March of the Returned MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: March of the Returned shines by letting you return up to two creature cards from your graveyard to your hand, replenishing your resources and giving you an edge in the long game.

Resource Acceleration: This can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration by providing access to creatures with mana abilities or those that generate additional value when they enter the battlefield again.

Instant Speed: This card operates at instant speed, offering flexibility to respond to your opponents’ moves by strategically planning the return of creatures during their turn, or even at the end of their turn for a surprise tactic.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: March of the Returned compels players to part with a card, potentially putting you at a disadvantage if your hand size is already dwindling and you’re pressed for choices.

Specific Mana Cost: This card calls for both black mana, which may restrict its integration in decks that draw upon a wider variety of mana sources and can be cumbersome for multicolored deck strategies that aren’t heavily leaning towards black.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While reanimating two creatures from the graveyard is certainly useful, the four mana investment, especially when two must be black, might be steep for effects that don’t provide immediate board presence or traction, especially when there are alternative cards with lower casting costs and similarly potent reanimation potentials.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: March of the Returned offers a straightforward way to bring creatures back from the graveyard to your hand. This capability allows it to slide easily into various deck styles, particularly those based around graveyard strategies or that need card advantage to maintain momentum.

Combo Potential: As a piece that can retrieve creatures, this card opens up multiple combo opportunities. It can be especially powerful in decks that exploit enter-the-battlefield effects or need specific creature cards to execute a winning strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where graveyard interaction is a key component, March of the Returned gains significant value. It’s a practical choice when facing common control decks, ensuring that even your fallen creatures can serve a purpose beyond the grave.

How to beat

March of the Returned opens up intriguing graveyard strategies in Magic: The Gathering, bringing creatures back from the dead to your hand. This card, like other reanimation spells, can swing games by recovering key pieces from the graveyard. However, there are strategies to undermine its effectiveness. Graveyard hate is a strong answer, with cards such as Scavenging Ooze actively exiling creatures that March of the Returned could target. It’s also critical to manage the timing of your graveyard disruption, ensuring the opponent’s graveyard is empty when they’re likely to cast resurrection spells.

Additionally, countermagic plays a significant role in checking March of the Returned. By keeping up mana for counterspells such as Negate or Dovin’s Veto, you can stop the spell in its tracks. It’s vital to weigh the value of what might be returning versus the cost of holding up mana for a counter. Overall, consistent graveyard surveillance combined with well-timed disruption can effective thwart March of the Returned, maintaining control of the match rhythm and leaving opponents a step behind.