Recycle MTG Card

Recycle cards enable a constant hand replenishment, offering strategic depth and resilience. They can cause mana curve issues and require careful deck construction to optimize. Countering Recycle involves targeted removal or an overpowering aggressive strategy.

Tempest (TMP)
1997-10-14 - Number 248

Tempest Remastered (TPR)
2015-05-06 - Number 189

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment

Text of card

Skip your draw phase. Whenever you play a card, draw a card. During your discard phase, choose and discard all but two cards.

Cards like Recycle

Recycle occupies a unique niche within Magic: The Gathering’s universe of enchantments. It’s akin to cards like Null Profusion, which similarly restrains your hand size while replenishing your grip as you play cards. While Null Profusion offers the same card-for-card exchange, Recycle’s green alignment aligns with strategies that deploy numerous permanents in a single turn.

Another comparable enchantment is Kruphix’s Insight, which delves deeply into your library for enchantments, though it does not regulate hand size or maintain hand replenishment like Recycle does. Additionally, Season of Growth draws a parallel with its card draw mechanism triggered by casting spells that target a creature you control, but it lacks the hand-size regulation feature and consistent drawing capacity provided by playing any card as Recycle allows.

Standing amid the wealth of enchantments available, Recycle not only offers consistent draw but skews towards a green deck’s strength in casting numerous spells each turn. This synergy places Recycle in a favorable position for those who can capitalize on its distinctive draw mechanism and embrace the hand-size limitation as a worthwhile trade-off for persistent card flow.

Cards similar to Recycle by color, type and mana cost

Shape of the Wiitigo - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When playing a Recycle card, you unlock continuous card drawing power with each spell cast, ensuring that your hand stays replenished and giving you a plethora of options for your strategy.

Resource Acceleration: By transforming non-essential cards or those with graveyard synergies back into useful spells or resources, a Recycle card can exponentially speed up your gameplay, giving you the edge you need to outpace your opponents.

Instant Speed: The ability to use a Recycle card at instant speed gives you the flexibility to respond adaptively to your opponent’s moves. This element of surprise can disrupt their strategy while strengthening your position on the battlefield.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of employing the recycle mechanic is that it often comes with a discard cost. If your hand is already sparse, having to throw away a potentially useful card to recycle another can inhibit your gameplay, leaving you at a disadvantage in the match.

Specific Mana Cost: Utilizing cards with the recycle ability can sometimes be restrictive due to their demand for particular mana types, making it challenging for players to include them in multi-color decks. This limitation can hinder deck flexibility and force players to make concessions in their overall strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Cards with the recycle feature tend to have a higher mana cost compared to other cards with similar abilities. This can slow down your game, especially if you’re aiming for quick plays and a fast-paced deck build. Access to alternatives that can provide more immediate or cost-effective results could deter players from choosing recycle-heavy strategies.

Reasons to Include Recycle in Your Collection

Versatility: Recycle offers a unique effect by allowing you to draw a new card each time you play a card, ensuring a constant flow of options and keeping your hand replenished for a variety of strategies. This makes it a valuable asset in decks that rapidly deploy their hands or focus on casting numerous spells.

Combo Potential: This card can be a linchpin in decks that revolve around chain-casting or storm strategies. By allowing you to draw into more combo pieces, it increases the likelihood of pulling off game-winning sequences. It’s also a great fit for synergy with cards that reward you for drawing additional cards or playing multiple spells in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are drawn out and card advantage is king, Recycle can tip the scales in your favor. It rewards proactive play and ensures that long-term strategies have the fuel needed to reach their endgame. As metas shift, the ability to keep a full grip becomes increasingly valuable, making Recycle a card worth considering for its potential to disrupt and outlast opponents.

How to beat

Recycle is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that transforms the game’s tempo and strategic planning for players. It ensures that every time you play a card, you draw a card. This keeps your hand consistently full, creating seemingly endless opportunities. However, the card comes with a trade-off, limiting you to two land plays and causing a pronounced shift in your mana curve strategy.

To counteract Recycle, it’s critical to employ disruption tactics or focus on removing enchantments. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant effectively remove Recycle from the battlefield, immediately halting its advantage. Alternatively, aggressive strategies that outpace the card’s ability to replenish the hand can overwhelm a player relying on Recycle. Consider speed and efficiency; strategies that can execute powerful plays without reliance on a high volume of cards can often bypass Recycle’s strategic edge and pressure opponents into a corner before they can fully harness its benefits.

In essence, by prioritizing enchantment removal or adopting an aggressive strategy, you can undermine Recycle’s influence. The key is to anticipate the shift in gameplay it introduces and to adapt your approach accordingly for a triumphant victory.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Recycle MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Tempest Remastered, 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 Recycle and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Recycle Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 2015-05-06. Illustrated by Phil Foglio.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1997-10-14	Tempest	TMP		248	1997	Normal	Black	Phil Foglio
2	2015-05-06	Tempest Remastered	TPR		189	2015	Normal	Black	Phil Foglio

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Recycle has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2007-02-01	Countering a spell that has been cast will not prevent you from drawing the card.
2007-02-01	Your maximum hand size is checked only during the cleanup step of your turn. At any other time, you may have any number of cards in hand.
2009-10-01	If multiple effects modify your hand size, apply them in timestamp order. For example, if you put Spellbook (an artifact that says you have no maximum hand size) onto the battlefield and then put Recycle onto the battlefield, your maximum hand size will be two. However, if those permanents entered the battlefield in the opposite order, you would have no maximum hand size.
2018-07-13	To play a card means to play a land or to cast a spell that’s a card (and not a copy of a card).