Psychic Spiral MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Mill
Released	2012-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Return to Ravnica
Set code	RTR
Number	47
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ryan Pancoast

Key Takeaways

Psychic Spiral provides critical card advantage, refilling your deck and disrupting the enemy’s graveyard strategy.
Instant speed allows strategic plays during opponents’ turns, increasing its tactical use in games.
High mana cost can limit playability, making it a card preferred in specific, strategic deck builds.

Text of card

Shuffle all cards from your graveyard into your library. Target player puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

An elocutor forces criminals to confess to the laws they merely intended to break.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Psychic Spiral stands out as a valuable tool for replenishing your own library while depleting your opponent’s, potentially turning the tide of a game by bringing back a multitude of resources for a late-game surge.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly producing mana or tokens, Psychic Spiral can be considered a form of resource acceleration due to its unexpected ability to recycle your graveyard into your library, thereby accelerating the availability of your spells and key cards in longer matchups.

Instant Speed: The card’s instant speed is crucial in allowing strategic flexibility, making it possible to disrupt your opponent’s strategies during their turn. It can be a surprise element, given that many graveyard interactions are expected to occur at sorcery speed, thus permitting you to adapt to the developing game state more effectively.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As you delve deeper into your deck, you might find Psychic Spiral’s requirement to reshuffle your graveyard into your library a bit restrictive. This card typically shines later in the game, when your graveyard is bursting with spells and creatures. However, in turn, it demands that you’ve already gone through a significant portion of your deck, which might not always align with your gameplay strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Psychic Spiral’s effectiveness hinges not just on its blue mana requirement but also another colorless mana, totaling five. This pigeonholes it into decks that can readily produce both types of mana, potentially sidelining it in more color-varied or faster-paced decks that can’t afford a hiccup in their mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At five mana, Psychic Spiral can feel like a heavy lift, especially considering the dynamic MTG landscape where speed and efficiency often trump raw power. Although its potential to disrupt opponents’ graveyards and refill your library is substantial, its later playability and the need for a well-stocked graveyard make it less versatile than other lower-cost alternatives that might not pack the same punch but provide steadier and more immediate board presence or hand advantage.

Reasons to Include Psychic Spiral in Your Collection

Versatility: Psychic Spiral is a unique addition to decks that focus on milling strategies or require graveyard manipulation. Its ability to shuffle your graveyard into your library means it can be a game-changer in longer, grindy matches.

Combo Potential: With the right setup, Psychic Spiral can turn into a devastating win condition. It synergizes with high card throughput, allowing you to refill your library and simultaneously forcing your opponent into potentially losing by decking out.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where graveyard decks are prevalent, Psychic Spiral acts as both a defensive measure against mill strategies and an offensive tool to turn the tables. Its relevance increases in metas where controlling the pace and flow of your library is essential to outlasting your opponent.

How to beat

Psychic Spiral is a unique card that turns the tables on mill strategies in Magic: The Gathering. At its essence, it’s a potent late-game play capable of shuffling your graveyard into your library and potentially milling out your opponent in one fell swoop. Understandably, facing this card requires a precise approach to ensure it doesn’t unravel your winning strategy.

To counteract Psychic Spiral effectively, players should aim to apply pressure early in the game. Keeping hand disruption tools at the ready is also a smart move to pluck the card out of your opponent’s grip before it can be cast. Graveyard hate enchantments or spells like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can neutralize the card’s ability by preventing cards from hitting the graveyard in the first place. Lastly, utilizing instant speed removal or counterspells to disrupt your opponent’s setup can leave Psychic Spiral stranded in hand or useless in play. With these tactics, you can dismantle the potency of Psychic Spiral and maintain control over the course of the match.

BurnMana Recommendations

The facets of Psychic Spiral make it a fascinating card to explore in your MTG journey, whether you’re diving into the intricacies of mill strategies or spicing up your control deck with graveyard synergies. As you piece together the puzzle of assembling the perfect list, consider the potential that Psychic Spiral brings to the battlefield. It might not fit every playstyle, but for those who thrive in the late game or relish the surprise reversal of fortunes, this card could be your ace in the hole. Eager to refine your deckbuilding skills and potentially outwit your opponents with unexpected tactics? Dive deeper with us and uncover the full potential of unique cards like Psychic Spiral in your collection.

Cards like Psychic Spiral

Psychic Spiral is a unique instant in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering. It shares a conceptual lineage with other mill cards that target the opponent’s deck, such as Glimpse the Unthinkable, which also quickly depletes the opponent’s library. However, Psychic Spiral has a distinctive twist by shuffling your own graveyard into your library before potentially milling your opponent for a substantial number of cards, effectively resetting potential threats from graveyard recursion.

Another peer to Psychic Spiral is Jace’s Archivist, which offers a wheel effect, causing each player to discard their hand and draw cards equal to the greatest number a player discarded. While Jace’s Archivist can disrupt opponents, it does not specifically target their libraries nor recycle your graveyard’s content. However, both cards can dramatically alter the game’s tempo and state. Cranial Archive serves a different role but also touches upon the graveyard interaction by allowing a player to shuffle their graveyard back into their library for future access.

Altogether, while there are options for disrupting the opponent’s strategy by targeting their library or managing graveyards, Psychic Spiral stands out due to its hybrid mechanism. This allows players to defend against mill strategies while posing a substantial milling threat of their own.

Glimpse the Unthinkable - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Psychic Spiral by color, type and mana cost

Mysteries of the Deep - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Psychic Spiral MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica, 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 Psychic Spiral and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Psychic Spiral has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2012-10-01	If you cast Psychic Spiral when there are no cards in your graveyard, you’ll still shuffle your library.
2012-10-01	Psychic Spiral won’t be shuffled into your library, and it won’t be counted when determining how many cards the target player puts into their graveyard. It will be put into your graveyard after you follow its instructions.