Abuelo, Ancestral Echo MTG Card
2023-11-17 - Number 219
2023-11-17 - Number 297
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary 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.
Cards similar to Abuelo, Ancestral Echo by color, type and mana cost
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.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Azorius Artifacts | Standard | Azorius Artifacts | Standard League 2024-05-11 |
| Esper Vial | Legacy | $5K - Legacy - SCG CON Philadelphia - Sunday - 9:30 am | |
| WUB | Legacy | Legacy Super Qualifier 2023-12-28 | |
| Four-color Midrange | Gladiator | Sword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 09 2024 | |
| TT Ixalan | Free form | Torino Tournament - Lost Caverns of Ixalan | |
| Decklist | Free form | Torino Tournament - Lost Caverns of Ixalan | |
| Azorius Control | Standard | Azorius Artifacts | 2023Players 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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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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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.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-11-17 | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | LCI | 219 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Victor Adame Minguez | |
| 2 | 2023-11-17 | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | LCI | 297 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cabrol |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Abuelo, Ancestral Echo has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
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. |