Roaming Ghostlight MTG Card
2020-07-03 - Number 65
2024-02-23 - Number 96
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Spirit |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- As a flying spirit, Roaming Ghostlight is versatile and fits into various blue-centric strategies in MTG.
- It offers a tactical edge by bouncing opponent’s creatures to disrupt their board, enhancing your play.
- In spite of a higher mana cost, its impact on gameplay makes it a contender in control decks.
Text of card
Flying When Roaming Ghostlight enters the battlefield, return up to one target non-Spirit creature to its owner's hand.
Some who die senseless deaths return as formless spirits, seeking answers where there are none.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Roaming Ghostlight’s ability to bounce an opponent’s creature when it enters the battlefield provides a strategic edge by disrupting their board presence and potentially swinging the momentum in your favor.
Resource Acceleration: By effectively removing an opponent’s creature, Roaming Ghostlight can indirectly accelerate your resources by reducing the need to allocate additional cards or mana to deal with that threat, allowing you to focus on furthering your game plan.
Instant Speed: While Roaming Ghostlight itself is not an instant, its synergy with cards that function at instant speed can be impressive. It can complement a strategy filled with counterspells and flash creatures, maintaining pressure on your opponent and keeping your mana open for immediate responses.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Roaming Ghostlight doesn’t require an outright discard to cast, it can indirectly cause you to sacrifice card advantage. If you’re forced to return a creature you own to your hand, you essentially lose a draw by replaying what you already had rather than adding new resources.
Specific Mana Cost: This spirit’s requirement of both blue mana and generic mana can prove restrictive. Wielding adequate blue sources is crucial, especially in multicolored decks, to guarantee a smooth play of this card.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Roaming Ghostlight may arrive too late in the game where lower-cost creatures might already be exerting pressure or providing advantages. In a format defined by efficiency, this cost is something deck builders grapple with.
Reasons to Include Roaming Ghostlight in Your Collection
Versatility: Roaming Ghostlight offers a unique role in any blue-focused deck. As a spirit with flying, this card can serve both offensive and defensive strategies and fits neatly into aerial and spirit synergy builds.
Combo Potential: Its ability to bounce another creature back to its owner’s hand can be combined with enter-the-battlefield effects or to disrupt your opponent’s board, providing a tactical edge.
Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to act as temporary removal, Roaming Ghostlight can be particularly effective against decks that rely on creature momentum, making it a strategic inclusion in certain match-ups.
How to beat
Roaming Ghostlight presents a unique challenge on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This spirit is a force to reckon with due to its ability to return an opponent’s non-Spirit creature to their hand upon entering the battlefield. This can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, especially if they rely on creatures with momentum-building enter-the-battlefield effects.
To overcome Roaming Ghostlight, consider using instant-speed removal spells that can neutralize it before the bounce ability resolves. Cards like ‘Murder’ eliminate it outright. Alternatively, leveraging hexproof or protection abilities can keep your key creatures safe from its targeting effect. Playing cards that thrive on being bounced back, such as those with beneficial enter-the-battlefield abilities, can also turn Roaming Ghostlight’s advantage into your own. Lastly, efficient counter spells like ‘Negate’ can prevent Roaming Ghostlight from ever haunting the board.
By proactively managing your battlefield and having the right answers in hand, you can navigate around the tempo setback that Roaming Ghostlight seeks to impose and maintain control over the flow of the game.
Cards like Roaming Ghostlight
Roaming Ghostlight serves as an intriguing creature within the blue repertoire in Magic: The Gathering. It holds a resemblance to cards such as Man-o’-War, recognized for its ability to return creatures to their owner’s hand. Roaming Ghostlight takes this a step further by specifically targeting an opponent’s creature, adding an element of control to the game, much like its jellyfish counterpart. Yet, it is more costly in terms of mana.
Another comparable card is Aether Adept, which shares the creature bouncing mechanic upon entering the battlefield. Despite Aether Adept’s lower casting cost, Roaming Ghostlight boasts a stronger flying ability that gives it an edge in evasion tactics. Conversely, Exclusion Mage also offers a similar creature returning effect but additionally restricts the play of that card in the same turn, providing a tempo advantage.
When analyzing the benefits against other bounce creatures, Roaming Ghostlight stands out with its ability to disrupt opponents while also offering an airborne threat. Its competitive nature within the realm of creature control spells makes it a worthwhile consideration for deck builders looking for mid-game board influence.
Cards similar to Roaming Ghostlight by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Roaming Ghostlight MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2021 and Ravnica: Clue 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 Roaming Ghostlight 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 Roaming Ghostlight Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-07-03 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by Zezhou Chen.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020-07-03 | Core Set 2021 | M21 | 65 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Zezhou Chen | |
| 2 | 2024-02-23 | Ravnica: Clue Edition | CLU | 96 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Zezhou Chen |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Roaming Ghostlight has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
