Recurring Nightmare MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Recurring Nightmare excels in generating card advantage through strategic creature recycling.
  2. This card enables swift deployment of high-cost creatures, enhancing in-game resource acceleration.
  3. Despite its power, Recurring Nightmare’s activation constraints could limit some deck strategies.

Text of card

Sacrifice a creature, Return Recurring Nightmare to owner's hand: Put target creature card from your graveyard into play. Play this ability as a sorcery.

"I am confined by sleep and defined by nightmare." —Crovax


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Recurring Nightmare provides an exceptional means to recycle valuable creatures from your graveyard, essentially letting you reutilize them to gain an edge over your opponent. This constant exchange can quickly add up to significant card advantage as you effectively make use of your graveyard as an extension of your hand.

Resource Acceleration: The power of Recurring Nightmare lies in its ability to turn any creature you have on the battlefield into a resource. This accelerates your gameplay by allowing the deployment of high-cost creatures faster than usual while reaping benefits from creatures that have enter-the-battlefield triggers or other valuable effects when they hit the graveyard.

Instant Speed: Although Recurring Nightmare’s activation isn’t at instant speed, its ability to be used at the end of your opponent’s turn, before the untap phase, means you can maneuver around their plays. This tactic keeps your game-plan flexible, letting you adapt to the ever-changing board state while keeping your opponent guessing.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Recurring Nightmare involves a gameplay mechanic where you need to sacrifice a creature to activate its ability. While this can be part of a strategic play, it may also backfire if your board presence is already weak, causing you to lose valuable creatures without gaining significant advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Recurring Nightmare’s activation requires three mana, one of which must be black. This can pose a restriction particularly in multicolored decks that may compete for that specific mana, potentially delaying or hindering the card’s activation at crucial moments in the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: This enchantment demands both a creature sacrifice and three mana to use its ability. In games where mana efficiency is key, there may be alternative creature recursion options available that offer either lower overall costs or additional benefits, making Recurring Nightmare a less favorable choice in certain situations.


Reasons to Include Recurring Nightmare in Your Collection

Versatility: Recurring Nightmare offers dynamic ways to interact with the creatures in your graveyard. It can be a key piece in a variety of decks that leverage creature abilities from the battlefield to the graveyard and back again.

Combo Potential: This card opens up numerous combo possibilities, particularly in decks that exploit enter-the-battlefield (ETB) or leave-the-battlefield triggers. Its swap mechanic can repeatedly activate such effects, thus enabling powerful play sequences.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies prevail, Recurring Nightmare gains incremental advantage by reusing valuable creature effects. This can repeatedly outmaneuver opponents who are not prepared for such resilient and recurring threats.


How to beat

Recurring Nightmare is an iconic entry in the Magic: The Gathering pantheon, offering unique recursion abilities that can frustrate opponents. This powerful enchantment permits players to return a creature card from their graveyard to the battlefield by sacrificing another creature and paying a small mana cost. Its strength lies in its flexibility and the potential for repeated use within a single turn. To disrupt this cycle, focus on strategies that limit graveyard access or bounce effects to return the enchantment to its owner’s hand.

Implenting graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can effectively neutralize Recurring Nightmare’s potential, as they remove the possibility of reanimating creatures. Alternatively, cards that exile such as Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile can remove key creatures before they become reanimation targets. Consider instant-speed interaction to ensure that you can respond to the enchantment’s activation, thus maintaining control over the field. In essence, by targeting both the graveyard and the creatures in play, you can diminish the impact of Recurring Nightmare and retain the upper hand.


Cards like Recurring Nightmare

When delving into the depths of engrossing creature reanimation spells within Magic: The Gathering, Recurring Nightmare stands out due to its unique cyclic mechanism. Similarities can be drawn to reanimation staples like Animate Dead, which also bring creatures back from the graveyard to the battlefield. However, Recurring Nightmare offers a repeatable action, whereas Animate Dead is a one-time enchantment. This difference in recurrence could significantly alter the rhythm of a player’s strategy.

Another noteworthy counterpart is the spell Exhume, which has the intriguing feature of reviving creatures for both players. It is less controlling than Recurring Nightmare but is balanced with lower mana cost and simplicity. On an adjacent note, the card Whip of Erebos provides an alternative with its lifelink rewarding ability, although creatures reanimated by Whip are exiled if it leaves the battlefield, unlike the indefinite potential that Recurring Nightmare suggests.

Each card in this category offers distinct advantages and mechanics, yet Recurring Nightmare secures a unique position. Its repeatable nature gives players ongoing tactical benefits, proving its worth in decks focused on leveraging graveyard synergies.

Animate Dead - MTG Card versions
Exhume - MTG Card versions
Whip of Erebos - MTG Card versions
Animate Dead - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Exhume - Urza's Saga (USG)
Whip of Erebos - Theros (THS)

Cards similar to Recurring Nightmare by color, type and mana cost

Gloom - MTG Card versions
Season of the Witch - MTG Card versions
Tourach's Gate - MTG Card versions
Tourach's Chant - MTG Card versions
Withering Wisps - MTG Card versions
Necropotence - MTG Card versions
Funeral March - MTG Card versions
Casting of Bones - MTG Card versions
Blanket of Night - MTG Card versions
Hecatomb - MTG Card versions
Krovikan Fetish - MTG Card versions
Megrim - MTG Card versions
Contamination - MTG Card versions
Oppression - MTG Card versions
Lurking Evil - MTG Card versions
Maggot Therapy - MTG Card versions
Murderous Betrayal - MTG Card versions
Noxious Field - MTG Card versions
Tainted Well - MTG Card versions
Scavenged Weaponry - MTG Card versions
Gloom - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Season of the Witch - The Dark (DRK)
Tourach's Gate - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Tourach's Chant - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Withering Wisps - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Necropotence - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)
Funeral March - Homelands (HML)
Casting of Bones - Alliances (ALL)
Blanket of Night - Visions (VIS)
Hecatomb - Masters Edition (ME1)
Krovikan Fetish - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Megrim - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Contamination - Urza's Saga (USG)
Oppression - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Lurking Evil - Urza's Saga (USG)
Maggot Therapy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Murderous Betrayal - Nemesis (NEM)
Noxious Field - Prophecy (PCY)
Tainted Well - Invasion (INV)
Scavenged Weaponry - Invasion (INV)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Recurring Nightmare MTG card by a specific set like Exodus and World Championship Decks 1998, 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 Recurring Nightmare and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Recurring Nightmare Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1998-06-15 and 2015-05-06. Illustrated by Jeff Laubenstein.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-06-15ExodusEXO 721997normalblackJeff Laubenstein
21998-08-12World Championship Decks 1998WC98 bs721997normalgoldJeff Laubenstein
32014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1372015normalblackJeff Laubenstein
42015-05-06Tempest RemasteredTPR 1132015normalblackJeff Laubenstein

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Recurring Nightmare has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderBanned
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhBanned

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-04-15 If you cast this as normal during your main phase, it will enter the battlefield and you’ll receive priority. If no abilities trigger because of this, you can activate its ability immediately, before any other player has a chance to remove it from the battlefield.

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