Rally MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	1995-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Ice Age
Set code	ICE
Number	48
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Heather Hudson

Key Takeaways

Rally can significantly increase card advantage by resurrecting multiple creatures at once.
Instant speed Rally activations disrupt opponents and provide strategic flexibility.
Its exact mana costs and higher expenses can limit Rally’s versatility and usage.

Text of card

All blocking creatures get +1/+1 until end of turn.

"Stand your ground, troops! This shall be our finest hour!" —General Jarkeld, the Arctic Fox, last words

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rally cards are synonymous with creating a surge in your hand and on the battlefield. By bringing back multiple creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield, Rally can significantly bolster your card advantage, overwhelming your opponents with a sudden influx of resources.

Resource Acceleration: The Rally mechanic often leads to a quick escalation in board presence without spending additional mana on casting creatures from your hand, acting as an efficient form of resource acceleration. This can be a game-changer, especially in situations where your mana is already stretched thin.

Instant Speed: Certain Rally cards can be activated at instant speed, offering the flexibility to revive your creatures at the most tactically advantageous moment. This can disrupt opponent strategies, especially during combat phases or in response to board wipes, maintaining pressure and keeping your foes on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rally cards often necessitate discarding a card, potentially depleting your hand and leaving you at a disadvantage if key cards are lost.

Specific Mana Cost: Rally effects frequently demand exact mana combinations, which might be challenging to produce in multi-colored decks, limiting their versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Rally abilities tend to have higher mana costs when compared to other spells or creatures with similar effects, which could be too steep, particularly in fast-paced games.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Rally is a dynamic card capable of fitting into a variety of decks, notably those that synergize with creature-based strategies or require on-demand creature recovery.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that trigger upon creatures entering the battlefield or in decks that need to swiftly recover after a board wipe, making for powerful comeback plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given how creature-centric most current metas are, including Rally can offer a crucial edge against control archetypes, allowing you to swiftly refill your board and maintain pressure on your opponent.

How to beat

Rally cards in Magic: The Gathering offer a unique mechanic that can trigger powerful effects when creatures enter the battlefield. On the surface, these cards appear to swing the momentum in favor of your opponent, enabling them to amass a formidable force to contend with. However, with strategic gameplay, there are effective methods to mitigate the impact of Rally abilities and maintain control of the game.

One of the most efficient ways to counter a Rally strategy is through the use of removal spells that can disrupt your opponent’s creature base before the Rally effects can be utilized. Board wipes like “Wrath of God” or “Damnation” clear the battlefield and negate the buildup of creatures needed to trigger Rally. Conversely, spot removal spells like “Path to Exile” or “Terminate” can pick off key creatures individually, especially those with Rally abilities that your opponent relies on to orchestrate their master plan.

Additionally, leveraging counterspells such as “Counterspell” or “Mana Leak” can prevent Rally cards from ever taking effect. Timing is crucial when using these spells—casting them as your opponent attempts to play a Rally card can stop their strategy in its tracks. In conclusion, thorough knowledge of your deck’s answers to creature-based strategies is vital to countering Rally cards and maintaining dominance on the battlefield.

Cards like Rally

Rally is a unique and potentially game-changing card in the realm of creature support in Magic: The Gathering. It walks alongside cards like Heroic Intervention, which offers protection to your creatures, though Rally goes a step further by reviving creatures directly from the graveyard for an impactful board presence. Unlike Rally, Heroic Intervention’s purpose is to shield your creatures from harm, not to bring them back.

When comparing Rally to Unearth, another card reviving creatures, we see a nuanced difference. Unearth returns a creature at a low cost, but with restrictions based on the creature’s converted mana cost. Rally provides a more flexible approach, allowing the return of any number of target creatures, albeit at a potentially higher mana cost. Then there’s Return to the Ranks, a card in the same thematic vein as Rally. It offers similar benefits by pulling multiple creatures back onto the battlefield, though its Convoke mechanic can provide an alternate way of paying the cost, leveraging the creatures you already have in play.

In assessing these cards, Rally stands out within its category for its potential to turn the tide of a game by mass resurrecting fallen allies, asserting a powerful presence on the battlefield that MTG players can appreciate for its strategic depth.

Cards similar to Rally by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rally MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age, 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 Rally and other MTG cards: