Sail into the West MTG Card

Sail into the West - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)

Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
2023-06-23 - Number 68

Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
2023-06-23 - Number 149

Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
2023-06-23 - Number 475

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Instant
Abilities	Will of the council

Key Takeaways

“Sail into the West” offers card advantage and instant speed flexibility for dynamic MTG play.
Despite its benefits, it has limitations like high mana cost and specific mana requirements.
It’s a versatile inclusion for decks, enhancing combo potential and adapting to various formats.

Text of card

Will of the council — Starting with you, each player votes for return or embark. If return gets more votes, each player returns up to two cards from their graveyard to their hand, then you exile Sail into the West. If embark gets more votes or the vote is tied, each player may discard their hand and draw seven cards.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: “Sail into the West” is crafted to give players an upper hand by drawing additional cards. This feature is fundamental to outpacing opponents and building a steady flow of options as the match progresses.

Resource Acceleration: The exceptional capability of this card to accelerate your resources is a boon for strategies relying on a rapid expansion of mana availability. By generating extra resources, it seamlessly propels your game plan, providing the flexibility to cast more impactful spells sooner than usual.

Instant Speed: The agility of “Sail into the West” to respond at instant speed offers a tactical advantage. It allows players to maneuver with finesse, adapting to the battlefield dynamics in real-time and maximizing strategic plays on an opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Sail into the West necessitates discarding as part of its activation. This can pose a significant setback when your hand is already depleted or if the strategy relies heavily on card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: As a card with a definite colored mana requirement, it demands a rigorous mana base setup. Ensuring the appropriate colors are available can be challenging in multicolored decks, potentially limiting its flexibility and delaying its play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The investment needed to utilize Sail into the West is on the steeper side when compared to other alternatives in the game. There are spells that allow you to search for lands or draw cards at a lower cost, which may offer a more economical route for deck efficiency.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sail into the West can seamlessly transition into various deck archetypes, offering crucial mana-fixing and cycling capabilities that are invaluable for maintaining momentum in the game.

Combo Potential: This card can serve as an enabler in decks that interact with the graveyard, allowing players to set up their plays by strategically discarding and drawing cards, thereby fueling potential combo finishers.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where adaptability and efficient deck cycling are key, Sail into the West provides the consistent performance needed to outmaneuver opponents across a diverse range of competitive formats.

How to beat

Sail into the West is an enigmatic card that can redirect the course of a game by revealing significant depths in a player’s deck. When attempting to counteract its effects, it’s essential to appreciate the subtleties of its design. Its capacity to traverse through a player’s library until a land card is revealed, then put that land into play, can significantly accelerate an opponent’s mana development, hence solidifying their board position.

However, to effectively neutralize this card, one could employ graveyard disruption or library manipulation spells. Utilizing cards that shuffle the graveyard back into the library or counteracting spells that allow players to scout their library are strategic moves against the trajectory that Sail into the West might take. Furthermore, maintaining a hand of counterspells—particularly those that can interrupt sorceries—will ensure that Sail into the West never unfurls its sails. By anticipating the potential leverage this card provides and crafting a strategy that mitigates its advantages, players can successfully navigate its challenges and keep their opponents adrift.

BurnMana Recommendations

Embarking on the voyage that “Sail into the West” initiates transforms the MTG gameplay into a tactical journey. With its card-advancing and resource-accelerating effects, embracing the subtleties of this card could significantly propel your deck’s performance. The flexibility it offers at instant speed is a luxury in the magic world, only hindered by its need for careful hand management and mana setup. Its presence in a collection could open new horizons and foster intriguing combo potentials. Dive deeper into the strategic depth of MTG with us and discover how to optimize decks using powerful cards like “Sail into the West”.

Similar Cards to Sail into the West

Sail into the West joins the ranks of unique card manipulation tools in Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels to effects seen in cards like Compulsive Research. Both offer the chance for card advantage through drawing, but Sail into the West requires a more thematic commitment since players must send a land they control on an adventurous journey across their deck. Unlike Compulsive Research, it doesn’t offer the flexibility of targeting opponents or account for card discarding unless the land quest is completed.

Chart a Course also explores this space, providing card draw at a low mana cost, with a stipulation for attacking to keep the cards drawn. Sail into the West thus caters to a different style of play, emphasizing long-term strategic planning over immediate gain. Another cousin in this category is Explore, which also revolves around lands, albeit with an additional land play allowed rather than the draw later mechanic.

Ultimately, Sail into the West carves out a niche of its own among MTG cards, catering to players who appreciate a slower, more calculated approach to their deck’s momentum and value generation.

Cards similar to Sail into the West by color, type and mana cost

Incubation // Incongruity - MTG Card versions

Tempest Hart // Scan the Clouds - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sail into the West MTG card by a specific set like Tales of Middle-earth Commander and Tales of Middle-earth Commander, 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 Sail into the West and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sail into the West Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-06-23 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by Leonardo Borazio.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2023-06-23	Tales of Middle-earth Commander	LTC	68	2015	Normal	Black	Leonardo Borazio
2	2023-06-23	Tales of Middle-earth Commander	LTC	149	2015	Normal	Black	Leonardo Borazio
3	2023-06-23	Tales of Middle-earth Commander	LTC	475	2015	Normal	Black	Leonardo Borazio

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sail into the West has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2023-06-16	Abilities that trigger "whenever players finish voting" trigger once all players have voted or once all secret votes are revealed, but they won't go on the stack until the current spell or ability finishes resolving.
2023-06-16	Each player must vote for one of the available options. They can't abstain.
2023-06-16	If embark gets more votes or the vote is tied, players decide and announce in turn order, starting with the active player, whether or not they want to discard their hand. Then, all players who chose to do so discard their hands and draw seven cards. Players later in the turn order will know if players before them are discarding, but they don't get to see what those players will discard to help them decide whether to discard themselves.
2023-06-16	If return gets more votes, first the active player chooses which cards they'll return from their graveyard to their hand, then each other player in turn order does the same, knowing choices made before their choice. Then all those cards are returned from graveyards to hands simultaneously.
2023-06-16	In the case of non-secret voting, votes are cast in turn order, and each player will know the votes of players who voted beforehand.
2023-06-16	No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote.
2023-06-16	The phrase "the vote is tied" refers only to when there is more than one choice that received the most votes. For example, if a 5-player vote from among three different choices ends 3 votes to 1 vote to 1 vote, the vote isn't tied.