Ghostly Touch MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2012-05-04
Set symbol
Set name	Avacyn Restored
Set code	AVR
Number	58
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jason Felix

Key Takeaways

Offers card advantage by allowing extra draws every time the enchanted creature taps.
Converts simple taps into resource acceleration, outpacing opponents strategically.
Instant speed enables surprise moves and flexible in-game adaptations.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has "Whenever this creature attacks, you may tap or untap target permanent."

"Geists wish to make themselves known. I'm merely the vessel for their efforts."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ghostly Touch provides an avenue to potentially draw extra cards. This effect occurs each time you tap a creature enchanted by Ghostly Touch, granting you additional resources and enabling you to maintain or expand your influence over the game.

Resource Acceleration: The act of tapping creatures isn’t just for attacking or using abilities. With Ghostly Touch, each tap can become a resource-generating action, potentially accelerating your gameplay and giving you the means to outpace your opponent.

Instant Speed: The versatility of an instant-speed enchantment like Ghostly Touch means you can adapt to the flow of the game. It allows you to enchant a creature at a moment’s notice, perhaps even in response to an opponent’s move, making it a flexible tool in your strategic arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When using Ghostly Touch, you may find yourself in a position where the discard requirement becomes costly. Should your hand be bereft of dispensable cards, this prerequisite can put you at a strategic disadvantage, reducing the effective use of your resources during critical moments in the game. It’s essential to consider the composition of your deck and your typical hand size when integrating this card into your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Ghostly Touch’s mana cost demands a precise combination of blue mana. This requirement can constrain deck-building options, especially in a meta where flexibility and color variety are key to success. Players running multicolored decks or those with a less stable mana base may struggle to consistently cast Ghostly Touch when needed, potentially leading to it occupying a hand slot without contributing to the game state.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that might be deemed steep for its impact on the game, Ghostly Touch competes with other cards in the same mana range that may offer more immediate or versatile effects. If you are considering including Ghostly Touch in your deck, assess whether its cost aligns with your overall game plan and whether there are more mana-efficient spells that could take its place for a better optimized deck performance.

Reasons to Include Ghostly Touch in Your Collection

Versatility: Ghostly Touch is not just another creature enabler, it adds a layer of utility to control decks, allowing you to use your creatures proactively during the opponent’s turn. This can lead to unexpected defenses or enable abilities tied to attacking, even when it’s not your turn.

Combo Potential: This enchantment shines when combined with creatures that have tap abilities or when linked to untap synergies. Ghostly Touch can repeatedly trigger these abilities, seamlessly integrating with a strategy built around leveraging and maximizing your creatures’ potential.

Meta-Relevance: Within a meta that’s heavy on creature interactions and combat, Ghostly Touch can give you an edge. It disrupts the typical pace of gameplay, forcing opponents to reconsider their combat strategies and account for your sudden and unconventional movements.

How to beat

Ghostly Touch has emerged as a quietly potent force among niche blue enchantments in Magic: The Gathering. Its unique trigger allows a player’s creature to flicker or “ghost” through your defenses upon any instance of direct attack. This ability not only enables surprise blockers but also sets the stage for enter-the-battlefield effects to be reused, potentially turning the tide of the game.

To counter this ghostly menace, players would do well to focus on strategies that avoid single-target removal. Considering the versatility of Ghostly Touch, employing board wipes that don’t discriminate between creature types can be a more effective approach. There’s also the tactic of capitalizing on instant-speed spells that can disrupt or negate abilities, thereby preventing the troublesome flickering. Countermeasures should also include the inclusion of hexproof or shroud abilities for your creatures, ensuring they remain untouchable by such effects.

Ghostly Touch can be a frustrating obstacle if left unchecked. Still, with careful planning and the right spells, a strategist can transform a haunting threat into a mere whisper, effortlessly navigating around the spectral touch and securing the upper hand in their matches.

Cards like Ghostly Touch

Ghostly Touch brings an intriguing dynamic to combat control within Magic: The Gathering. It stands out in the realm of enchant creature cards, akin to Spectral Grasp, which limits the enchanted creature’s ability to attack only opponents of your choice. Ghostly Touch however, adds a nuanced layer by enabling an untapped creature to attack again, provided it remains untapped at the beginning of the combat phase.

Comparatively, we see Confound the Assault with a similar defensive motif but offering a one-time use effect unlike Ghostly Touch’s ongoing ability. Ghostly Touch allows for continual tactical maneuvers, increasing its value over time. Another enchantment of note is Claustrophobia, which wholly locks down a creature by keeping it perpetually tapped. While this hinders the creature on a permanent basis compared to Ghostly Touch, it doesn’t offer the re-use of the creature’s attack ability.

Therefore, when examining the nuances of enchantments that influence combat decisions, Ghostly Touch provides a subtle yet impactful advantage by repeatedly granting additional attacks, setting it apart from other cards with control abilities in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Ghostly Touch by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ghostly Touch MTG card by a specific set like Avacyn Restored, 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 Ghostly Touch and other MTG cards: