River's Rebuke MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. River’s Rebuke can drastically shift momentum by resetting an opponent’s board state.
  2. It’s suited for blue-centric decks due to its specific mana requirement but high impact.
  3. This card excels in control strategies and offers significant combo potential.

Text of card

Return all nonland permanents target player controls to their owner's hand.

Carefully following the thaumatic compass Bolas had given her, Vraska blundered straight into the River Heralds' trap.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Playing River’s Rebuke can lead to a massive shift in the game’s momentum. By sending all nonland permanents target player controls back to their hand, you effectively reset their board state. This displacement can cause them to discard due to hand size limits, indirectly translating into card advantage for you.

Resource Acceleration: Although River’s Rebuke itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it can indirectly support your resource growth. By clearing the way, it ensures that your subsequent creatures and spells are more likely to resolve and connect. It also gives you a turn or more of unimpeded attacks which can be crucial for building up a lead in resources or finishing a game.

Instant Speed: River’s Rebuke is a sorcery; however, its impact is so substantial that it’s often seen as good as an instant. It creates a window of opportunity that can be exploited immediately on your turn, allowing you to follow up with threats that can capitalize on an empty opponent’s board. Although not an instant, the strategic timing of this card’s casting can be just as devastating as any instant-speed interaction.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: River’s Rebuke demands a precise blend of blue mana to cast, specifically six mana with two blue, which can restrict its inclusion to blue-centric or high mana base decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six, River’s Rebuke may stand as a costly investment, particularly when tempo and low-cost alternatives exist that may deliver comparable board control at a lower mana threshold.

Discard Requirement: While River’s Rebuke itself doesn’t necessitate discarding, its high mana cost can put players in a position where they might have to discard other cards from their hand in previous turns to maintain sufficient mana for a timely play of River’s Rebuke.


Reasons to Include River’s Rebuke in Your Collection

Versatility: River’s Rebuke enables you to reset an opponent’s board, making it a valuable addition to blue-based control or tempo decks. Its ability to target a single opponent in multiplayer formats like Commander ups the ante on its strategic importance.

Combo Potential: This card excels when combined with permanents or spells that capitalize on an opponent’s empty board. By bouncing all nonland permanents, it clears the way for attack strategies or enables you to cast spells without the fear of counters or obstacles.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where board states become complex and cluttered with various permanents, River’s Rebuke acts as an effective reset button. This makes it especially relevant in meta-games dominated by midrange decks, token strategies or persistent board presences that require a clean slate to manage.


How to Beat

River’s Rebuke is a powerful board clear spell, returning all nonland permanents target player controls back to their hand. This can turn the tide of a game, especially when used at a crucial moment to remove formidable creature setups or other pesky permanents. Despite its strength, this card can be outmaneuvered with a few strategic plays.

To effectively counteract River’s Rebuke, being proactive will safeguard your board position. Counterspells like Negate or Disallow can directly prevent River’s Rebuke from resolving, preserving your board state. Including instant-speed responses, such as Heroic Intervention, will grant your permanents protection or indestructibility, allowing them to stay on the battlefield even if River’s Rebuke is cast. Another method is to maintain a light board presence and keep pressure through high-value individual creatures rather than overcommitting resources to the board, thus minimizing the impact if your permanents are returned to hand.

When playing against decks that favor such mass bounce spells, always be mindful of the possibility and adapt your playstyle accordingly. By keeping track of your opponent’s mana and potential plays, and by strategically deploying your permanents, you can lessen the dramatic effect River’s Rebuke might have on your path to victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG is an ever-evolving challenge, where each card can dramatically alter the course of play. River’s Rebuke represents such a game-changer, capable of disrupting the most fortified opponent’s board presence. Understanding its strategic applications can make or break a match, and this card deserves a closer look. For players seeking to enhance control or capitalize on tempo, incorporating this powerful sorcery into your arsenal is worth considering. Delve deeper into the nuances of gameplay mechanics and optimize your deck with River’s Rebuke for a more dynamic and innovative approach. Uncover the full potential of your MTG experience—learn more with us today.


Cards like River's Rebuke

River’s Rebuke provides a unique positional advantage in Magic: The Gathering, bearing a resemblance to cards like Cyclonic Rift, known for its mass bounce effect. River’s Rebuke targets a single player, clearing their board and opening a clear path for decisive moves. Cyclonic Rift, while more flexible due to its overload cost allowing a broader effect, shares the core concept of overwhelming tempo advantage.

Diverging from Cyclonic Rift, another parallel can be drawn with Coastal Breach. Although Coastal Breach offers an undaunted discount if an opponent has more resources, it does not have the specificity of River’s Rebuke and can affect all players. This makes River’s Rebuke preferable in one-on-one scenarios where pinpoint accuracy is valuable.

The strategic depth of board control spells in Magic: The Gathering shines through when comparing River’s Rebuke with its counterparts. Its specificity can be a sharp tool for disrupting opponents just as they are poised to win. In multiplayer games, its targeted nature can shift the balance of power, underscoring its niche as a powerful sorcery in blue decks focused on tempo plays and control strategies.

Cyclonic Rift - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Coastal Breach - Commander 2016 (C16)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase River's Rebuke MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan Promos and 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 River's Rebuke and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The River's Rebuke Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-09-29 and 2022-04-29. Illustrated by Raymond Swanland.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-09-29Ixalan PromosPXLN 71p2015normalblackRaymond Swanland
22017-09-29IxalanXLN 712015normalblackRaymond Swanland
32017-09-29Ixalan PromosPXLN 71s2015normalblackRaymond Swanland
42019-11-15Game Night 2019GN2 242015normalblackRaymond Swanland
52022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 2312015normalblackRaymond Swanland

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where River's Rebuke has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-01-19 There are many important moments in the story, but the most crucial—called “story spotlights”—are shown on cards. These cards have the Planeswalker symbol in their text box; this symbol has no effect on gameplay. You can read more about these events in the official Magic fiction at http://www.mtgstory.com.

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