Truth or Tale MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2006-10-06
Set symbol
Set name	Time Spiral
Set code	TSP
Number	89
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Michael Phillippi

Key Takeaways

Truth or Tale accelerates resource allocation by tailoring your hand to influence the game’s progression.
Playing at instant speed, it allows response flexibility, crucial for strategic mana utilization.
Despite its benefits, the card’s specific mana cost and discard requirement may limit its versatility.

Text of card

Reveal the top five cards of your library and separate them into two piles. An opponent chooses one of those piles. Put a card from the chosen pile into your hand, then put all other cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Truth or Tale provides a unique way to sift through the top five cards of your library, ensuring you access critical spells or land when needed. This can significantly influence your game state by keeping your hand filled with options.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, Truth or Tale’s selection process can help you dig for those essential land drops or ramp spells, smoothing out your mana curve and helping you cast high-cost cards sooner.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Truth or Tale at instant speed cannot be understated. It allows strategic flexibility, enabling you to respond to your opponent’s moves during their turn or end phase, thus optimizing your mana usage and keeping your opponents guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Truth or Tale requires you to discard a card, thus potentially diminishing your hand advantage. If you’re already behind or in need of keeping all your options open, this cost can set you back even further in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Truth or Tale commands a precise mana combination to cast, which includes blue mana. This could restrict the card’s inclusion to decks that are prepared to generate blue mana consistently, hindering its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing a total of three mana, Truth or Tale may be considered steep for the benefit it provides. Considering other cards in the same mana range can offer a guaranteed card draw or other valuable effects, its cost-benefit ratio might not always align with an optimal strategy.

Reasons to Include Truth or Tale in Your Collection

Versatility: Truth or Tale offers a unique twist on card selection that can be utilized in various strategies. With the ability to dig deep into your library, it’s a smart pick for decks that need to filter through cards for key pieces.

Combo Potential: This card plays well with top-deck manipulation, allowing players to set up future draws or combos. It can also work in tandem with graveyard strategies, as it permits a choice in what goes to the graveyard, setting up potential reanimation targets.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where information is vital, Truth or Tale provides insight into an opponent’s plans. By revealing cards and the choices made, it can inform your strategy against them, making it a shrewd inclusion in a shifting meta.

How to beat

Truth or Tale is a quirky card that can pose unique challenges when you’re facing it across the battlefield. This intriguing instant allows your opponent to manipulate card choices, which can leave you second-guessing your strategies. The key to beating this card lies in understanding its inherent predictability. It’s a given that your opponent is trying to procure the best card out of the selection, so predicting their needs is your first line of defense.

To counteract Truth or Tale, it’s beneficial to have instant-speed removal or counter spells ready to disrupt your opponent’s plans. Additionally, cards that limit your opponent’s hand or library manipulation abilities can be crucial. For instance, hand attack spells that force the player to discard, or library surveillance tools that expropriate or reorder the top cards of a library, can negate the advantage offered by Truth or Tale.

Ultimately, maintaining control and keeping a close eye on your opponent’s strategy will help you mitigate the benefits they garner from this card. Be prepared to adjust your tactics on the fly and remain vigilant to outplay the mind games associated with Truth or Tale.

Cards like Truth or Tale

Truth or Tale offers players a unique spin on information gathering in Magic: The Gathering. It invites comparison with Impulse, another card selection spell that allows a look at the top four cards of the library, drawing one of them into your hand. Where Truth or Tale differs is the interaction with other players, giving opponents the power to split the revealed cards into two piles from which you select one to keep. This element of choice adds a psychological layer missing from the straightforward action of Impulse.

Telling Time also shares the stage with Truth or Tale, enabling a player to look at the top three cards of their library, put one into their hand, one on top of their library, and one on the bottom of their library. It’s more restrictive in selection but provides a level of control that Truth or Tale does not. For players keen on multiplayer dynamics and mind games, Truth or Tale may be more enticing. Meanwhile, Anticipate allows a deeper dive into the library for selection without opponent interference, though it lacks the tactical interplay of Truth or Tale.

Assessing the utility of these cards, it’s evident that Truth or Tale holds a special place for those who value the intricacies of player interaction and strategic decision-making within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Truth or Tale by color, type and mana cost

Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - MTG Card versions

Accumulated Knowledge - MTG Card versions

Thassa's Intervention - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Truth or Tale MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral, 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 Truth or Tale and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Truth or Tale has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2006-09-25	Here’s how this works: Step 1: You reveal the top five cards of your library. Step 2: You separate those cards into two piles. (A pile can have zero cards.) Step 3: An opponent of your choice chooses one of those piles. Step 4: You choose one of the cards in the chosen pile. Step 5: You put the chosen card in your hand. Step 6: You put all other revealed cards (from both piles) on the bottom of your library in any order.