Restore the Peace MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2013-05-03
Set symbol
Set name	Dragon's Maze
Set code	DGM
Number	97
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Kev Walker

Key Takeaways

Restore the Peace offers versatile board control by affecting multiple creatures that have dealt damage.
The card’s instant speed allows strategic plays and surprises during an opponent’s turn.
Despite its power, the card’s specific mana cost and discard requirement limit its universal utility.

Text of card

Return each creature that dealt damage this turn to its owner's hand.

"You can always count on the Azorius to ruin a party." —Massacre Girl

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Restore the Peace provides a unique advantage by potentially removing multiple attacking or blocking creatures from combat. This can turn the tide of a game, allowing you to stabilize the battlefield and regain control.

Resource Acceleration: Although Restore the Peace doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense of providing mana or ramp, it does indirectly speed up your game plan by resetting the opponent’s tempo and giving you more time to deploy your own strategies.

Instant Speed: The power of instant speed spells in MTG cannot be understated, and Restore the Peace shines by allowing you to disrupt enemy attacks or blocks on their turn. This element of surprise can be crucial in maintaining momentum or saving your own creatures from unfavorable confrontations.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike a traditional removal spell, Restore the Peace requires something extra from your hand to truly regain control—sending one of your own cards to the graveyard. This can be a steep price when your hand is already dwindling from battle.

Specific Mana Cost: Its mana cost spells trouble for those not running a white and blue deck. This excludes Restore the Peace from the arsenal of mono-colored or other two-color combinations that could find the card’s effect beneficial, potentially narrowing its application in the vast landscape of gameplay environments.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of three mana, including both white and blue, this card competes with an array of alternatives that could utilize the same resources. Other spells at this cost point might offer a more impactful, immediate effect on the game, leaving Restore the Peace as a sometimes overlooked option in deck construction.

Reasons to Include Restore the Peace in Your Collection

Versatility: Restore the Peace is a remarkable addition to decks seeking flexible answers to multiple threats. This card works wonders in a pinch, returning each creature that dealt damage this turn to its owner’s hand, which can be pivotal in turning the tide of a game.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that track creatures leaving the battlefield or entering hands, Restore the Peace serves as an engine to activate various effects or disrupt opponents’ strategies, making it a tactical inclusion for combo-oriented players.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggressive strategies dominate, Restore the Peace acts as an effective reset button. It can remove multiple threats with one efficient spell, keeping you in the game against decks that aim to win through creature damage.

How to beat

Restore the Peace is a unique card in the Magic: The Gathering arsenal, appreciated for its ability to reset the battlefield by returning each creature that has dealt damage this turn to its owner’s hand. To outmaneuver this strategic play, your approach should involve either preserving your creatures from combat or utilizing creatures that can gain you an advantage when they’re returned to your hand.

One effective method is to use instant-speed removal or bounce spells to handle problematic creatures before they can deal damage, thus minimizing the impact of Restore the Peace. Additionally, leveraging creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects can turn a setback into an opportunity, allowing you to recast creatures for repeated benefits. Consider strategies that emphasize casting creatures post-combat or employing creatures with vigilance that do not tap when attacking, thereby dodging the card’s conditions.

Understanding the tempo that Restore the Peace introduces to the game can be key. Avoid overcommitting creatures in a turn where it could be played. Instead, cultivate a game plan that anticipates this potential disruption, and you’ll be better equipped to maintain a strong position against opponents utilizing this peace-inducing spell.

Cards like Restore the Peace

Restore the Peace takes its place in Magic the Gathering as a valuable tool for players looking to control the battlefield. Its capacity to return each creature that has dealt damage this turn to its owner’s hand marks it as a unique peacekeeper. Comparing it to cards like AEtherize, which bounces all attacking creatures to their owner’s hand, Restore the Peace applies regardless of whether creatures are attacking or not, as long as they have dealt damage.

Cyclonic Rift is another parallel, capable of resetting the entire board when overloaded, but comes at a significantly higher mana cost when used to its full potential. Restore the Peace, meanwhile, offers a more cost-effective solution, albeit with a narrower scope. Then there’s the classic, Reflector Mage, offering a similar effect on a single creature along with the inclusion of a body on the board, but Restore the Peace’s potential to address multiple threats at once can provide a more significant tempo swing in the right circumstances.

When analyzing the strategic depth and utility of bounce effects in the game, Restore the Peace presents itself as a potentially game-changing card that can dismantle an opponent’s offensive with precision and efficiency, fitting seamlessly into decks that prioritize board control.

Cards similar to Restore the Peace by color, type and mana cost

Teferi's Contingency - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Restore the Peace 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 Restore the Peace and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Restore the Peace 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 Restore the Peace 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	Only creatures on the battlefield will be returned. If a creature dealt damage and then died, the creature card won’t be returned from the graveyard to its owner’s hand.
2013-04-15	Restore the Peace has no effect on the damage that was dealt.