Diminishing Returns MTG Card
1996-06-10 - Number 26
1999-04-21 - Number 65
2007-09-10 - Number 32
2016-06-10 - Number 46
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
- Its ability to refresh hands and libraries can drastically change the tide of the game.
- Clear drawbacks exist, including hand disruption and a specific mana cost.
- Offers versatility and combo potential in various deck strategies.
Text of card
Each player shuffles his or her hand and graveyard into his or her library. Remove the top ten cards of your library from the game. Each player draws up to seven cards.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When Diminishing Returns is played, you shuffle your hand along with your graveyard and library, then draw seven new cards. This process can give you a fresh set of options and potentially more resources to work with if you’re running low.
Resource Acceleration: By refreshing your hand and potentially roping in new resources, Diminishing Returns can act as a reset button, offering the chance to accelerate your resources. It gives you a clean slate to draw into acceleration tools or combo pieces that were previously inaccessible.
Instant Speed: While Diminishing Returns is a sorcery, the strategic implications of casting it are akin to instant-speed plays. Timing is everything, and playing this card at the opportune moment, such as right after an opponent’s board wipe or when you’ve depleted your own resources, can significantly tilt the balance of the game in your favor.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the notable challenges of the Diminishing Returns card is the hurdle that comes with its discard clause. Players must discard their hand and then draw a new one, which could disrupt strategic plans or eliminate key cards needed for later in the game. This makes it a risky play for those who already possess a strong hand.
Specific Mana Cost: With its specific mana cost demanding both blue mana and generic mana, Diminishing Returns integrates mostly with decks that can readily supply both. This restriction can be a barrier for decks that run on a tight color curve or those that lack sufficient mana fixing to accommodate the double blue mana cost.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card also carries a high mana cost relative to its effect on the game. At a total of four mana, this investment can affect your tempo and leave you vulnerable to more aggressive strategies. It’s crucial to weigh whether the potential card draw is worth the immediate mana expenditure and the potential loss of board presence.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Diminishing Returns offers a unique approach to refreshing your hand and resources, making it adaptable for different strategies, especially in decks that can capitalize on drawing a new set of cards.
Combo Potential: This card can synergize well with strategies that manipulate the library or benefit from shuffling and drawing cards, offering new opportunities to assemble game-winning combinations.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy on resource denial or certain types of lock strategies, Diminishing Returns can disrupt opponent’s plans and give you the upper hand by providing a fresh slate of options.
How to Beat Diminishing Returns
Diminishing Returns is a unique spell in Magic: The Gathering that reshuffles your hand and graveyard into your library, then draws you seven new cards, while also forcing each opponent to do the same but with only seven cards in their library. This can disrupt opponents’ strategies and provide a fresh hand of resources.
To counteract this card, timing is key. Since it exiles the top ten cards of your library, it can be detrimental if not played with caution. Players should leverage graveyard strategies or employ cards like Rest in Peace that can shut down graveyard interactions, minimizing the advantage it could give an opponent. Additionally, utilizing instant-speed disruption like Counterspell when Diminishing Returns is on the stack can prevent its effect altogether.
Effectively overcoming Diminishing Returns involves strategic hand management, graveyard manipulation, and disruption at crucial moments. Players can turn the tide of the game by carefully navigating around its potential impacts and by having a plan to mitigate its reshuffle mechanic, ensuring that their strategies remain intact while potentially unraveling those of their opponents.
Cards like Diminishing Returns
Diminishing Returns is a unique spell in MTG, part of a group of cards that amplify game dynamics by resetting players’ hands and libraries. It stands out as it exiles the top ten cards of each player’s library, then each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, and finally draws seven cards. This reset can significantly alter the course of the game.
Comparing this to the infamous Time Spiral spell, another reset mechanism, we see nuances in how they reconfigure the game state. Time Spiral also allows players to untap up to six lands, providing a sudden influx of mana. While Diminishing Returns does not offer this benefit, it has its own strategic value by permanently removing the top ten cards. Echo of Eons is another parallel, touted as a budget version of Time Warp, but with the Flashback ability granting a second use. Compared to Diminishing Returns, Echo of Eons could either be more costly or provide an advantage if used from the graveyard.
Analyzing these card effects helps players discern the best choices for their strategic goals. Although Diminishing Returns may not provide mana like Time Spiral or a second chance like Echo of Eons, its ability to exile cards and its low monetary cost make it a contender in manipulating deck and hand dynamics in MTG.
Cards similar to Diminishing Returns by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Diminishing Returns MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Classic Sixth Edition, 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 Diminishing Returns and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See MTG Products
Printings
The Diminishing Returns Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2016-06-10. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-06-10 | Alliances | ALL | 26 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Allen Williams | |
| 2 | 1999-04-21 | Classic Sixth Edition | 6ED | 65 | 1997 | Normal | White | Allen Williams | |
| 3 | 2007-09-10 | Masters Edition | ME1 | 32 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Allen Williams | |
| 4 | 2016-06-10 | Eternal Masters | EMA | 46 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Greg Opalinski |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Diminishing Returns has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Diminishing Returns card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-06-08 | Diminishing Returns won’t be put into your graveyard until after it’s finished resolving, which means it won’t be shuffled into your library as part of its own effect. |
| 2016-06-08 | Each player chooses to draw any number of cards from zero to seven. First the player whose turn it is chooses how many cards to draw, then draws those cards, then each other player in turn order does the same. |
| 2016-06-08 | The exiled cards are exiled face up. You’ll see them before you choose how many cards to draw. |
