Aether Gale MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Disrupts the opponent’s board while offering a chance to reclaim your strategic assets.
  2. Instant speed allows for responsive play and can disrupt opponent combos.
  3. Mana cost may limit its use to decks that support blue mana sources.

Text of card

Return six target nonland permanents to their owners' hands.

The militia formed up in the central plaza awaiting the onslaught, but the giants never quite made it.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Aether Gale lets you return five nonland permanents to their owners’ hands, disrupting your opponent’s board presence significantly while potentially rebalancing yours for a strategic advantage.

Resource Acceleration: By bouncing your own permanents that have enter-the-battlefield effects, you can reuse them, effectively accelerating your access to those resources again.

Instant Speed: As a card that can be cast at instant speed, Aether Gale offers the flexibility to respond swiftly to an opponent’s threats during their turn or to interrupt their combos, maintaining momentum in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One limitation of Aether Gale is the potential requirement to discard a card. While this might not be an intrinsic characteristic of Aether Gale itself, if you’re forced into topdeck mode, any requirement to discard as part of a payment or effect from another card could mitigate the benefits of returning nonland permanents to their owners’ hands.

Specific Mana Cost: Aether Gale comes with a mana cost that specifically includes blue mana. This can be restrictive as it necessitates a commitment to blue resources within your deck, potentially limiting the card’s versatility across various archetypes that might not otherwise support blue mana as comfortably.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Aether Gale’s effect may come at a steep price when compared to other cards that might achieve similar or better results for less mana. In a game where tempo and efficiency are critical, the mana investment required to play Aether Gale can be a significant drawback under competitive circumstances.


Reasons to Include Aether Gale in Your Collection

Versatility: Aether Gale stands out for its capability to serve multiple roles within various deck archetypes. This card shines in allowing you to reset the board by bouncing back six nonland permanents to their owners’ hands, whether they be troublesome creatures, pesky enchantments, or even your own for a strategic re-deployment.

Combo Potential: It opens up myriad combo opportunities as it can be cleverly paired with cards that have enter the battlefield effects or benefit from being recast. This can lead to exceptional value gains and powerful interactions that can shift the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ebb and flow of the current metagame, the disruptive power of Aether Gale can be a game-changer. Whether you’re dealing with swarm strategies, key pieces of an opponent’s combo, or simply need to buy time, the tactical applications of this card make it a timely inclusion in many decks.


How to beat Aether Gale

Aether Gale, as an intriguing entry in the roster of blue spells in Magic: The Gathering, commands respect on the battlefield by resetting board states through its ability to bounce five nonland permanents to their owners’ hands. The key to countering this disruptive force is to maintain card advantage and employ instant-speed interaction. Cards that can grant hexproof or indestructibility in response, such as Blossoming Defense or Lazotep Plating, can shield critical permanents from being returned to your hand.

Another strategy to outmaneuver Aether Gale is to utilize permanents that leave behind value upon exiting the battlefield—think creatures with death triggers like Doomed Traveler or Reassembling Skeleton, which can be easily recurred from the graveyard. Playing lands that double as threats, such as manlands including Inkmoth Nexus, preserves your battle presence even after a sweep. Lastly, holding up counterspells like Negate or Dovin’s Veto can intercept Aether Gale entirely, ensuring your board state remains untouched.

Navigating around Aether Gale’s sway involves a mix of prepared defenses, strategic permanents selection, and precise timing with your instants and counters. By doing so, you can diminish the card’s impact and continue to command the game in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

The strategic prowess of Aether Gale in MTG cannot be overstated, offering players the chance to pivot the flow of the game into their favor. Whether disrupting an opponent’s meticulously built board or re-triggering your enter-the-battlefield effects, the applications of this card are as dynamic as they are impactful. Its role in various deck archetypes, from control to combo, makes Aether Gale a linchpin in numerous strategies. As the MTG scene evolves, keep Aether Gale in your repertoire, ready to clear the path towards victory. Dive deeper with us into the game’s strategic depths and unlock the full potential of your MTG deck.


