Raven's Crime MTG Card
2008-07-25 - Number 41
2013-06-07 - Number 95
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Abilities | Retrace |
Text of card
Target player discards a card. Retrace (You may play this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
It plucks away memories like choice bits of carrion.
Cards like Raven's Crime
Raven’s Crime is a unique card within the world of Magic: The Gathering, offering an intriguing approach to disrupting opponents. A comparison might be made with cards like Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek, both of which allow players to target an opponent’s hand. What sets Raven’s Crime apart is its retrace ability, enabling you to cast the spell multiple times from your graveyard by discarding a land card, ensuring a persistent threat to your opponent’s hand. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek cannot match this recurring effect.
Another card that echoes the discard theme is Wrench Mind, which forces an opponent to discard two cards at once. However, unlike Raven’s Crime, Wrench Mind doesn’t offer the same level of repeatability. On the other end, the card Duress specifically targets noncreature, nonland cards in your opponent’s hand. It’s a one-time use and lacks the flexibility of choosing any card type, making Raven’s Crime a more versatile choice.
Considering these points, Raven’s Crime stands out for its reusability and strategic depth, making it a staple in decks that capitalize on controlling the opponent’s resources and hand size. Its ability to be played repeatedly makes it a uniquely persistent element in Magic: The Gathering gameplay.
Cards similar to Raven's Crime by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Raven's Crime. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 8-Rack | Modern | 8-Rack | 4 Torneio - 10 Liga Arena Guardians |
 | Rakdos Control | Modern | Rakdos Midrange | *HALF PRICE FRIDAY* Modern $10K Trial - SCG CON Atlanta - Friday - 4:00 pm |
 | Mono-Black Coffers | Modern | Mono-Black Coffers | Modern Challenge 64 2024-03-09 |
| Rakdos Midrange | Modern | Rakdos Midrange | *HALF PRICE FRIDAY* $5K RCQ - Modern - SCG CON Atlanta - Friday - 1:00 pm |
 | Golgari Gardens | Pauper | Golgari Gardens | Pauper Challenge 64 2024-03-31 |
 | Mono-Black Midrange | Modern | Mono-Black Midrange | Modern League 2024-02-12 |
 | Sultai Loam | Legacy | Blue Artifacts | Untap.in Open League |
 | Orzhov Smallpox | Modern | Smallpox | Axion Now MEGA Modern |
 | Assault Loam | Modern | Assault Loam | Modern Challenge 64 2024-03-02 (1) |
 | Orzhov Midrange | Pauper | SFIDA DEI CAMPIONI |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Raven’s Crime presents a recurrent means of diminishing your opponent’s hand size when retrace is utilized effectively, granting a strategic edge in resources.
Resource Acceleration: The low initial mana cost of Raven’s Crime facilitates an early-game advantage, setting the pace and potentially disrupting your adversary’s strategy from the outset.
Instant Speed: While not at instant speed, the flexibility offered by retrace allows you to cast Raven’s Crime multiple times during your turns, efficiently managing your resources while keeping pressure on your opponent’s hand.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One critical drawback of Raven’s Crime is its demand for a card discard as part of its Retrace ability. While this can be a strategic aspect for certain deck types, it can place the player at a disadvantage by dwindling hand options—particularly detrimental in moments when keeping a full grip is crucial to game strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: Raven’s Crime’s casting cost necessitates black mana, which immediately pigeonholes it into black-focused or multicolor decks that can accommodate such mana requirements. This could potentially narrow its applicability across the diverse landscape of MTG playstyles and restrict its usage in mono-colored or color-light deck configurations.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While initially appearing low cost, the nature of Raven’s Crime’s Retrace ability means multiple land cards could potentially be spent to repeatedly cast it from the graveyard. Over time, this can amount to a costly investment, making it less mana-efficient compared to other options available for controlling an opponent’s hand.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Raven’s Crime offers adaptability in various deck builds, particularly those requiring targeted discard. Its retrace ability becomes increasingly powerful in long drawn-out games, making it a consistent threat to your opponent’s hand size.
Combo Potential: This card works well with land recycling strategies, turning any excess lands into potential disruption. Coupling with Life from the Loam or similar effects, you establish a loop that keeps opponent’s hands empty and paves your way to victory.
Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of hand-based strategy decks in many metas, Raven’s Crime can serve as an effective countermeasure. Its ability to repeatedly force discards can dismantle your opponent’s plans and give you a significant edge in control matchups.
How to beat
Raven’s Crime is a unique card in MTG that forces opponents to deal with consistent hand disruption. Primarily used in control or discard-themed decks, Raven’s Crime’s true power lies in its retrace ability, allowing players to repeatedly cast it from the graveyard by discarding a land card. This can quickly whittle down an opponent’s hand, leaving them with fewer options and responses.
To effectively counter Raven’s Crime, players should focus on maintaining a healthy hand size and utilizing cards that can benefit from being in the graveyard or those that allow you to draw more cards to replace what you’ve lost. Using graveyard hate cards can also neutralize Raven’s Crime’s retrace capability, which is its primary strength. In addition, prioritize playing your key spells before Raven’s Crime can force you to discard them, and deploy cheap or flash spells that can be played in response to minimize your losses.
Thus, players who strategize properly and employ resources wisely will find themselves well-equipped to neutralize Raven’s Crime and turn the tables on the discard strategy often harbored by opponents employing such tactics.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Raven's Crime MTG card by a specific set like Eventide and Modern Masters, 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 Raven's Crime and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Raven's Crime Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2008-07-25 and 2013-06-07. Illustrated by Warren Mahy.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008-07-25 | Eventide | EVE | 41 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Warren Mahy | |
| 2 | 2013-06-07 | Modern Masters | MMA | 95 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Warren Mahy |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Raven's Crime has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Raven's Crime card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-08-01 | A retrace card cast from your graveyard follows the normal timing rules for its card type. |
| 2008-08-01 | Casting a card by using its retrace ability works just like casting any other spell, with two exceptions: You’re casting it from your graveyard rather than your hand, and you must discard a land card in addition to any other costs. |
| 2008-08-01 | If the active player casts a spell that has retrace, that player may cast that card again after it resolves, before another player can remove the card from the graveyard. The active player has priority after the spell resolves, so they can immediately cast a new spell. Since casting a card with retrace from the graveyard moves that card onto the stack, no one else would have the chance to affect it while it’s still in the graveyard. |
| 2008-08-01 | When a retrace card you cast from your graveyard resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered, it’s put back into your graveyard. You may use the retrace ability to cast it again. |