Run OverHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it Does

Run Over is a green instant that targets one creature you control and one creature an opponent controls. The creature you control deals damage equal to its power to the opponent's creature. Crucially, the spell includes a cost-reduction ability: if your chosen target creature you control is a Mount or a Vehicle, the spell costs {1} less to cast, meaning you only pay {G}.

Step-by-Step Resolution

First, you cast the spell by choosing both targets: your creature and an opponent's creature. If your creature is a Mount or Vehicle, you pay the reduced cost. Upon resolution, the game checks the power of your creature. Your creature then deals that amount of damage to the opponent's creature. Note that this is not a 'fight' effect; the opponent's creature does not deal any damage back to yours.

Common Mistakes

A common error is attempting to cast this spell when you do not control any creatures, or when your opponent has no creatures to target. Both targets must be legal for the spell to be cast and to resolve. If your creature leaves the battlefield before Run Over resolves, the spell will fail to deal damage because its source is no longer present to calculate power. Similarly, if the opponent's creature gains Hexproof, the spell will fizzle.

When to Play It

Because Run Over is an instant, it is excellent for disrupting an opponent's combat phase or responding to a pump spell. If you are playing a deck focused on Vehicles (like a pilot deck) or Mounts (from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set), you should prioritize using these creatures to ensure you are always playing the spell for a single green mana.

Interaction examples

Protecting Your Assets

Heroic Intervention

If you cast Run Over and your opponent responds with a removal spell to destroy your creature, you can cast Heroic Intervention. Heroic Intervention gives your creature Indestructible and Hexproof. This ensures your creature stays on the board so that when Run Over resolves, it can still deal its damage successfully.

Handling Tokens

Beast Within

If your opponent has a Planeswalker you cannot target with Run Over, you can first use Beast Within to destroy the Planeswalker. The opponent then creates a 3/3 Beast token. You can then use Run Over, targeting one of your large creatures and that new Beast token, to clear their board of any remaining presence.

Standard Interaction

Imagine you control a 4/4 creature and your opponent controls a 2/2 creature. You cast Run Over targeting both. Upon resolution, your 4/4 deals 4 damage to the 2/2. The 2/2 is destroyed, and your creature remains unharmed since it was not a fight, but a one-sided damage application.