Far // Away MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Fuse
Released	2013-05-03
Set symbol
Set name	Dragon's Maze
Set code	DGM
Number	127
Frame	2003
Layout	Split
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Staples

Key Takeaways

Far // Away offers valuable card advantage with its two-for-one potential, altering the board state in your favor.
Flexibility is a key strength, permitting instant-speed, reactive plays to disrupt opponent strategies significantly.
Despite restrictions like specific mana requirements, its strategic depth justifies inclusion in many MTG decks.

Text of card

Target player sacrifices a creature. Fuse (You may cast one or both halves of this card from your hand.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: This merged card uniquely provides a two-for-one deal, offering the chance to bounce an opposing creature to its owner’s hand while also forcing a sacrifice, potentially clearing the path for your own attacks or disrupting your opponent’s strategy significantly.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly ramping your mana, the flexibility of casting either half of Far // Away or both through its Fuse mechanic ensures that you’re efficiently using your resources each turn, effectively accelerating your tactical options and board presence.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Far // Away at instant speed provides significant strategic advantage, allowing you to respond to threats or opponent’s moves during their turn, which can shift the tide of play in your favor by minimizing their board state while maintaining yours.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Far // Away necessitates that you have a creature that an opponent controls to target in order to activate its full effect, potentially causing a situation where the card becomes less useful if your opponent has an empty board or non-targetable creatures.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and black mana, Far // Away can’t be included just anywhere. This split of colors may restrict it primarily to Dimir or other multicolored decks with a mana base that can support both colors efficiently, reducing its overall versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a total of five mana to unleash both halves of this card, some players might consider the cost steep. This is particularly true when compared to other removal or bounce spells in MTG that could perform similar functions for less mana, and this could make Far // Away less favored when deck-building under tight mana curves.

Reasons to Include Far // Away in Your Collection

Versatility: The card offers split design, giving players options to either cause an opponent to sacrifice a creature or return a troublesome creature to its owner’s hand. This flexibility makes it a great fit in decks that adapt to various situations.

Combo Potential: Far // Away can be used to disrupt opponent’s board presence, making it a great enabler for decks that benefit from opponents having fewer creatures. It could easily tie into strategies revolving around sacrificing and bouncing creatures.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-shifting nature of the metagame, controlled removal like Far // Away is often a good choice. It can be particularly powerful in a meta filled with creature-based synergies or decks that rely on key creatures to function.

How to beat

Facing the combined forces of Far // Away in a Magic: The Gathering match can be quite the challenge. As a split card, it offers tactical flexibility that can throw opponents off balance. Players can force an opponent to sacrifice a creature with the Away half or bounce an opposing threat back to its owner’s hand with Far. When deployed together, it becomes a powerful tempo play that disrupts your opponent’s board presence significantly.

To effectively counter this, maintain a board state with multiple low-value creatures to minimize the impact of sacrifice, ensuring that your valuable creatures remain untouched. Additionally, instant-speed spells like Counterspell or Dispel can intercept Far // Away, completely negating its effects. Another strategy is to use hexproof or indestructible creatures, which are resistant to sacrifice and bounce effects. Rely on these tactics, and you’ll find that turning the tide against Far // Away becomes a manageable task, preserving your board and maintaining your path to victory.

Every card presents an opportunity for strategic growth, and understanding how to navigate around Far // Away grants players an insightful edge in their gameplay, bolstering their adaptability and resilience in the dynamic environment of Magic: The Gathering.

BurnMana Recommendations

Reflecting on the insights from Far // Away in MTG, it highlights the game’s intricate dance of strategy and resource management. The card exemplifies the importance of flexibility and the need to adapt your tactics to the constantly changing battlefield. Its dual nature as both an offensive and defensive tool aligns it with the ever-evolving meta, proving to be a valuable asset in a variety of deck archetypes. For players looking to refine their deck’s control elements or simply appreciate the finesse such a card offers, Far // Away merits consideration. Let’s delve deeper into the world of MTG, uncovering more strategies and building decks that resonate with your personal playstyle. The quest for the perfect play begins with understanding each card’s potential – join us in the next chapter of your MTG journey.

Cards like Far // Away

Far // Away fuses the flexibility of split cards with the strategic depth Magic: The Gathering players appreciate. It’s akin to other dual-purpose cards like Fire // Ice. Both offer two distinct effects in one card, providing players with the ability to adapt to diverse game situations. Far // Away though specializes in control, with its Far side allowing players to bounce creatures back to their owners’ hands, comparable to the functionality of Unsummon.

Moving further into the realm of removal and control, we encounter a card like Recoil. This card also offers the ability to return a creature to its owner’s hand, but includes the added sting of forcing a discard, combining aspects of both sides of Far // Away. While Recoil is a single spell, it’s not as mana-efficient as utilizing Far // Away’s separate halves when the situation calls for it.

In contrast to these cards, Far // Away stands out in Commander and other formats that value versatility. Its ability to split its effect into two cheaper costs or combine them for a potent swing in board state makes it a powerful tool in any deck focused on dictating the pace of the match.

Cards similar to Far // Away by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Far // Away MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze, 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 Far // Away and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Far // Away has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-04-15	Away targets only a player. It doesn’t target any creatures. The target player chooses which creature to sacrifice as the spell resolves.
2013-04-15	If a player names a card, the player may name either half of a split card, but not both. A split card has the chosen name if one of its two names matches the chosen name.
2013-04-15	If you cast a split card with fuse from your hand without paying its mana cost, you can choose to use its fuse ability and cast both halves without paying their mana costs.
2013-04-15	If you’re casting a split card with fuse from any zone other than your hand, you can’t cast both halves. You’ll only be able to cast one half or the other.
2013-04-15	On the stack, a split spell that hasn’t been fused has only that half’s characteristics and converted mana cost. The other half is treated as though it didn’t exist.
2013-04-15	Some split cards with fuse have two halves that are both multicolored. That card is multicolored no matter which half is cast, or if both halves are cast. It’s also multicolored while not on the stack.
2013-04-15	Some split cards with fuse have two monocolor halves of different colors. If such a card is cast as a fused split spell, the resulting spell is multicolored. If only one half is cast, the spell is the color of that half. While not on the stack, such a card is multicolored.
2013-04-15	To cast a fused split spell, pay both of its mana costs. While the spell is on the stack, its converted mana cost is the total amount of mana in both costs.
2013-04-15	When a fused split spell resolves, follow the instructions of the left half first, then the instructions on the right half.
2013-04-15	When resolving a fused split spell with multiple targets, treat it as you would any spell with multiple targets. If all targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, the spell doesn’t resolve and none of its effects happen. If at least one target is still legal at that time, the spell resolves, but an illegal target can’t perform any actions or have any actions performed on it.
2013-04-15	You can choose the same object as the target of each half of a fused split spell, if appropriate.