Abuelo, Ancestral Echo MTG Card


Abuelo, Ancestral Echo improves board presence by generating multiple spirits and leveraging card economy. Offers strategic flexibility with instant-speed casting, allowing for surprising and tactical responses. Demands careful deck building with specific mana and consideration for the card’s discard requirement.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Spirit
Abilities Flying,Ward
Power 2
Toughness 2

Text of card

Flying, ward : Exile another target creature or artifact you control. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.

"Come, friends. Let us see if this world remembers us."


Cards like Abuelo, Ancestral Echo

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Abuelo, Ancestral Echo offers unique value through its combination of creature empowerment and strategic recursion. Its closest counterparts might include Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle, which also revolves around historic spells and the potential of recurring creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield. Teshar, however, hinges its effect on casting spells, contrasting Abuelo’s focus on dying creatures to trigger its ability.

Another parallel can be drawn with Lurrus of the Dream-Den, a card allowing for the retrieval of permanent cards with a low mana cost from the graveyard to the battlefield. While Lurrus limits its recursion to low-cost cards, Abuelo provides a different approach by not restricting the mana value of creatures it can bring back but imposing a different kind of condition instead.

Much like Abuelo, Athreos, God of Passage presents an intriguing alternative, offering a way to return creatures to your hand rather than directly onto the battlefield, unless an opponent opts to pay life. Each of these cards offers strategic depth to MTG, but it’s Abuelo, Ancestral Echo that presents a valuable synergy for decks capitalizing on creature deaths and resurrection.

Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - MTG Card versions
Lurrus of the Dream-Den - MTG Card versions
Athreos, God of Passage - MTG Card versions
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - MTG Card versions
Lurrus of the Dream-Den - MTG Card versions
Athreos, God of Passage - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Abuelo, Ancestral Echo by color, type and mana cost

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Leering Gargoyle - MTG Card versions
Guiding Spirit - MTG Card versions
Sky Spirit - MTG Card versions
Samite Archer - MTG Card versions
Riptide Crab - MTG Card versions
Hanna, Ship's Navigator - MTG Card versions
Tolarian Emissary - MTG Card versions
Silver Drake - MTG Card versions
Soulherder - MTG Card versions
Soulsworn Jury - MTG Card versions
Minister of Impediments - MTG Card versions
Court Hussar - MTG Card versions
Azorius Herald - MTG Card versions
Jötun Owl Keeper - MTG Card versions
Thistledown Duo - MTG Card versions
Plumeveil - MTG Card versions
Silkbind Faerie - MTG Card versions
Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer - MTG Card versions
Talon Trooper - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Abuelo, Ancestral Echo. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Azorius ArtifactsAzorius Artifacts StandardAzorius ArtifactsStandard League 2024-05-11
Esper VialEsper Vial Legacy$5K - Legacy - SCG CON Philadelphia - Sunday - 9:30 am
WUBWUB LegacyLegacy Super Qualifier 2023-12-28
Four-color MidrangeFour-color Midrange GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 09 2024
TT IxalanTT Ixalan Free formTorino Tournament - Lost Caverns of Ixalan
DecklistDecklist Free formTorino Tournament - Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Azorius ControlAzorius Control StandardAzorius Artifacts2023Players Convention Aichi 2023 Standard Open

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Abuelo, Ancestral Echo enables you to summon multiple spirits, vastly improving your card presence on the battlefield and giving you an upper hand in card economy.

Resource Acceleration: This card’s ability to exile cards from the graveyard and create tokens can effectively fuel your strategy, providing additional resources and accelerating your gameplay significantly.

Instant Speed: Its ability to be cast at instant speed means you can respond deftly to your opponent’s moves, catching them off guard while efficiently managing your mana and actions during their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Abuelo, Ancestral Echo obliges players to discard a card, which could deplete your hand especially when looking to maintain card advantage in the late game.

Specific Mana Cost:This card demands a particular combination of mana colors to cast, limiting its integration to decks that support these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost being at the higher end of the spectrum, it competes with other impactful spells and creatures for a spot in your strategically crafted mana curve.


Reasons to Include Abuelo, Ancestral Echo in Your Collection

Versatility: Abuelo, Ancestral Echo offers a unique blend of effects that caters to a broad spectrum of strategies. It can be slotted into decks that leverage historic spells, need spell recursion, or even those that aim for late-game value.

Combo Potential: This card shines in synergy-centric builds, playing nicely with mechanics that reward you for casting spells from your graveyard, or with cards that enable untapping for multiple uses in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: As game environments shift, having a card that can adapt to various opponents is key. Abuelo, Ancestral Echo is a strong contender in metas where resilience and the ability to rebound from your graveyard can be a game-changer.


How to beat

Abuelo, Ancestral Echo is a unique card in the MTG universe that presents a challenge to players due to its ability to recur powerful spells from the graveyard. To tackle this card effectively, one should consider disruption tools that target the graveyard, such as Tormod’s Crypt or Scavenging Ooze. These cards can remove the key spells that Abuelo intends to copy, reducing its impact on the game.

Another effective strategy is to leverage counterspells to prevent Abuelo from ever hitting the board. By keeping mana open for spells like Counterspell or Dovin’s Veto, players can neutralize the threat before it becomes active. Alternatively, as Abuelo requires spells with flashback to be in the graveyard for its ability to shine, cards that exile spells directly from the stack, like Syncopate, can thwart the game plan centered around this powerful card.

Overall, foresight and strategic graveyard management are paramount when facing Abuelo, Ancestral Echo. By anticipating your opponent’s moves and having the right answers in hand, you can ensure that Abuelo’s echos remain silent, securing your position in the game.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Abuelo, Ancestral Echo MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Abuelo, Ancestral Echo and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Abuelo, Ancestral Echo Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-11-17 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12023-11-17The Lost Caverns of IxalanLCI 2192015NormalBlackVictor Adame Minguez
22023-11-17The Lost Caverns of IxalanLCI 2972015NormalBlackCabrol

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Abuelo, Ancestral Echo has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Abuelo, Ancestral Echo card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2023-11-10 An Equipment that's also a creature can't be attached to anything. You can activate its equip ability, but it won't become attached.
2023-11-10 An artifact creature card or enchantment creature card returned this way will have base power and toughness 1/1.
2023-11-10 If a double-faced card is exiled this way, it will return with its front face up, no matter which face was up when it left the battlefield.
2023-11-10 If a token is exiled this way, it ceases to exist and won't return to the battlefield.
2023-11-10 If another effect causes one of the returned permanents to become a creature and sets its base power and toughness as it does so, that creature will have that power and toughness; it won't be 1/1. Notably, crewing a Vehicle does not set its power and toughness, so a Vehicle will remain a 1/1 if you crew it.
2023-11-10 The exiled card will return to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step even if Abuelo, Ancestral Echo is no longer on the battlefield at that time.