Leave in the Dust MTG Card
2017-01-20 - Number 37
2020-07-17 - Number 156
2020-11-12 - Number 54
2022-12-02 - Number 313
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
Key Takeaways
- It offers card advantage and tempo by returning threats and drawing cards.
- Instant speed provides flexibility and control in reactive strategies.
- While versatile, its effectiveness is somewhat mana cost dependent.
Text of card
Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand. Draw a card.
The daredevil racers of the Derby Crows, long at odds with the Consulate, were quick to join the renegades in open revolt.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Leave in the Dust enables you to return a nonland permanent to its owner’s hand, which can temporarily relieve pressure from an opposing threat. This action is followed by the opportunity to draw a card, adding to your hand and potentially giving you options for subsequent plays.
Resource Acceleration: While Leave in the Dust doesn’t directly increase your mana pool, the card you draw might be a land or a mana-producing spell, which indirectly accelerates your resources. Plus, disrupting opponent’s tempo can sometimes be as good as accelerating your own resources.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of being an instant is a significant pro of Leave in the Dust. Responding to an enemy’s move during their turn or at the end of their turn preserves your mana for counterspells or other instant speed interaction, keeping you in a reactive and strong controlling position.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One drawback of Leave in the Dust is its lack of an additional discard effect. Players looking to combine bounce mechanics with discard for a more disruptive impact might find this absence to be a limitation.
Specific Mana Cost: Leave in the Dust requires both blue mana and general mana to cast. Its specific need for blue mana means that decks not focused on this color might struggle to integrate it smoothly, thereby reducing its versatility across various deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, this card demands a reasonable investment for a single-target effect. There are alternatives in the MTG universe that provide similar bounce effects at a lower mana cost, which could be preferred in a deck where efficiency and speed are crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Leave in the Dust offers a flexible solution to unexpected threats on the battlefield. It can be integrated into various blue decks aiming to control the pace of the game, allowing you to bounce any nonland permanent back to its owner’s hand and draw a card for one fluid motion.
Combo Potential: When paired with cards that profit from casting spells or drawing cards, Leave in the Dust can be an essential piece in a combo chain. It can also reset your own permanents for value or retrigger enter-the-battlefield effects.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state dominated by creature-heavy or enchantment-reliant decks, this card becomes a highly effective tool. Providing both a temporary solution to an immediate threat and card advantage gives players in such a meta an upper hand.
How to Beat Leave in the Dust
Leave in the Dust is a versatile instant that can disrupt an opponent’s strategy in Magic: The Gathering by returning a nonland permanent to its owner’s hand and providing the player with card draw. Facing this card, it’s essential to be prepared for potential setbacks and adapt your tactics accordingly.
One effective approach is to utilize low-cost permanents with enter-the-battlefield effects which turn the bounce effect into an advantage by retriggering these abilities. Consider deploying cards like Elvish Visionary or Wall of Omens, which offer benefits upon entering the battlefield, negating the downside of being targeted by Leave in the Dust. Additionally, having instant-speed spells that offer hexproof or shroud to your permanents can nullify the card’s impact, such as Blossoming Defense or Ranger’s Guile.
Moreover, emphasizing an agile playstyle that can quickly redeploy bounced permanents can mitigate the card’s tempo swing. Focusing on such strategies and maintaining a proactive stance will help overcome the hurdles presented by Leave in the Dust, ensuring your board state remains robust and minimally affected.
Cards like Leave in the Dust
Leave in the Dust is an interesting utility spell among blue cards in Magic: The Gathering, offering both tempo and card advantage. It echoes the functionality of Into the Roil, which also returns a nonland permanent to its owner’s hand. However, Leave in the Dust provides a draw as an intrinsic part of its effect, unlike Into the Roil which needs kicker to do the same.
In a related context, we find Disperse, another card that serves the same temporal disruption, sending a nonland permanent back to its owner’s hand. While it lacks the card draw that Leave in the Dust offers, Disperse compensates with a lower mana cost, making it a swifter option. Comparably, Blink of an Eye adds to this group with its flexibility. Like Into the Roil, drawing a card with Blink of an Eye requires paying the kicker cost, making Leave in the Dust a more straightforward if slightly more expensive alternative.
Scrutinizing these choices, Leave in the Dust proves to be a handy choice for players who appreciate direct effects without additional payments or conditional triggers. Its balance between disrupting opponents and replenishing your hand positions it as a solid pick in blue control decks.
Cards similar to Leave in the Dust by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Leave in the Dust MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Jumpstart, 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 Leave in the Dust and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Leave in the Dust Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Vincent Proce.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-01-20 | Aether Revolt | AER | 37 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 2 | 2020-07-17 | Jumpstart | JMP | 156 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 3 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 54 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 4 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 313 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Leave in the Dust has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Leave in the Dust card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | If the target permanent becomes an illegal target, Leave in the Dust doesn’t resolve and none of its effects happen. You won’t draw a card. |
