Sway of the Stars MTG Card

Sway of the Stars - Betrayers of Kamigawa

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	10
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2005-02-04
Set symbol
Set name	Betrayers of Kamigawa
Set code	BOK
Number	54
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Randy Gallegos

Key Takeaways

Sway of the Stars reshapes the game, ideal for comebacks or disrupting opponents’ carefully planned hands.
The card demands heavy blue mana investment and high cost, potentially hindering its timely play.
It’s pivotal for meta-play, breaking stalemates and providing fresh starts in prolonged matches.

Text of card

Each player shuffles his or her hand, graveyard, and permanents he or she owns into his or her library, then draws seven cards. Each player's life total becomes 7.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sway of the Stars allows players to reset their hands to seven cards, which can provide a significant card advantage, especially when used at a strategic moment. It’s a game-changer when you’re behind, replenishing your resources while disrupting your opponent’s carefully curated hand.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly offering traditional acceleration, it sets each player’s life total to 7 and allows players to start fresh with seven permanents on the battlefield. In the right deck, this can expedite your strategy by enabling powerful combos or clearing the path for a quick win.

Instant Speed: Even though the card operates at sorcery speed, its impact is similar to an instant speed wipe effect in terms of resetting the board state. The ability to cast it when your opponents least expect it—right before your turn—can shift the game’s momentum in your favor, catching adversaries off guard and underprepared for a new game scenario.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not directly requiring a discard, Sway of the Stars forces players to shuffle hands and graveyards into their libraries. This effectively acts as a massive discard that can disrupt your game plan, especially if you’ve tailored your hand or graveyard for specific strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: As a card demanding no less than ten mana, Sway of the Stars stipulates a substantial blue mana investment. It requires two blue sources amidst the ten total mana, making it challenging to cast outside of heavily blue-focused or two-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost at the upper end of the spectrum, this card can be cumbersome, leaving players vulnerable as they pool resources to play it. In many cases, other cards could provide significant impact or game-changing effects with a lesser demand on your mana resources.

Reasons to Include Sway of the Stars in Your Collection

Versatility: Sway of the Stars offers an unparalleled board reset, which allows players to reshape the game regardless of the state of play. Its ability to set each player’s life total to seven and essentially start a new game makes it a formidable card in various deck archetypes, especially those that can control timing and sequence the events conveniently.

Combo Potential: This card has enormous potential in combo-oriented decks. It can be used as a late-game equalizer or to create opportunities for winning with carefully placed follow-up spells or creatures that benefit from a reset battlefield. It’s a powerful tool for decks built around exploiting new beginnings and sudden shifts in game dynamics.

Meta-Relevance: In a competitive environment where games may drag on or reach stalemates, Sway of the Stars provides a strategic advantage. It can break the monotony of protracted battles and gives you a fresh start, which is incredibly relevant when facing decks that build overwhelming board presence or lock-down strategies.

How to beat Sway of the Stars

Understanding the rhythm of Sway of the Stars is crucial for any player facing this formidable card in MTG. This card resets the game state by giving players fresh starts, but this also opens an avenue to outmaneuver your opponent. Counterspells like Negate or Disallow are your first defense, preventing Sway of the Stars from ever taking effect. Effective counters mean you can maintain board control and keep your opponent from gaining that reset advantage.

If the card does resolve, having a range of low-cost creatures or spells in your deck can quickly reestablish board presence. Efficient mana access is also key, so ramp cards like Cultivate can be vital post-Sway of the Stars. Moreover, keeping hand disruption spells or abilities at the ready can hinder an opponent’s recovery and leverage the forced discard to your advantage. It’s about bouncing back faster and hitting harder, ensuring that the new beginning is in your favor.

Remember, every card in MTG has a counter strategy, and Sway of the Stars is no exception. By planning ahead and selecting the right deck components, you can transform a potential game reset into an opportunity for victory.

Cards like Sway of the Stars

Sway of the Stars continues to be a unique card in Magic: The Gathering for its ability to reset the game state. This card echoes the effects of similarly splashy spells like Worldfire, which also exiles almost everything then sets life totals to a specific number. But where Sway of the Stars establishes both players’ life totals to seven and allows them to put some permanents back into play, Worldfire leaves players with nothing but a singular 1:1 restart, emphasizing a more brute-force approach to restart the game.

Analogous in theme to Upheaval, another powerful card that resets the board by returning all permanents to their owners’ hands, Sway of the Stars has a more balanced effect by setting life totals and letting each player begin afresh from an even position. Despite the comparison, Upheaval permits a quicker follow-up since players can utilize their existing resources, unlike the comprehensive reset Sway of the Stars offers.

Though not without controversy for the potential to prolong games, Sway of the Stars stands out with its thorough mix of resetting life, hands, and the battlefield, placing it in a unique niche for dramatic game-changing plays within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Sway of the Stars by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sway of the Stars MTG card by a specific set like Betrayers of Kamigawa, 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 Sway of the Stars and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sway of the Stars has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Banned
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Banned
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2005-02-01	Changes in life total are treated as life gain and life loss.
2005-02-01	Tokens are included in the effect but shouldn’t actually be included in the shuffle. Tokens will cease to exist immediately after the spell resolves.
2013-07-01	This card 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.