Recall MTG Card


Recall can replenish your hand, giving you a commanding advantage during long, grindy matches. It allows for instant speed plays, offering flexibility and informed decision-making in competitive games. Though powerful, Recall’s requirement to discard cards can be a significant drawback in certain scenarios.
Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Sacrifice X cards from your hand and then bring X cards from your graveyard to your hand. Then remove Recall from the game.


Cards like Recall

Recall is a blue spell in Magic: The Gathering that brings versatility to the table, allowing players to return cards from their graveyard to their hand. In a similar fashion, we find Regrowth, another spell granting players the ability to reclaim a card from the graveyard. Unlike Recall, which offers a broader scope by permitting any number of cards to be retrieved based on the discarded cards, Regrowth targets only one card, but with the upside of having no additional cost tied to its retrieval.

Moving forward through MTG’s vast library of cards, we encounter Eternal Witness, a creature card with a related ability. A key difference is that Eternal Witness is a permanent that also puts a body on the board, which can be advantageous for strategies that look to maintain presence on the battlefield. Recall, however, provides a higher ceiling for card advantage albeit at the cost of discarding. Then we have Timetwister, which takes a different spin by shuffling both players’ graveyards into their libraries and drawing seven new cards, offering a complete reset that can potentially benefit both players.

Comparisons underscore the unique role of Recall in MTG, bridging strategic plays between resource recovery and hand management. Among its peers, it holds a valuable spot for players seeking to tailor their graveyard manipulation with significant precision and potential card advantage.

Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions
Timetwister - MTG Card versions
Regrowth - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions
Timetwister - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Recall by color, type and mana cost

Drafna's Restoration - MTG Card versions
Reconstruction - MTG Card versions
Psychic Purge - MTG Card versions
Energy Tap - MTG Card versions
Mind Bomb - MTG Card versions
Portent - MTG Card versions
Taunt - MTG Card versions
Sorcerous Sight - MTG Card versions
Prosperity - MTG Card versions
Eye Spy - MTG Card versions
Sleight of Hand - MTG Card versions
Broken Dam - MTG Card versions
Index - MTG Card versions
Extract - MTG Card versions
Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - MTG Card versions
Preordain - MTG Card versions
Serum Visions - MTG Card versions
Ponder - MTG Card versions
Breakthrough - MTG Card versions
Careful Study - MTG Card versions
Drafna's Restoration - MTG Card versions
Reconstruction - MTG Card versions
Psychic Purge - MTG Card versions
Energy Tap - MTG Card versions
Mind Bomb - MTG Card versions
Portent - MTG Card versions
Taunt - MTG Card versions
Sorcerous Sight - MTG Card versions
Prosperity - MTG Card versions
Eye Spy - MTG Card versions
Sleight of Hand - MTG Card versions
Broken Dam - MTG Card versions
Index - MTG Card versions
Extract - MTG Card versions
Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - MTG Card versions
Preordain - MTG Card versions
Serum Visions - MTG Card versions
Ponder - MTG Card versions
Breakthrough - MTG Card versions
Careful Study - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Recall, in MTG, grants access to three cards from your graveyard, essentially replenishing your hand and providing substantial card advantage in longer matchups where resources are key.

Resource Acceleration: By effectively reusing resources, Recall powers up your game by allowing you to replay your most impactful spells. This card recycling translates into a kind of acceleration, maintaining the tempo and keeping pressure on your opponent.

Instant Speed: Recall can be activated at instant speed, giving you the tactical flexibility to wait until the end of your opponent’s turn to make the most informed decisions and maximize the strategic potential of the cards returned to your hand.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of Recall is the necessity to discard cards. This trade-off can be detrimental during gameplay, especially when your hand size is dwindling, and every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Recall demands blue mana in its casting cost, pigeonholing it into blue-centric or blue-inclusive decks, thus restricting its versatility across the color spectrum of Magic.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a scaling mana cost that augments with the desired number of cards, accessing a large number of cards from your graveyard might become a costly endeavor, which may not be as mana-efficient compared to other cheaper graveyard retrieval options available.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Recall card proves itself as a versatile asset for various deck strategies. It fits well in blue-based control or combo decks that focus on drawing cards and managing hand resources effectively.

Combo Potential: With its ability to retrieve key components from the graveyard, Recall offers plentiful combo possibilities, especially in decks that cycle through their library quickly or require specific pieces to dominate the game.

Meta-Relevance: If the metagame favors long, drawn-out battles or graveyard strategies, having Recall in your collection could decisively tilt matches in your favor by reusing powerful spells or creatures that were previously thought to be out of reach.


How to Beat

The Recall MTG card functions as a potent means to retrieve cards from your graveyard, offering players a chance to reintroduce essential spells or creatures into their game. To effectively counteract this, one should consider utilizing graveyard disruption strategies. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void are excellent at preventing opponents from reaping the benefits of their graveyards, thus rendering Recall less impactful. Furthermore, proactive denial, through the likes of discard spells such as Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek, can thwart your opponent’s plans before they even have the opportunity to cast Recall.

Timing is also a crucial factor. Applying pressure with aggressive creatures can put opponents in a situation where they’re forced to trade resources for survival, leaving them with fewer options to bring back with Recall. Interaction during your opponent’s draw step with instant-speed removal like Krosan Grip targeting their key cards or Dispel to counter Recall itself can catch them off-guard and disrupt their planned plays. By maintaining a strategic stance that emphasizes foresight and disruption, Recall can be effectively neutralized, preserving your advantage on the battlefield.

Ultimately, beating a card like Recall in MTG demands a multi-angle approach, combining grave disruption, smart resource management, and impeccable timing to ensure your opponent gains minimal benefit from their attempt to recur their pivotal spells.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Recall MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Chronicles, 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 Recall and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Recall Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-06-01LegendsLEG 701993NormalBlackBrian Snõddy
21995-07-01ChroniclesCHR 241993NormalWhiteBrian Snõddy
31996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC shr241993NormalGoldBrian Snõddy
41996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC ml241993NormalGoldBrian Snõddy
51997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 1151997NormalWhiteRichard Kane Ferguson
61999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 921997NormalWhiteBrian Snõddy
72009-09-07Masters Edition IIIME3 461997NormalBlackBrian Snõddy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Recall has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolRestricted
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-10-01 You don’t choose which cards in your graveyard you’ll return to your hand until after you discard cards. You choose a card in your graveyard for each card you discarded, then you put all cards chosen this way into your hand at the same time. You may choose to return some or all of the cards you just discarded.
2009-10-01 You don’t discard cards until Recall resolves. If you don’t have X cards in your hand at that time, you discard all the cards in your hand.