Grapple with the Past MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Mill

Key Takeaways

  1. Aids in maintaining card advantage by recovering creatures or lands during your match.
  2. Instant speed allows strategic flexibility for responsive in-game decisions.
  3. Can accelerate mana development, expediting impactful spells’ casting.

Text of card

Put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard, then you may return a creature or land card from your graveyard to your hand.

Emrakul does not grant wishes. Desires simply align to her will.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Grapple with the Past provides the capability to potentially return a creature or land from your graveyard to your hand, offering the flexibility to recover key cards and maintain card advantage during the match.

Resource Acceleration: By selecting a land card with its ability, this card can effectively expedite your mana development, ensuring you’re well-equipped to cast more impactful spells earlier in the game.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Grapple with the Past can be cast during either player’s turn, granting you strategic flexibility to respond to the evolving state of the game without committing resources prematurely.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Grapple with the Past involves the decision to put a card from your hand into your graveyard. While this card seeks to maximize value by delving into your graveyard, players should be wary of the reduced hand size, especially during the early game phases or when other strategies would benefit from a fuller grip.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands one green mana, which means it’s primarily relegated to green decks or multi-colored decks that can accommodate green mana reliably. If your deck’s mana base is not tuned to consistently produce green mana, including Grapple with the Past might result in it sitting idle in your hand at critical moments.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At two mana, Grapple with the Past occupies a spot where players need to consider cost versus effect. While it provides a look into the top three cards of your library and the potential to return a creature or land card to your hand, other options at this mana might forward your game state more aggressively or offer more immediate board presence.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Grapple with the Past is a multifaceted card that seamlessly slots into various deck archetypes. Its ability to return a creature or land from the graveyard to your hand ensures that you always have access to pivotal resources throughout the game.

Combo Potential: This card thrives within combo-centric decks, particularly those that manipulate the graveyard. By selectively retrieving combo pieces, Grapple with the Past can serve as the linchpin in executing your deck’s winning strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where graveyard interaction is prevalent, this card gains additional traction. Its power to disrupt opposing graveyard tactics while refining your own game plan makes it a smart inclusion against a variety of competitive decks.


How to beat

Grapple with the Past is a unique instant spell from Magic the Gathering that allows players to put the top three cards of their library into their graveyard and then return a creature or land card from their graveyard to their hand. This can be problematic if your opponent leverages their graveyard as a resource, bolstering their hand with key pieces they’ve strategically placed into the graveyard beforehand.

To counteract the benefits Grapple with the Past provides, it is essential to employ graveyard hate strategies. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can exile cards as they hit the graveyard, rendering Grapple with the Past significantly less effective. Additionally, proactive discard strategies can force the opponent to discard Grapple with the Past before it can be used, using cards like Thoughtseize or Duress. Containment Priest can also be a hindrance, as it prevents creatures from being returned to the battlefield from the graveyard, impacting the potency of your opponent’s Grapple with the Past play.

Ultimately, understanding and anticipating your opponent’s strategy when they include Grapple with the Past in their deck is vital. With appropriate sideboard cards and a strategy to limit their graveyard as a resource, you can diminish the impact of this versatile spell.


BurnMana Recommendations

Grapple with the Past shines in its role of graveyard utility and flexibility in Magic the Gathering. Its potential for card advantage and strategic depth makes it a valuable addition to many decks. Whether it’s fine-tuning your mana base or enhancing your combos, this card has a myriad of applications that can be tailored to your play style. For those intent on maximizing their deck’s capabilities, Grapple with the Past offers an array of benefits that can prove decisive in competitive play. Explore the full potential of this MTG card in your arsenal and adapt your strategies accordingly for a power-packed game.


Cards like Grapple with the Past

Grapple with the Past is a versatile spell in Magic: The Gathering, owing much to its dual action of retrieving creatures or lands from your graveyard to your hand. It also mills three, providing both selection and self-fuel for graveyard strategies. Looking at comparable options, we find cards like Salvage and Regrowth. Salvage allows you to retrieve a land, while Regrowth brings back any card from your graveyard. Grapple with the Past shines by giving you the chance to get both creature and land, making it incredibly flexible.

Another card in the same family is Pulse of Murasa, which returns a creature or land card from a graveyard to its owner’s hand and also offers a significant life gain. While it doesn’t mill, the life bonus can be game-changing. Eternal Witness is a creature-based alternative that can retrieve any card from your graveyard, though at the cost of it being attached to a body, which can be more vulnerable in play.

Ultimately, Grapple with the Past carves a niche for itself in decks focused on both graveyard recursion and card filtering, assisting players in fine-tuning their game plan while keeping resources cycling. It’s the conjunction of mill and recovery that sets Grapple with the Past apart from other similar MTG cards.

Salvage - MTG Card versions
Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Pulse of Murasa - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions
Salvage - Portal Second Age (P02)
Regrowth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Pulse of Murasa - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Eternal Witness - Fifth Dawn (5DN)

Cards similar to Grapple with the Past by color, type and mana cost

Tranquil Domain - MTG Card versions
Resuscitate - MTG Card versions
Heavy Fog - MTG Card versions
Aggressive Urge - MTG Card versions
Tangle - MTG Card versions
Krosan Reclamation - MTG Card versions
Seedtime - MTG Card versions
Nourish - MTG Card versions
Wear Away - MTG Card versions
Vital Surge - MTG Card versions
Predator's Strike - MTG Card versions
Might of the Nephilim - MTG Card versions
Resize - MTG Card versions
Squall Line - MTG Card versions
Regenerate - MTG Card versions
Naturalize - MTG Card versions
Tel-Jilad Defiance - MTG Card versions
Tribute to the Wild - MTG Card versions
Plummet - MTG Card versions
Titanic Growth - MTG Card versions
Tranquil Domain - Mirage (MIR)
Resuscitate - Exodus (EXO)
Heavy Fog - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Aggressive Urge - Jumpstart (JMP)
Tangle - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Krosan Reclamation - Judgment (JUD)
Seedtime - Judgment (JUD)
Nourish - Darksteel (DST)
Wear Away - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Vital Surge - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Predator's Strike - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Might of the Nephilim - Dissension (DIS)
Resize - Coldsnap (CSP)
Squall Line - Time Spiral (TSP)
Regenerate - Magic 2010 (M10)
Naturalize - Core Set 2019 (M19)
Tel-Jilad Defiance - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)
Tribute to the Wild - Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2)
Plummet - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Titanic Growth - Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grapple with the Past MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Commander 2018, 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 Grapple with the Past and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Grapple with the Past Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Howard Lyon.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-07-22Eldritch MoonEMN 1602015normalblackHoward Lyon
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 1482015normalblackHoward Lyon
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 12242015normalblackHoward Lyon
42020-09-26The ListPLST C18-1482015normalblackHoward Lyon
52022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 1492015normalblackHoward Lyon
62023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1982015normalblackHoward Lyon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grapple with the Past has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-07-13 Grapple with the Past doesn’t target the card to return to your hand. After putting the top three cards of your library into your graveyard, you may choose from among any creature or land cards there.

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