Recross the Paths MTG Card

Recross the Paths offers library reshuffling and potential card return, offering a unique deck manipulation tactic. It can unexpectedly ramp mana, setting up crucial plays by putting a land from the revealed cards onto the battlefield. Although non-instant, its immediate land play compensates, providing a surprise mana boost during crucial turns.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Clash
Released	2008-02-01
Set symbol
Set name	Morningtide
Set code	MOR
Number	133
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Hildebrandt

Text of card

Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a land card. Put that card into play and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. Clash with an opponent. If you win, return Recross the Paths to its owner's hand. (Each clashing player reveals the top card of his or her library, then puts that card on the top or bottom. A player wins if his or her card had a higher converted mana cost.)

Cards like Recross the Paths

Recross the Paths is a distinctive sorcery card that offers MTG players an intriguing mix of deck manipulation and potential for mana efficiency. At its core, it lets players rearrange the top cards of their library, ensuring they get just the spell they need for upcoming turns. This resembles effects found on cards like Sylvan Scrying which also provides a degree of control over what you might draw next, albeit Recross the Paths does this through the Clash mechanic rather than direct selection.

When compared to other Clash-enabled cards, such as Woodland Guidance, Recross the Paths stands out by potentially allowing repeated plays — if the player wins the Clash, they may cast it again without cost. This repetitive potential offers a strategic advantage over cards like Woodland Guidance which return a card from the graveyard to hand, offering a single, returned resource rather than multiple castings.

Analyzing the landscape of similar spell-crafting cards in MTG, Recross the Paths carves out a notable space. It provides a unique blend of card arrangement control and a repeatable casting chance, which could prove crucial in the right deck, making it a valuable tool for players crafting their way to victory.

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Recross the Paths. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#	Name	Format	Archetype	Event
	Belcher	Modern	Belcher	Modern $20K Trial - SCG CON Cincinnati - Friday - 4:00 pm (Silver)
	Twiddle Storm	Modern	Twiddle Storm	Modern Preliminary 2024-02-21 (1)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Recross the Paths offers a reshuffling of your library, which can effectively alter the course of your draws. As it has the clash mechanic, winning the clash also returns the card to your hand, which is essentially a card draw, offering a potential loop of casts under the right circumstances.

Resource Acceleration: The central capability of this card lies in its ability to put a land card from among the revealed cards directly onto the battlefield. This ramp not only increases your land count but can significantly advance your board position by unlocking access to more mana for the turns to come.

Instant Speed: Albeit not an instant, Recross the Paths compensates for this by allowing an immediate land put into play. This can catch opponents off guard as it provides an unexpected mana boost that can lead to powerful plays significantly earlier than anticipated.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Recross the Paths doesn’t have a discard requirement itself, it’s worth noting that managing a card like Recross the Paths often means holding it until the right moment. This can effectively tie up a card in your hand, reducing your immediate resources and potentially forcing a discard in the process.

Specific Mana Cost: Recross the Paths comes with a specific mana cost of one green and two generic mana. This cost might not seamlessly fit into multi-color decks that aren’t heavily focused on green mana, therefore making it a card that’s more often seen in mono-green or green-heavy decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Recross the Paths can potentially be played multiple times thanks to the Clash mechanic, its initial mana cost of three might be less appealing compared to other ramp options. In decks that are mana-hungry early on, committing three mana to this card could slow your overall tempo, especially if there’s a need for immediate mana acceleration or board presence.

Reasons to Include Recross the Paths in Your Collection

Versatility: Recross the Paths is a card that shines in a variety of deck builds due to its clash mechanic, which allows for deck manipulation and potential mana ramp. Whether you need to secure your land drops or set up the top of your deck for future plays, this card serves multiple purposes within any green deck’s strategy.

Combo Potential: With the ability to reshuffle and potentially play Recross the Paths multiple times, it can become a key component in combos that rely on manipulating the top of the deck. It pairs well with cards that benefit from casting spells or from seeing specific cards placed on top of the deck prior to drawing them.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where consistent land drops and precise deck tuning are crucial, having Recross the Paths can assure that you keep up with landfall strategies or simply ensure your deck is performing optimally by rearranging the top cards, making it a relevant choice for competitive play.

How to beat

Recross the Paths is an intriguing sorcery card in Magic: The Gathering that offers players a unique clash mechanic, potentially allowing for repeated plays. It provides a way to manipulate the library and ensure that key spells are within reach. To effectively counter this card, it’s vital that one disrupts the deck’s top order. This can be achieved through the use of shuffle effects or cards that exile top cards from an opponent’s library, diminishing the card’s reliability to set up the perfect next draw.

Control decks could benefit from counter spells to directly deny the resolution of Recross the Paths. Spell-based disruption, like Thoughtseize or Duress, can also be preemptive measures, allowing you to remove the card from your opponent’s hand before it becomes a threat. Moreover, graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace will prevent any beneficial interactions from cards that Recross the Paths might deposit there.

Overall, staying one step ahead with hand disruption, graveyard control, or deck order manipulation proves to be a solid strategy against this spell. This ensures you maintain the upper hand and protect your game from the surprising turns Recross the Paths could cause.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Recross the Paths MTG card by a specific set like Morningtide, 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 Recross the Paths and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Recross the Paths has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-04-01	If the spell is countered or doesn’t resolve for any reason (for example, if all its targets become illegal), none of its effects happen. There is no clash, and the spell card won’t be returned to your hand.
2008-04-01	If you have only nonland cards in your library, you reveal your entire library (one card at a time), rearrange it however you like, and then clash.
2008-04-01	If you win the clash, the spell moves from the stack to your hand as part of its resolution. It never hits the graveyard. If you don’t win the clash, the spell is put into the graveyard from the stack as normal.
2008-04-01	You put the revealed nonland cards on the bottom of your library before you clash.