Midnight Recovery MTG Card

Reclaims creatures from the graveyard, maintaining card advantage and countering creature loss. Cipher mechanic provides ongoing value without additional mana investment for recasting. Timing flexibility with instant speed enhances strategic play during any turn phase.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Cipher
Released	2013-02-01
Set symbol
Set name	Gatecrash
Set code	GTC
Number	73
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Peter Mohrbacher

Text of card

Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Cipher (Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost.)

Cards like Midnight Recovery

Midnight Recovery enters the Magic: The Gathering arena as a unique card that offers a return from the graveyard to hand ability. It echoes the functionality of other reanimation spells but brings its own twist with a cipher mechanic. This allows you to encode the spell onto a creature, effectively reusing the ability each time the creature deals combat damage to a player. It’s a subtle comparison to Disentomb which also returns a creature card from graveyard to hand, but without the repeated use that Midnight Recovery provides.

Another comparably powerful card is Call to the Netherworld. Though this spell is cheaper with a single mana cost and has the upside of being cast for free if discarded, it only targets black creatures and lacks the recurring potential of Midnight Recovery. Then comes Gravepurge, setting the stage for creature recovery with a twist: it places creatures on top of the library instead of returning them to hand directly, offering a different form of card advantage.

In summary, Midnight Recovery stands out among its peers for its potential for reuse and flexibility in gameplay, contributing to its identity as a seasoned choice for players seeking strategic graveyard interaction in their MTG decks.

Call to the Netherworld - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Midnight Recovery by color, type and mana cost

Terisiare's Devastation - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Midnight Recovery shines by returning a creature card from your graveyard to your hand. This not only bolsters your hand but also thwarts any previous setbacks caused by your creatures being dealt with, keeping you one step ahead of your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Offering a sneaky twist, the Cipher mechanic, inherent to this card, allows you to effectively cast the spell again without spending additional mana. After casting Midnight Recovery, you’re able to encode it on a creature, setting the stage for repeatable resource value when that creature deals combat damage to a player.

Instant Speed: Its instant speed nature is a strategic boon, giving you the leeway to wait for the perfect moment during your turn, or even at the end of your opponent’s turn, to maximize timing and tactical advantage. This flexibility makes Midnight Recovery a versatile tool in many game situations.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Midnight Recovery demands that you discard a card alongside its casting cost. This can lead to a reduced hand size and might put you at a disadvantage, particularly in the later stages of the game when each card in hand counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires black mana to play, which could restrict it to certain decks that have access to black mana sources. It might not fit easily into multicolored decks that do not prioritize black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While reusing a creature from your graveyard is powerful, the four mana required for Midnight Recovery may be steep, especially since it competes with other powerful cards at similar cost points that can impact the board immediately.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Midnight Recovery offers flexibility to decks that thrive on recurring key creatures. Its cipher ability allows it to become encoded on a creature, creating recurring opportunities without spending additional cards from your hand.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with creatures that have evasive abilities, ensuring that the ciphered spell can be repeatedly cast. Integrating Midnight Recovery into a well-crafted creature lineup can lead to a powerful engine that brings back utility or high-impact creatures turn after turn.

Meta-Relevance: In games where removal is rampant and control decks strive to diminish your board presence, Midnight Recovery provides resilience by routinely bringing back threats from your graveyard. Its relevance depends on the current meta, but it is especially potent in environments where recovery from removal spells is crucial for maintaining momentum.

How to Beat Midnight Recovery

Brewing strategies to tackle Midnight Recovery can be quite the conundrum for MTG aficionados as it allows the retrieval of key creatures from the graveyard directly to hand. This feature might remind players of the ever-versatile Unearth mechanics, which also serves the purpose of resurrection with a twist – it’s time-bound and the creature is exiled thereafter.

Similarly, spells like Reanimate have been known to perform creature recovery functions, but they place the resurrected creature directly onto the battlefield with the side effect of life-loss that scales with the creature’s power. Midnight Recovery bypasses this health tax at the cost of not reanimating immediately, instead offering a strategic edge with its cipher ability, perpetuating the potential for reuse as long as the encoded creature lands a hit.

Countering Midnight Recovery requires a careful game plan. Graveyard hate cards prevent retrieval actions by exiling cards before they can be targeted. Ensnaring proactive cards like Rest in Peace could effectively neutralize the recovery advantage. Furthermore, simply thwarting cipher-encoded creature attacks with removal spells or protective enchantments, thus forestalling the recursive advantage that Midnight Recovery grants, can sequester its influence on the duel significantly.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Midnight Recovery MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash, 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 Midnight Recovery and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Midnight Recovery has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-04-15	If a creature with an encoded card deals combat damage to more than one player simultaneously (perhaps because some of the combat damage was redirected), the triggered ability will trigger once for each player it deals combat damage to. Each ability will create a copy of the exiled card and allow you to cast it.
2013-04-15	If another player gains control of the creature, that player will control the triggered ability. That player will create a copy of the encoded card and may cast it.
2013-04-15	If the creature leaves the battlefield, the exiled card will no longer be encoded on any creature. It will stay exiled.
2013-04-15	If the spell with cipher doesn’t resolve, none of its effects will happen, including cipher. The card will go to its owner’s graveyard and won’t be encoded on a creature.
2013-04-15	If you choose not to cast the copy, or you can’t cast it (perhaps because there are no legal targets available), the copy will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are performed. You won’t get a chance to cast the copy at a later time.
2013-04-15	If you want to encode the card with cipher onto a noncreature permanent such as a Keyrune that can turn into a creature, that permanent has to be a creature before the spell with cipher starts resolving. You can choose only a creature to encode the card onto.
2013-04-15	The copy of the card with cipher is created in and cast from exile.
2013-04-15	The exiled card with cipher grants a triggered ability to the creature it’s encoded on. If that creature loses that ability and subsequently deals combat damage to a player, the triggered ability won’t trigger. However, the exiled card will continue to be encoded on that creature.
2013-04-15	The spell with cipher is encoded on the creature as part of that spell’s resolution, just after the spell’s other effects. That card goes directly from the stack to exile. It never goes to the graveyard.
2013-04-15	You cast the copy of the card with cipher during the resolution of the triggered ability. Ignore timing restrictions based on the card’s type.
2013-04-15	You choose the creature as the spell resolves. The cipher ability doesn’t target that creature, although the spell with cipher may target that creature (or a different creature) because of its other abilities.