Mental Journey MTG Card
2021-06-18 - Number 51
2021-06-18 - Number 15s
2021-06-18 - Number 15
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
| Abilities | Basic landcycling,Cycling,Landcycling |
Key Takeaways
- Mental Journey can replenish hands and propel strategies but requires a card discard, affecting hand size.
- Limited to blue decks, its mana cost can potentially place constraints on deck diversity and resource fluidity.
- It offers unique gameplay implications, making it an intriguing choice for players seeking deep strategic play.
Text of card
Draw three cards. Basic landcycling (, Discard this card: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
"My wandering mind has always been an asset."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Mental Journey grants you access to two fresh cards, ensuring you have more options and keeping your hand replenished. This type of advantage can be pivotal for outmaneuvering the opponent throughout the game.
Resource Acceleration: When you play Mental Journey, the additional cards drawn could be key lands or spells that accelerate your resources, giving you the means to execute your strategy more quickly and efficiently.
Instant Speed: The ability to play Mental Journey at instant speed gives you the flexibility to react during your opponent’s turn. This allows for strategic depth, as you can choose the optimal moment to cast it without having to commit resources on your own turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Mental Journey card necessitates players to toss a card from their hand into the graveyard on casting. This can critically reduce your hand size and could put you at a strategic disadvantage, especially if your hand is already depleting.
Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a blue mana cost, Mental Journey demands a precise mana composition to utilize. This requirement often restricts it to blue-centered or blue-splashed decks, potentially excluding a wide array of mono-color and multicolor deck types where it would otherwise be compatible.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is relatively steep, the value yielded by Mental Journey can fall short when weighed against other card drawing options. Competing spells might furnish similar or better effects for a more economical mana investment, offering players more fluidity in managing their resources throughout the game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Mental Journey offers a unique twist on deck manipulation, allowing players to fetch up to three basic land cards, thus providing a solid foundation for a variety of decks that prioritize mana stability or landfall mechanics.
Combo Potential: With its ability to retrieve multiple lands, Mental Journey works wonders in combos that capitalize on land-based triggers, such as those found in landfall decks, enhancing your chances for a game-winning play.
Meta-Relevance: In a format where land destruction or resource denial tactics are prevalent, Mental Journey ensures you won’t fall behind on your land drops, keeping you competitive and in control throughout the match.
How to beat
Mental Journey is a unique spell in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to ambush your opponent by potentially turning the tide with a timely card draw and life gain makes it a formidable card to face. To effectively counter Mental Journey, the key lies in timing and disrupting your opponent’s strategy. Anticipate the usage of such cards and have instant-speed removal or counterspells ready to negate the effect or target the card before it resolves.
Moreover, employing graveyard manipulation can be a savvy move against Mental Journey. Cards that exile cards from the graveyard can prevent Mental Journey from re-entering the battlefield from any graveyard-based recursions. Lastly, applying pressure with aggressive plays can force Mental Journey users to play defensively, thus affecting their ability to optimally leverage their card advantage and life gain. By adopting these tactics, you can tip the scales in your favor and keep Mental Journey from overwhelming your strategy.
In summary, overcoming Mental Journey involves a mix of proactive disruption, strategic spell casting, and pressuring your opponent which can neutralize its impact and allow you to maintain control over the game’s pace.
Cards like Mental Journey
Mental Journey finds its place in the world of MTG as a card that can pivot a player’s strategy completely. It’s often likened to other transformative cards such as Ponder or Brainstorm that also shift a player’s fortunes via card manipulation. Mental Journey, however, brings to the table a unique interaction with the player’s own thoughts and psyche— a twist in gameplay not commonly seen.
Contemplation on similar ground is Serum Visions, granting the player foresight into the coming turns with both draw and scry. Although Serum Visions allows for controlled deck manipulation, it lacks the more cerebral engagement that Mental Journey provides. And then there’s Telling Time, it also lets you peek into the future by looking at the top three cards and rearranging them, merging predictability with instant speed. Nonetheless, the deeper dive into one’s mental space afforded by Mental Journey remains unparalleled.
Assessing the nuances and considering the implications of using each of these cards, it becomes apparent why Mental Journey might be the go-to for players who value a more profound level of introspection and strategy adaptation in their gameplay.
Cards similar to Mental Journey by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Mental Journey // Mental Journey MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons 2 Art Series and Modern Horizons 2 Art Series, 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 Mental Journey // Mental Journey 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 Mental Journey // Mental Journey Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-06-18 and 2021-06-18. Illustrated by Jim Pavelec.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modern Horizons 2 Art Series | AMH2 | 15s | 2015 | Art series | Borderless | Jim Pavelec | ||
| 2 | Modern Horizons 2 Art Series | AMH2 | 15 | 2015 | Art series | Borderless | Jim Pavelec | ||
| 3 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 2 | MH2 | 51 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jim Pavelec |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Mental Journey has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Mental Journey card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-06-18 | Typecycling is a form of cycling. Any ability that triggers on a card being cycled also triggers on a card being typecycled. Any ability that stops a cycling ability from being activated also stops a typecycling ability from being activated. |
| 2021-06-18 | Unlike the normal cycling ability, typecycling doesn't allow you to draw a card. Rather, it lets you search your library for a card with the type or types indicated by the ability name. For example, a card with basic landcycling lets you search for a basic land card, and a card with Wizardcycling lets you search for a Wizard card. |