Understanding Aether Gale’s Place in Deck Strategies

Aether Gale stands as a unique piece in player arsenals, known for its ability to reset the board by returning five nonland permanents to their owners’ hands. This card prompts strategic repositioning, as it serves both as a disruption for opponents and a potential combo enabler for oneself. When eyeing Aether Gale within the broader catalog of MTG, it’s worth drawing parallels to similar cards that shape play in various formats.

Cards like Aether Gale

Aether Gale, with its selective unsummoning effect, can be likened to other bounce spells within MTG, like Evacuation. Evacuation clears the battlefield of creatures, setting a full reset which Aether Gale circumvents by targeting specific threats or enabling personal synergies. However, Aether Gale offers more surgical precision, which can strategically be more advantageous than Evacuation’s broader sweep. Another comparison is with Cyclonic Rift, a staple for its versatility and the overpowering one-sided board clear it provides when overloaded. While Aether Gale lacks the monstrous potential of an overloaded Cyclonic Rift that leaves an opponent’s side empty, it makes up for it with a lower average mana cost and the ability to weave into combo turns more easily. Its selective nature often translates to less collateral damage amongst your own board presence.In dissecting the traits and strategic adaptability of Aether Gale against its counterparts, its place in decks becomes clear. It promises both board control and the finesse required in commanding a win, marking its significance in versatile deck builds.

Evacuation - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Evacuation - Stronghold (STH)
Cyclonic Rift - Return to Ravnica (RTR)

Cards similar to Aether Gale by color, type and mana cost

Library of Lat-Nam - MTG Card versions
Psychic Transfer - MTG Card versions
Balance of Power - MTG Card versions
Cruel Fate - MTG Card versions
Temporal Manipulation - MTG Card versions
Brilliant Plan - MTG Card versions
Time Warp - MTG Card versions
Reverse Engineer - MTG Card versions
Essence Fracture - MTG Card versions
Rush of Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Temporal Fissure - MTG Card versions
Bribery - MTG Card versions
Acquire - MTG Card versions
Petals of Insight - MTG Card versions
Heed the Mists - MTG Card versions
Ribbons of the Reikai - MTG Card versions
Reduce to Dreams - MTG Card versions
Tidings - MTG Card versions
Traumatize - MTG Card versions
Capture of Jingzhou - MTG Card versions
Library of Lat-Nam - Alliances (ALL)
Psychic Transfer - Starter 1999 (S99)
Balance of Power - The List (PLST)
Cruel Fate - Portal (POR)
Temporal Manipulation - The List (PLST)
Brilliant Plan - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Time Warp - Explorers of Ixalan (E02)
Reverse Engineer - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Essence Fracture - Onslaught (ONS)
Rush of Knowledge - Double Masters (2XM)
Temporal Fissure - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Bribery - Commander Masters (CMM)
Acquire - IDW Comics 2014 (PI14)
Petals of Insight - Modern Masters (MMA)
Heed the Mists - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Ribbons of the Reikai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Reduce to Dreams - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Tidings - Commander 2018 (C18)
Traumatize - Magic 2014 (M14)
Capture of Jingzhou - Judge Gift Cards 2017 (J17)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Aether Gale MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2014 and Explorers of Ixalan, 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 Aether Gale and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Aether Gale Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2014-11-07 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Jack Wang.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12014-11-07Commander 2014C14 112015normalblackJack Wang
22017-11-24Explorers of IxalanE02 72015normalblackJack Wang
32018-08-09Commander 2018C18 802015normalblackJack Wang
42021-04-23Commander 2021C21 1132015normalblackJack Wang
52022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 7122015normalblackJack Wang
62023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 722015normalblackJack Wang

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Aether Gale has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2014-11-07 You must choose six different legal targets in order to cast Aether Gale. If some, but not all, of those targets become illegal before Aether Gale resolves, the remaining legal targets will be put into their owners' hands.

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