just have a few AB pieces in your sideboard inventory for equipment, there’s more than meets the eye when thinking about ways to deal with arcane damage. If Runeblades are giving you a run for your money, you need to look at this from another angle.

Keep Your Enemies Closer

For starters – who and what does arcane damage? When talking about classes, Runeblades and Wizards are the most obvious here. Then there’s also Illusionists with one specific ace up their sleeve – Merciful Retribution. Runeblades can not only do arcane damage straight out of their deck with cards like Aether Slash or Arc Lightning, but they can also create Runechants – little arcane pokes that will poke you till you give up or give in.

Pay to Prevent

We started with equipment, so let’s continue with it. Equipment can be either Generic or class specific, and it comes with a plethora of rarities. From simple Nullrune pieces like the Nullrune Hood or Nullrune Boots to the slightly more pricey but highly popular Arcanite Skullcap.

Now there’s also many pieces of equipment that are class specific and have the AB keyword. From Mechanologists to Rangers, Ninjas, and even Brutes have AB options for their sideboard. Some are more common than others, such as Tide Flippers, but others might be trickier to get ahold of, such as Alluvion Constellas.

There’s also the option of Quell, which will prevent damage when payed for, but will also get destroyed. Speaking of equipment that gets destroyed…

Don’t Want to Pay? Why Not Try…

Right after Arcane Rising brought out arcane damage, and with it Arcane Barrier, we got the spellvoid keyword that was first introduced in Monarch. The main difference between the two is that AB equipment needs to be paid for and stays on the board, while spellvoid equipment don’t cost a thing, but will get destroyed. While spellvoid equipment does indeed exist and is played in many decks, you won’t primarily use it for the spellvoid effect. Take a look at Shock Charmers, for example. You might see this piece in deck lists for Aurora, but they’re mostly sideboard pieces used for the instant effect of dealing more damage.

Then again, some pieces of equipment will prevent damage coming to you, even arcane damage, as long as you did something before. Twinkle Toes is an example of this, as well as Bruised Leather and Four Finger Gloves.

Played from Hand

If none of your equipment can block or prevent arcane damage, some heroes have the option to prevent it with cards in their decks. A few keywords can do this: Arcane Barrier, Ward, and Quell, as well as other cards that just straight up say they prevent damage coming to you.

Most of these are very class specific. Illusionists have auras and allies with Ward. These range from Haunting Specter to Figment of War which, when transformed, becomes Bellona.

Mechanologists have items with everything, Ward, AB, prevention, you name it. While a big part of these came out in Bright Lights, some pieces such as Dissipation Shield and Absorption Dome have been out for years now. Dissolution Sphere is also a lovely anti-Runechant card.

Wizards can also take care of themselves with prevention cards galore. Maybe not Ward or AB cards, per se, but things like Pyroglyphic Protection or Dampen will keep you safe from any potential damage, including arcane.

And then there are generic cards. We have instants like Brush Off, items like Rusted Relic, or even auras like Sigil of Protection here to keep you safe from arcane damage. Some aren’t as played as much as others, but it’s still good to know all the possibilities.

Heroes that deal arcane damage aren’t going away any time soon. So it’s best to just learn to deal with the damage rather than complain about it. The good news is that with every new hero and new toys they can use, the defending side gets new pieces of equipment and cards to put in their decks.

Valera

Valera tried Magic in highschool then forgot about it. Some years later, she fell in love with broken FaB heroes (like Data Doll MKII) and tribal commander MTG decks. A shapeshifter, collector, traveller, writer... Who needs free time?