Distorting Wake MTG Card


Distorting Wake dismantles opponent boards, offering a card advantage with its bounce effect. Instant speed allows surprise play disruption, making it a valuable strategic tool. Tough mana requirements can limit its use, but payoff in control decks is substantial.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Return X target nonland permanents to their owners' hands.

Gerrard savored a grim smile as the Phyrexian portals disappeared behind the *Weatherlight*.


Cards like Distorting Wake

Distorting Wake has a unique place in the pantheon of bounce spells within Magic: The Gathering. Similar to a card like Evacuation, it allows players to return creatures to their owners’ hands, however, Distorting Wake extends its reach, enabling targeting of any nonland permanents. Unlike its counterpart Cyclonic Rift, which can affect all opponents and all nonland permanents at its overloaded cost, Distorting Wake offers selective disruption, allowing players to choose specific targets.

Another card worth mentioning is Capsize, which shares a similar function but has the added benefit of the buyback ability, giving it potential repeat use. However, it only targets a single permanent at a time, whereas Distorting Wake scales with the mana invested into its X casting cost. Then there’s River’s Rebuke, which broadsides a single opponent by returning all nonland permanents they control to their hand without the scalability or target precision Distorting Wake has.

When picking the right tool for the job, Distorting Wake holds its ground among its contemporaries with its scalability and target selectivity, presenting strategic advantages in games where precision and resource commitment are key.

Evacuation - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Capsize - MTG Card versions
River's Rebuke - MTG Card versions
Evacuation - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Capsize - MTG Card versions
River's Rebuke - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Distorting Wake by color, type and mana cost

Volcanic Eruption - MTG Card versions
Timetwister - MTG Card versions
Baleful Stare - MTG Card versions
Déjà Vu - MTG Card versions
Exhaustion - MTG Card versions
Political Trickery - MTG Card versions
Time Ebb - MTG Card versions
Dream Cache - MTG Card versions
Tinker - MTG Card versions
Sage's Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Undo - MTG Card versions
Ingenious Mastery - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions
Reminisce - MTG Card versions
Fabricate - MTG Card versions
Counsel of the Soratami - MTG Card versions
Vacuumelt - MTG Card versions
Wistful Thinking - MTG Card versions
Savor the Moment - MTG Card versions
Volcanic Eruption - MTG Card versions
Timetwister - MTG Card versions
Baleful Stare - MTG Card versions
Déjà Vu - MTG Card versions
Exhaustion - MTG Card versions
Political Trickery - MTG Card versions
Time Ebb - MTG Card versions
Dream Cache - MTG Card versions
Tinker - MTG Card versions
Sage's Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Undo - MTG Card versions
Ingenious Mastery - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions
Reminisce - MTG Card versions
Fabricate - MTG Card versions
Counsel of the Soratami - MTG Card versions
Vacuumelt - MTG Card versions
Wistful Thinking - MTG Card versions
Savor the Moment - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Distorting Wake offers the ability to return multiple target permanents to their owner’s hands. This can effectively dismantle an opponent’s board, providing a significant swing in the user’s favor by forcing them to replay their cards. This potential for a lopsided exchange in cards on the field can lead to a substantial card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Distorting Wake itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its impact can indirectly benefit your mana usage. By setting your opponent back several turns, you effectively accelerate your own board state and strategic plays in the gap created by their loss of resources.

Instant Speed: The power of Distorting Wake is heightened by its instant speed. This allows for surprise interactions on the opponent’s turn, possibly disrupting well-laid plans and forcing them to rethink strategies at inopportune times. It also provides the flexibility to respond instantly to threats or make optimal use of mana that might otherwise go unused during an opponent’s turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Distorting Wake allows you to return target permanents to their owner’s hand, it doesn’t do so without a cost. This MTG card does not directly require you to discard cards, but its heavy color-weighted mana demand may lead you to seek mana acceleration tactics, which could involve discarding, to play this card on curve.

Specific Mana Cost: With a triple blue mana symbol in its casting cost, Distorting Wake poses a significant deck-building restraint. This specificity limits the card’s versatility and can be challenging to cast in multicolored or color-light decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding a total of nine mana to cast, Distorting Wake’s mana investment is quite steep when compared to other spells or creatures that could offer immediate board presence or other forms of interaction. This high cost may prove unwieldy in fast-paced games where efficiency is key.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Distorting Wake card offers a dynamic role in blue-themed control decks, allowing players to consistently manage the battlefield by returning multiple target permanents to their owner’s hand.

Combo Potential: As a scalable spell, this card works wonders in combination with ramp strategies or cards that reduce spell costs, ensuring players can make the most impact by returning a sizable number of nonland permanents during crucial turns.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where permanents-heavy strategies dominate, the ability to clear multiple threats at once makes Distorting Wake a relevant and potentially game-changing addition to any deck capable of casting high-cost spells.


How to beat

Distorting Wake is a unique card that offers a surge of tactical control over the game. It puts the power to return nonland permanents to their owner’s hand directly into a player’s grasp. To strategically trump this card, having a solid understanding of the board and mana efficiency is crucial.

One effective method to counteract Distorting Wake is to play a deck that rapidly rebuilds. Aggro decks can particularly shine here since they tend to deploy low-cost creatures quickly, easily recuperating from the tempo loss. Additionally, utilizing spells or abilities that grant indestructible or protection to your permanents, you can safeguard your most valuable pieces from being returned.

Moreover, it’s essential to pressure the Distorting Wake player’s mana base. If you can constrain their resources, you’ll limit their ability to cast Distorting Wake for a significant number of targets. Lastly, hold onto instants or activated abilities that can be used in response, allowing you to get value even if your permanents are targeted by this disruptive spell.


BurnMana Recommendations

Taking the reins of a game with strategic card use is what distinguishes a skilled MTG player. Distorting Wake is a versatile tool for those who excel in maneuvering pivotal game moments, setting opponents back while you surge ahead. By leveraging the insights from pros and cons to overcoming its limitations and synergizing with similar cards, there’s ample opportunity to enhance your collection—and your strategy. Ready to master the intricacies of Distorting Wake and reshape the battlefield to your advantage? Dive deeper into strategy articles and discussions with us, and harness the power to turn the tides of your MTG matches.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Distorting Wake MTG card by a specific set like Invasion and Commander 2014, 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 Distorting Wake and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Distorting Wake Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2000-10-02 and 2014-11-07. Illustrated by Arnie Swekel.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12000-10-02InvasionINV 521997NormalBlackArnie Swekel
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 1072015NormalBlackArnie Swekel

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Distorting Wake has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal