Lightning Runner
Lightning Runner: Creature - Human Warrior, Aetherdrift Commander. MTG card printings, market prices, rulings, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {3}{R}{R}
- Mana value
- 5
- Type
- Creature - Human Warrior
- Colour identity
- Red (R)
- Power / toughness
- 2/2
- Rarity
- Mythic
- Set
- Aetherdrift Commander (DRC)
- Released
- 2025-02-14
- Collector number
- 103
- Artist
- Raymond Swanland
- Commander rank
- 4,913 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
- Keywords
- Haste, Double strike
Build around this card with Grover
About Lightning Runner
Lightning Runner is a Magic: The Gathering card, a mythic rare red creature from Aetherdrift Commander (DRC), a Commander product released in February 2025. It is collector number 103 in that set, with art by Raymond Swanland. It costs {3}{R}{R} (three generic and two red mana) to cast, for a mana value of 5. It is a 2/2 creature. Its colour identity is red. It is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 4 sets, from Aether Revolt (2017) to Aetherdrift Commander (2025). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.37 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-02).
Card text
Double strike, haste
Whenever this creature attacks, you get {E}{E} (two energy counters), then you may pay eight {E}. If you pay, untap all creatures you control, and after this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
"Catch me if you can."
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.37 (as of 2026-11-02).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Lightning Runner by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Pioneer | Legal |
|---|---|
| Modern | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Lightning Runner
Lightning Runner has been printed in 4 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Horizons 3 Commander (M3C) #215 | Mythic | 2024 |
| Aether Revolt (AER) #90 | Mythic | 2017 |
| Aether Revolt Promos (PAER) #90s | Mythic | 2017 |
Official rulings
The 8 most recent official rulings for Lightning Runner, newest first.
- If an effect says you get one or more {E}, you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more {E}, you lose that many energy counters. You can't pay more energy counters than you have. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters.
- Energy counters aren't mana. They don't go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana "of any type" can't give you energy counters.
- Some spells and abilities that give you {E} may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't get any {E}.
- Some triggered abilities that state that you "may pay" a certain amount of {E} describe an effect that happens "If you do." In that case, no player may take actions to try to stop the ability's effect after you make your choice. If the payment is followed by the phrase "When you do," then you'll choose any targets for that reflexive triggered ability and put it on the stack before players can take actions.
- {E} is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter.
- If a spell or ability with one or more targets states that you "may pay" some amount of {E}, and each permanent that it targets has become an illegal target, the spell or ability won't resolve. You can't pay any {E} even if you want to.
- Keep track of how many energy counters each player has. Potential ways to track this include writing theme down on paper or using dice, but any method that is clear and mutually agreeable is fine. (At higher levels of tournament play, dice may not be allowed for tracking counters that players have.)
- Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They're not associated with any specific permanents.
Similar cards
Other creature cards with a red colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these precons
Lightning Runner is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.