World at War MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Rebound

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers a powerful extra attack phase, potentially doubling your offensive impact in a single turn.
  2. Untapping attacked creatures accelerates board presence, ramping up in-game pressure effectively.
  3. Rebound mechanic casts the card twice, providing significant strategic value across two turns.

Text of card

After the first postcombat main phase this turn, there's an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase. At the beginning of that combat, untap all creatures that attacked this turn. Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: World at War gives an additional attack phase, essentially doubling the utility and benefit of your attacking creatures for that turn. It allows you to press the advantage if you’re ahead or even the odds when you’re behind.

Resource Acceleration: By untapping all creatures that attacked this turn, you’re effectively increasing the potential of your resources. This can accelerate your board presence and the pressure you can exert without needing additional mana or cards.

Instant Speed: Although World at War is a sorcery, it has the rebound mechanic which essentially lets you cast it again during your next turn from exile without paying its mana cost. This offers a strategic benefit akin to instant speed by giving you a significant next-turn advantage that can be planned for immediately after the first casting, behaving somewhat like a delayed, cost-free “instant” effect.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The World at War card demands players to discard as part of its casting cost, which can leave you at a strategic disadvantage, particularly if your hand is already running low on cards.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a strict combination of red and white mana. Its dependency on two specific colors can restrict its integration into multi-colored decks or those that don’t focus on these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a demanding mana cost, World at War may not be the most cost-effective choice for a deck. Players might find other options that provide similar battlefield advantage without such a significant mana investment.


Reasons to Include World at War in Your Collection

Versatility: World at War offers a unique effect that allows for additional combat phases, which can be utilized in decks that focus on aggressive strategies, or those that aim to capitalize on multiple attack triggers.

Combo Potential: The additional attack steps provided by World at War can be a key component in combos that revolve around creatures with tap or attack abilities, leading to immediate and often game-ending results.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where turning creatures sideways is paramount to victory, World at War can catch opponents off guard, doubling the pressure and taking advantage of openings in defenses, making it a timely inclusion in many aggressive decks.


How to beat

World at War is a card that can turn the tide in a game of Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to offer an additional attack phase in a single turn. This powerhouse move can overwhelm opponents with a swift onslaught, but there are strategies to counteract it. One effective method is to utilize cards that limit the number of attack phases a player can have, such as cards with rules that specifically state “Players cannot have more than one combat phase per turn.”

Another tactic is to focus on controlling the battlefield with cards that can tap or otherwise incapacitate creatures, thus negating their ability to capitalize on additional attack phases. Cards like ‘Stonehorn Dignitary’ can prevent opponents from attacking you, which can neutralize the advantage World at War provides. Additionally, keeping instant-speed removal or board-wipe spells on hand ensures you can respond to an unexpected second wave of attackers, mitigating the impact of your opponent’s strategy to catch you off guard with a surprise second combat.

Deck resilience is key; incorporate counterspells to prevent World at War from hitting the battlefield. By anticipating this card and having a plan in place, you can protect yourself from its aggressive potential and maintain control of the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG is an ever-evolving challenge, and cards like World at War can significantly shape your battle strategy. An extra attack phase can mean the difference between victory and defeat, especially in tight matches where every move counts. If you’re aiming to amplify your offensive onslaught or seeking new ways to surprise your opponents, understanding the nuances of such powerful cards is crucial. Optimize your deck’s potential and keep your adversaries on their toes. Dive deeper into the strategic uses of World at War and other game-changing cards with us, and enhance your MTG saga today.


Cards like World at War

World at War is a potent card in Magic: The Gathering, particularly for the player aiming to ramp up attack phases. This card is often compared with other multiple combat phase cards such as Relentless Assault. Relentless Assault shares the ability to grant players an additional combat phase, however, unlike World at War, it doesn’t allow for a reset of the creatures’ untap statuses during the next turn’s untap step.

Comparatively, we have Waves of Aggression, which can be repeatedly recast from the graveyard providing flexible opportunities for additional combat phases. This repeatability comes at the cost of retiring land cards, which may slow down your mana development. Seize the Day is another example, capable of untapping a single creature and offering an extra combat phase for less mana investment. Its one-creature focus can be more limited compared to the broad impact of World at War that affects all creatures you control.

Ultimately, World at War provides an aggressive strategy, allowing for a widespread untap and two consecutive combat phases that can turn the tide of a match, marking its place among the powerful options for players looking to double their opportunities for offense within a single turn.

Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
Waves of Aggression - MTG Card versions
Seize the Day - MTG Card versions
Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
Waves of Aggression - MTG Card versions
Seize the Day - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase World at War MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and The List, 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 World at War and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The World at War Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2010-04-23. Illustrated by Igor Kieryluk.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-04-23Rise of the EldraziROE 1722003NormalBlackIgor Kieryluk
22020-09-26The ListPLST ROE-1722003NormalBlackIgor Kieryluk

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where World at War has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2010-06-15 As long as World at War resolves before the first postcombat main phase of a turn ends, it will have its full effect. That will happen in most cases, since it’s a sorcery (meaning it’s probably cast during the first or second main phase of a turn), and it has rebound (meaning it’ll be cast during your upkeep). If, however, it’s cast later than that, it won’t create any new phases. For example, if one World at War creates a second combat phase and a third main phase in a turn, then a second World at War is cast during that third main phase, no additional phases are created. The rebound effect still works, though.
2010-06-15 At the beginning of your upkeep, all delayed triggered abilities created by rebound effects trigger. You may handle them in any order. If you want to cast a card this way, you do so as part of the resolution of its delayed triggered ability. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (if it’s a sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions are not (such as the one from Rule of Law).
2010-06-15 If a replacement effect would cause a spell with rebound that you cast from your hand to be put somewhere else instead of your graveyard (such as Leyline of the Void might), you choose whether to apply the rebound effect or the other effect as the spell resolves.
2010-06-15 If a spell with rebound that you cast from your hand doesn’t resolve for any reason (due being countered by a spell like Cancel, or because all of its targets are illegal), rebound has no effect. The spell is simply put into your graveyard. You won’t get to cast it again next turn.
2010-06-15 If you are unable to cast a card from exile this way, or you choose not to, nothing happens when the delayed triggered ability resolves. The card remains exiled for the rest of the game, and you won’t get another chance to cast the card. The same is true if the ability is countered (due to Stifle, perhaps).
2010-06-15 If you cast a card from exile this way, it will go to your graveyard when it resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered. It won’t go back to exile.
2010-06-15 If you cast a spell with rebound from anywhere other than your hand (such as from your graveyard due to Sins of the Past, from your library due to cascade, or from your opponent’s hand due to Sen Triplets), rebound won’t have any effect. If you do cast it from your hand, rebound will work regardless of whether you paid its mana cost (for example, if you cast it from your hand due to Maelstrom Archangel).
2010-06-15 If you cast a spell with rebound from your hand and it resolves, it isn’t put into your graveyard. Rather, it’s exiled directly from the stack. Effects that care about cards being put into your graveyard won’t do anything.
2010-06-15 Multiple World at War effects are cumulative, as long as they’re cast early enough. The first one modifies the turn structure to this: beginning phase, precombat main phase, combat phase, postcombat main phase,
-ew combat phase],
-ew postcombat main phase], ending phase. Each subsequent one inserts another combat phase and main phase into the turn after the original postcombat main phase and before the newest combat phase.
2010-06-15 Rebound will have no effect on copies of spells because you don’t cast them from your hand.
2010-06-15 Unlike other similar cards (such as Relentless Assault), World at War doesn’t untap the creatures that have attacked this turn when it resolves. Rather, those creatures untap when the new combat phase created by the spell begins. All creatures that attacked this turn untap, regardless of which combat phase they attacked in (if there have been more than one) or who controls them (if you’re playing a Two-Headed Giant game, for example).
2010-06-15 You don’t have to attack with any creatures during the new combat phase.

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