Spiritual Visit MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant — Arcane
Abilities	Splice
Released	2005-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Saviors of Kamigawa
Set code	SOK
Number	29
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Pete Venters

Key Takeaways

Spiritual Visit generates Spirit tokens, potentially at instant speed, fitting well into spirit-themed decks.
Its flexibility and combo potential are significant for decks that leverage arcane spell synergies.
The card’s uniqueness is defined by its splice onto arcane mechanic, offering deck-building advantages.

Text of card

Put a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token into play. Splice onto Arcane (As you play an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spiritual Visit provides card advantage by enabling you to create a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token. If you have the ‘Splice onto Arcane’ cost, it can even be added onto another Arcane spell without being cast, essentially getting two spell effects for the price of one, enhancing your in-game resources without losing card economy.

Resource Acceleration: Although Spiritual Visit itself does not directly accelerate resources, its Spirit creature token can be crucial for strategies that capitalize on creature count, such as powering up ‘Soulshift’ or ‘Devour’ mechanics. This incremental advantage grows over time as you amass an array of tokens that can overrun an opponent or be sacrificed for various beneficial effects.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Spiritual Visit at instant speed gives you significant flexibility. You can strategically time the spell to surprise an opponent during combat or at the end of their turn, keeping your mana open to react to their moves effectively. This tactical edge can be crucial in turning the tide of a game in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Spiritual Visit, while providing an ephemeral advantage by creating a Spirit token, demands a card to be discarded. This can deplete your hand at crucial moments, especially if you’re struggling to keep card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Spiritual Visit includes white mana, which ties it to decks that can reliably produce this color. This limitation can affect deck flexibility and might not fit into multicolored strategies that are strained on white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The investment of white mana might be seen as steep for the sole effect of producing a single Spirit token. In the realm of similar cost spells, other options might offer a broader range of abilities or more substantial board presence, making Spiritual Visit potentially less appealing for decks seeking to maximize mana efficiency.

Reasons to Include Spiritual Visit in Your Collection

Versatility: Spiritual Visit shines in decks that capitalize on spirit or arcane synergies. This card can seamlessly fit into a variety of strategies that aim to generate a wide board presence quickly or use the splice onto arcane mechanic.

Combo Potential: With its soulshift ability, it works well when combined with other cards that have graveyard interactions, enabling complex and powerful plays that can shift the tide of the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where speed is crucial, the capability to summon a spirit token at instant speed allows for surprise blocks or unexpected combat tricks, making it a handy tool against aggressive decks in the meta.

How to beat

Spiritual Visit is a card that brings a unique dynamic to MTG matches by allowing a player to spawn a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token and offering the splice onto Arcane feature, which can potentially bring additional benefits if matched with the right Arcane spell. While the immediate impact of the card is relatively small, the ability to repeatedly create tokens can lead to overwhelming board presence over time.

To effectively counter Spiritual Visit, it’s essential to disrupt the synergy it potentially creates with other cards. Cards that can wipe the board of tokens, like Nausea or Electrickery, can serve as a direct answer to the tokens generated by Spiritual Visit. Also, graveyard management tools can prove to be invaluable, as they can inhibit the recasting of Spiritual Visit from the graveyard through effects such as flashback or retrace, abilities that are common in many token-based strategies.

Tackling Spiritual Visit often involves a mix of preemptive control and reactive removal. Ensuring that your deck has sufficient tools to manage small creature tokens and to control or exile cards from the opponent’s graveyard is key to keeping this card from tipping the scales in favor of your opponent.

Cards like Spiritual Visit

Spiritual Visit is a unique addition to the suite of creature token generating spells in Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with cards like Raise the Alarm, which also produces two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens but does so at instant speed for two mana. Spiritual Visit, however, offers the splice onto arcane mechanic, giving it an edge in decks that play heavily into that theme. Furthermore, it’s a single white mana spell, making it highly efficient mana-wise.

Another card worth mentioning is Gather the Townsfolk, which creates two 1/1 white Human creature tokens for two mana. While it can’t be spliced onto arcane spells, it does feature a bonus of creating extra tokens if you have 5 or less life thanks to its Fateful hour ability. Nonetheless, these subtle differences highlight the niche role that Spiritual Visit can play in specific arcane or spirit-based MTG decks.

In sum, while there are various alternatives for token generation, Spiritual Visit stands out in arcane-synergistic builds, combining cost-effectiveness with the potential for strategic spell combinations. Its position within its particular niche is cemented by its utility and adaptability in MTG.

Gather the Townsfolk - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Spiritual Visit by color, type and mana cost

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spiritual Visit MTG card by a specific set like Saviors of Kamigawa, 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 Spiritual Visit and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spiritual Visit has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-06-07	A card with a splice ability can’t be spliced onto itself because the spell is on the stack (and not in your hand) when you reveal the cards you want to splice onto it.
2013-06-07	If all of the spell’s targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen.
2013-06-07	You choose all targets for the spell after revealing cards you want to splice, including any targets required by the text of any of those cards. You may choose a different target for each instance of the word “target” on the resulting spell.
2013-06-07	You reveal all cards you intend to splice at the same time. Each individual card can be spliced only once onto any one spell.