Horrifying Revelation MTG Card


Horrifying Revelation - Mirrodin Besieged
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Mill
Released2011-02-04
Set symbol
Set nameMirrodin Besieged
Set codeMBS
Number45
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byShelly Wan

Key Takeaways

  1. Generates card advantage by combining discard with a card draw, disrupting opponent strategies.
  2. Instant speed permits strategic play, allowing flexibility and control over game tempo.
  3. Strategic discard via Horrifying Revelation can accelerate your own resources, setting back opponents.

Text of card

Target player discards a card, then puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

"Ours is a glorious transmission! Behold a future where all bow to the Father of Machines." —Isila, Priest of Sheoldred


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Horrifying Revelation enables you to peer into your opponent’s hand, selecting a card for them to discard. This disrupts their strategy while simultaneously drawing you a card, subtly tilting the scales in your favor by generating a two-for-one exchange.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, the strategic discard can often slow down your opponent’s tempo, indirectly giving you the advantage of being one step ahead. You’re effectively accelerating your own resources by hindering their progress.

Instant Speed: The beauty of Horrifying Revelation lies in its timing. Castable at instant speed, it offers flexibility to be played at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to their actions. This type of control can be crucial in maintaining the upper hand during a match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Horrifying Revelation mandates each opponent to discard a card, but it comes at the cost of giving up critical information about your own hand as well. This element of the card can sometimes backfire, especially if you’re already in a tight spot with fewer cards in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a specific black mana to cast, which can restrict its inclusion to mono-black or specific multicolored decks. This can be challenging for players without a stable mana base that supports black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a single black mana, the effect may appear efficient, but when looking at the broader landscape of MTG, there are alternatives available that can either disrupt the opponent’s hand more significantly or offer additional benefits aside from just the discard, making Horrifying Revelation a less favorable choice in some scenarios.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Horrifying Revelation is not just a discard spell, but it also serves as a way to disrupt the opponent’s early game plans while giving you information about their hand. It can be incorporated into various strategic decks that aim to undermine the opponent’s resources from the onset.

Combo Potential: This card excels in conjunction with cards that benefit from the opponent discarding or having a lower card count, making it a key part of synergistic decks focused on hand disruption.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where players rely heavily on having the right card combinations, Horrifying Revelation can tip the scales in your favor by removing key components from their hand and forcing them to draw into less optimal cards.


How to beat

Horrifying Revelation is a spell that strikes at the very core of an opponent’s strategy by not only forcing them to discard a card but also giving you a peek into their hand. This disruption can set the rhythm of the match. To counteract this unnerving card, focus on cards with madness or spells that have a positive effect when discarded. Delirium strategies can also be leveraged to your advantage as Horrifying Revelation contributes to your graveyard, consequently powering up your own cards. Another viable tactic is to keep your hand filled with an excess of less necessary cards, cushioning the impact of the forced discard.

Moreover, include cards that benefit from having a full graveyard, transforming potential disruption into a resource for you. Implement instant speed draw spells to replenish your hand swiftly, ensuring Horrifying Revelation’s effect is mitigated. Additionally, cards with flashback or other abilities that allow you to play them from the graveyard can effectively nullify the card disadvantage typically caused by a discard. By adapting these strategies, you can turn the tables on Horrifying Revelation, maintaining control of the game and your hand.


Cards like Horrifying Revelation

Horrifying Revelation is an intriguing spell that stands out in the psychological warfare aspect of Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with other hand disruption spells, such as Mind Rot, which forces an opponent to discard two cards at a slightly higher mana cost. However, Horrifying Revelation ups the ante by not only discarding a card but also causing the opponent to mill the top card of their library, adding an extra layer of disruption.

Analogous to Distress, it allows you to target a specific card in an opponent’s hand. Nonetheless, Horrifying Revelation is more cost-efficient with a single mana to cast but doesn’t provide the control over the choice of discard, unlike the targeted disposal of Distress. Then there’s Duress, which is another one-mana spell but only targets non-creature, non-land cards, restricting its flexibility but granting it an edge in disrupting noncreature strategies more efficiently.

Considering the trade-offs, Horrifying Revelation may not be the goto choice for targeted hand disruption, but it’s a stealthy contender for players looking to add a splash of disruption while sowing chaos in the opponent’s deck strategy.

Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Distress - MTG Card versions
Duress - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Distress - MTG Card versions
Duress - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Horrifying Revelation by color, type and mana cost

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Raise Dead - MTG Card versions
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Contract from Below - MTG Card versions
Spoils of War - MTG Card versions
Tendrils of Despair - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdling Scream - MTG Card versions
Organ Harvest - MTG Card versions
Duress - MTG Card versions
Bubbling Muck - MTG Card versions
Reanimate - MTG Card versions
Soul Strings - MTG Card versions
Cabal Therapy - MTG Card versions
Confront the Past - MTG Card versions
Stir the Grave - MTG Card versions
Cry of Contrition - MTG Card versions
Deathmark - MTG Card versions
Call to the Netherworld - MTG Card versions
Raven's Crime - MTG Card versions
Imperial Seal - MTG Card versions
Bone Splinters - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Horrifying Revelation MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin Besieged, 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 Horrifying Revelation and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Horrifying Revelation has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2011-06-01 If the player has no cards in their hand or no cards in their library, the other effect still happens.

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