Stunning Reversal MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Instant
Released	2018-06-08
Set symbol
Set name	Battlebond
Set code	BBD
Number	51
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Zoltan Boros

Key Takeaways

Shifts game dynamics by avoiding defeat and drawing seven cards, potentially turning losses into wins.
The versatile instant speed allows for a surprise factor, enhancing tactical in-game decisions.
Demands specific scenario activation, making it a high-risk but potentially game-changing card.

Text of card

The next time you would lose the game this turn, instead draw seven cards and your life total becomes 1. Exile Stunning Reversal.

The line between victory and defeat can be as slim as a razor's edge.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: This powerful spell delivers a potential shift in the game’s dynamics by allowing you not only to avoid defeat but also to draw seven cards. This can be a crucial turn of events, propelling you from a losing position to a dominant one with a fresh hand.

Resource Acceleration: Although Stunning Reversal does not directly provide mana or resources, the substantial card draw can lead to an acceleration in your resource development. By drawing seven cards, you’re likely to find the necessary lands or spells to expand your board presence and options.

Instant Speed: The instant nature of this card offers tactical flexibility, enabling you to surprise your opponent by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat during their turn. By playing it only when necessary—when you would lose the game—it ensures you make the most tactically advantageous move possible.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One potential downside of Stunning Reversal is its reliance on a specific scenario to trigger its effect. This card requires your life total to go to 1, making it a risky play if the condition is not met, as it sits idly in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes both black and generic mana, this card demands a dedicated spot in mana base planning. The necessity for black mana can restrict its inclusion, primarily in multi-colored decks that may not always have the necessary mana open.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Stunning Reversal has a casting cost that some players might consider high for a card that provides a comeback mechanic rather than an immediate board impact. There are times where the mana could potentially be allocated to more proactive strategies or cards with a lower cost and more versatile applications.

Reasons to Include Stunning Reversal in Your Collection

Versatility: Stunning Reversal offers protection unlike any other. It can be a safety net in almost any deck, stepping in to save you from what would otherwise be a game-ending blow.

Combo Potential: Paired with cards that have effects when losing life or paying life, Stunning Reversal becomes a key part of high-risk, high-reward strategies that can turn a dire situation into a winning one.

Meta-Relevance: In a competitive landscape where quick, aggressive decks are common, Stunning Reversal can provide an unexpected comeback, disrupting opponents’ strategies and shifting the momentum in your favor.

How to beat

Stunning Reversal is a formidable card that can catch any player off guard, flipping a losing situation into a win for the player using it. With the ability to prevent a player’s defeat and leave them with one life while drawing seven cards, it presents a unique challenge to overcome. To effectively beat this card, consider keeping track of your opponent’s mana and set yourself up to disrupt their strategy post-Stunning Reversal.

One strategy is to deploy direct damage spells or abilities that can finish off your opponent after they have played Stunning Reversal. Keeping instant-speed removal or damage spells in reserve ensures you can respond to their survival move. Additionally, controlling the game through discard effects or countering key spells that lead to a reversal setup can prove effective. Cards like Thoughtseize or Counterspell can dismantle your opponent’s hand or negate their last-ditch efforts to remain in the game.

Understanding that Stunning Reversal is a one-shot lifeline means anticipating this move and having a backup plan to close out the game. Always be prepared to adapt your playstyle when you suspect your opponent has this card at their disposal.

BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of comebacks in MTG can make the difference between a narrow defeat and a thrilling victory. Stunning Reversal is one of those game-changers that provide a second chance when all seems lost. If you’re hunting for strategies to dodge defeat and surprise your adversaries, diving deeper into this card’s mechanics can advance your play. Grasp the chance to convert near losses to wins and craft a deck that capitalizes on such moments. If you’re intrigued by the concept of turning the tables on your opponent, join us to further explore how to leverage Stunning Reversal for your triumphant resurgence.

Cards like Stunning Reversal

In Magic: The Gathering, Stunning Reversal offers a unique lifeline, guarding players from what would normally be a game-ending blow. This card bears similarity to cards like Angel’s Grace, which also prevents a player’s life from dropping to zero for a turn. While Angel’s Grace is an instant that offers protection within a turn, Stunning Reversal allows for a broader recovery by giving a player another chance with a buffer of one life and an opportunity to draw seven cards.

Comparatively, Lich’s Mastery has a related concept, granting an unusual form of durability. Instead of avoiding defeat for a turn, this enchantment provides an ongoing shield based on card exile. However, unlike the immediate impact of Stunning Reversal, Lich’s Mastery demands an extensive setup to ensure its effectiveness. Additionally, there’s Glorious End, which brings the game to a halt on an opponent’s turn but comes with the risky downside of losing in the following turn.

Each of these cards, though they share the concept of defying defeat, have distinct conditions and advantages, showing the depth and variety in Magic: The Gathering’s approach to near-death experiences. Player preference for any of these will significantly depend on their individual strategy and deck composition.

Cards similar to Stunning Reversal by color, type and mana cost

Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit - MTG Card versions

When Fluffy Bunnies Attack - MTG Card versions

Tendrils of Corruption - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stunning Reversal MTG card by a specific set like Battlebond, 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 Stunning Reversal and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stunning Reversal has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-06-08	For your life total to become 1, you gain or lose the appropriate amount of life. For example, if your life total is 4 when Stunning Reversal’s effect applies, it will cause you to lose 3 life; alternatively, if your life total is -5 when it applies, it will cause you to gain 6 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.
2018-06-08	If an effect says that an opponent wins the game, Stunning Reversal’s effect doesn’t apply.
2018-06-08	If an effect says you can’t lose the game, Stunning Reversal’s effect can’t apply.
2018-06-08	If each player would lose the game at the same time, but Stunning Reversal’s effect applies to you losing the game, you win the game as soon as everyone else has lost the game. This is true even if you’d lose the game immediately afterwards, perhaps because you don’t have seven cards in your library to draw or because you couldn’t gain life to raise your life total to 1.
2018-06-08	If you have fewer than seven cards in your library, you’ll lose the game immediately after applying Stunning Reversal’s replacement effect.
2018-06-08	In a Two-Headed Giant game, if a rule or effect says that your team or your teammate loses the game, your team won’t lose the game, but only you draw seven cards and only you gain or lose life to make your team’s life total become 1.
2018-06-08	Stunning Reversal’s effect applies any time you would lose the game, even if you’re not losing due to your life total being 0 or less.
2018-06-08	Stunning Reversal’s effect does nothing if you concede the game. A player who concedes leaves the game.
2018-06-08	While the replacement effect it creates lasts until end of turn (or until the event it replaces), Stunning Reversal is exiled as it resolves.