Increasing Confusion MTG Card


Increasing Confusion - Dark Ascension
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Flashback,Mill
Released2012-02-03
Set symbol
Set nameDark Ascension
Set codeDKA
Number41
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDan Scott

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage by milling opponents, turning your mana into a direct threat to their library.
  2. Flashback ability offers strategic timing, casting the spell on your terms to disrupt opponents.
  3. Scales in power with the game’s progression, becoming more formidable as your graveyard grows.

Text of card

Target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. If Increasing Confusion was cast from a graveyard, that player puts twice that many cards into his or her graveyard instead. Flashback (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Casting Increasing Confusion engines a unique milling strategy that translates to card advantage by diminishing your opponent’s available resources. As the game progresses and your graveyard swells, this card can be flashed back for an even more potent effect, disrupting your opponent’s game plan with each card sent to the graveyard.

Resource Acceleration: As part of a broader mana ramp or control deck, Increasing Confusion can work as a powerful endgame, with the mana you accumulate allowing for a devastating mill that can end games out of nowhere. The freedom to pour excess mana into a significant mill creates a situation where all your mana becomes a potential threat.

Instant Speed: The flash back feature of Increasing Confusion adds to its utility, offering you the maneuverability to cast it at a moment’s notice. This quality means you can adapt quickly during your turn or even at the end of your opponent’s turn, ensuring that you always make the most of your mana without sacrificing the element of surprise.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Increasing Confusion requires you to mill yourself first before targeting an opponent, which might not align with your game strategy and potentially diminish your own resources.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires blue mana, which necessitates a deck tailored towards blue or at least with sufficient mana fixing to accommodate it, potentially reducing its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The initial mana investment and the exponential cost for its flashback ability can be restrictive, as you might need that mana for other crucial plays within your turn.


Reasons to Include Increasing Confusion in Your Collection

Versatility: Increasing Confusion is a flexible card that can be slotted into a variety of blue-centered decks. Its scalability makes it useful early in the game as well as a powerful late-game threat with its flashback ability.

Combo Potential: This card thrives in mill-focused decks, enhancing the strategy by potentially removing a significant portion of the opponent’s library in a single blow. Pairing it with cards that untap lands or provide additional mana can amplify its devastating effect.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where graveyard-based strategies are prevalent, Increasing Confusion can not only disrupt those strategies but also serve as a win condition on its own, milling opponents to victory.


How to Beat

Increasing Confusion is a nuanced card that can potentially disrupt an opponent’s game plan by milling their library. To effectively counteract this unique blue spell from Magic: The Gathering, players need a strategic approach. Since it focuses on sending cards directly from the library to the graveyard, graveyard shuffling cards like Gaea’s Blessing or the artifact Elixir of Immortality can negate the effects of the mill, replenishing your library and keeping you in the game longer.

Another route to mitigate Increasing Confusion’s impact is to employ spells that grant you hexproof, like Leyline of Sanctity, preventing you from being targeted by such spells. If you’re looking for a more proactive approach, discard spells can force the opponent to discard Increasing Confusion before they have a chance to cast it. Consider Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek as examples of these preemptive counters. Additionally, since Increasing Confusion can be used from the graveyard with its flashback ability, cards that exile cards from graveyards, such as Relic of Progenitus, can be crucial in stopping it from being used more than once. By understanding these key strategies, players can keep their decks safe from the cunning tactics of Increasing Confusion.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the strategic world of MTG with the nuanced dynamics of Increasing Confusion. As you’ve seen, it offers unique milling advantages, accentuating deck strategies that focus on diminishing your opponent’s resources. Are you ready to take your control or mill decks to the next level? Or perhaps you’re interested in finding out more about countering this potent blue spell? We’re here to guide you through the intricacies of deck building, card synergies, and meta gameplays that make MTG such a compelling and competitive card game. Tap into BurnMana’s treasure trove of knowledge and ensure your deck is a well-oiled machine, capable of both facing and unleashing the power of Increasing Confusion.


Cards like Increasing Confusion

Increasing Confusion is a unique card from the Magic: The Gathering arsenal, notable for its milling potential. It stands out especially when compared to other mill cards such as Traumatize, which halves a player’s library but only once. Increasing Confusion, with its flashback ability, can be cast from the graveyard for repetitive disruption, making it a persistent threat throughout the game.

Mind Funeral is another card that hobbies in the milling department, yet it functions quite differently. It mills until four land cards are revealed, the number of cards discarded can be significantly less or more than with Increasing Confusion. However, it lacks the versatility of being used twice. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Glimpse the Unthinkable, a fast-acting card with an immediate effect of discarding the top ten cards, but without the flexibility of flashback for a second round.

Investigating the finer points of these milling cards, Increasing Confusion offers a strategic depth that allows for more controlled and potentially devastating milling action, should the game last enough turns to capitalize on its flashback feature.

Traumatize - MTG Card versions
Mind Funeral - MTG Card versions
Glimpse the Unthinkable - MTG Card versions
Traumatize - Odyssey (ODY)
Mind Funeral - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Glimpse the Unthinkable - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Increasing Confusion by color, type and mana cost

Drafna's Restoration - MTG Card versions
Reconstruction - MTG Card versions
Psychic Purge - MTG Card versions
Energy Tap - MTG Card versions
Mind Bomb - MTG Card versions
Recall - MTG Card versions
Portent - MTG Card versions
Taunt - MTG Card versions
Sorcerous Sight - MTG Card versions
Prosperity - MTG Card versions
Eye Spy - MTG Card versions
Sleight of Hand - MTG Card versions
Broken Dam - MTG Card versions
Index - MTG Card versions
Extract - MTG Card versions
Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - MTG Card versions
Preordain - MTG Card versions
Serum Visions - MTG Card versions
Ponder - MTG Card versions
Breakthrough - MTG Card versions
Drafna's Restoration - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Reconstruction - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Psychic Purge - Masters Edition (ME1)
Energy Tap - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Mind Bomb - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Recall - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Portent - The List (PLST)
Taunt - Portal (POR)
Sorcerous Sight - Portal (POR)
Prosperity - Commander 2013 (C13)
Eye Spy - Starter 1999 (S99)
Sleight of Hand - Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)
Broken Dam - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Index - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Extract - Odyssey (ODY)
Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Preordain - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
Serum Visions - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Ponder - Doctor Who (WHO)
Breakthrough - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Increasing Confusion MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension, 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 Increasing Confusion and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Increasing Confusion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-01-22 Regardless of which zone Increasing Confusion is cast from, it puts cards from the top of target player’s library into that player’s graveyard.

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