Otherworldly Journey MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant — Arcane

Key Takeaways

  1. Otherworldly Journey protects creatures and strengthens them, impacting board state significantly.
  2. Instant speed allows tactical responses, making it highly versatile during gameplay.
  3. Requires white mana and careful deck consideration for optimal use.

Text of card

Remove target creature from the game. At end of turn, return that creature to play under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.

"The landscape shimmered and I felt a chill breeze. When my vision cleared, I found myself alone among the corpses of my fallen friends." —Journal found in Numai


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Otherworldly Journey offers a strategic way to protect your creatures from board wipes or targeted removals. By exiling a creature temporarily, you’re essentially saving it and reaping the benefits upon its return with an additional +1/+1 counter, which could be the tipping point during closely contested matches.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t generate mana or tokens directly, the nature of Otherworldly Journey allows you to re-trigger enter-the-battlefield effects of your creatures. This can indirectly lead to resource acceleration if the creature’s abilities involve generating mana, drawing cards, or any form of ramping up your in-game resources.

Instant Speed: Otherworldly Journey’s instant speed offers significant tactical flexibility. You can deploy it during your opponent’s turn in response to an imminent threat or use it to surprise your adversary by bringing back an enhanced creature to block or by reactivating a valuable ability at the end of their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Otherworldly Journey doesn’t have a discard requirement, this is a common downside for many cards with similar effects. Fortunately, you won’t have to sacrifice hand advantage to utilize this particular card’s abilities.

Specific Mana Cost: Otherworldly Journey requires white mana to cast. This specific mana cost means that it’s not as flexible in multicolor decks that might struggle with mana fixing, or in decks that don’t focus on white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana cost for Otherworldly Journey is two, one of which must be white. While not exorbitant, it can be seen as high for the temporary exile and +1/+1 counter effect it provides. Players must gauge if the tempo and bolstering of a single creature is worth the slot in their deck when competitive alternatives may offer more board-wide benefits.


Reasons to Include Otherworldly Journey in Your Collection

Versatility: Otherworldly Journey offers a dynamic approach to creature protection and can be a versatile addition to decks that capitalize on enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects or require safeguarding against board wipes.

Combo Potential: The card can pull double duty by saving a key creature from removal and then bringing it back stronger, primed to synergize with counters or +1/+1 strategies, heightening its combo potential.

Meta-Relevance: With constant shifts in the competitive landscape, Otherworldly Journey maintains relevance as a tool to counteract removal-heavy decks, granting your creatures temporal evasion and a power boost upon their return.


How to beat

Otherworldly Journey is a unique instant spell that can momentarily exile a creature, only to return it to the battlefield with a bolstered state. This dual nature of protection and enhancement makes it a versatile card, and it demands strategic foresight to effectively counter. Playing against it successfully requires keeping removal spells or counter magic on hand, like Naturalize or Counterspell, to disrupt the momentum it provides.

It’s also beneficial to watch for a player’s mana availability, as Otherworldly Journey has a low casting cost. Denying resources through land destruction or taxing spells could cripple your opponent’s ability to utilize the Journey when most advantageous. In addition, when the creature returns with the additional +1/+1 counter, creature control spells such as Unsummon can be a simple, yet effective, response.

The key is anticipation; you must be prepared when Otherworldly Journey is played. Keep in mind, it’s a card that can turn the tides by saving a creature from destruction or setting up for a stronger attack. Prediction and preparation are what will keep you ahead when facing this enchanting instant.


BurnMana Recommendations

As you delve into the nuances of MTG, Otherworldly Journey highlights the tactical depth the game offers. Providing both protection and power-up for your creatures, this card can be pivotal in your matchups. Its ability to salvage and then strengthen your creatures lends an edge, especially in decks that thrive on enter-the-battlefield effects or face heavy opponent removal. If you’re considering this card’s place in your collection or looking for ways to enhance gameplay strategies, join us to further explore its potential and integrate its unique dynamic into your arsenal for more thrilling and strategic matches.


Cards like Otherworldly Journey

Otherworldly Journey is an intriguing instant in MTG that offers a distinct twist on creature protection and enhancement. Looking at cards like Momentary Blink, we see a similar effect of exiling a creature only to return it to the battlefield. Momentary Blink, however, brings the creature back immediately, skipping the +1/+1 counter that Otherworldly Journey provides but allowing for instant-speed reactionary plays or synergies with enter-the-battlefield triggers.

Then there’s Long Road Home, another card that exiles a creature and returns it at the next end step with a +1/+1 counter. This card is almost a direct stand-in for Otherworldly Journey, differing only in the color of mana used for casting—white instead of Otherworldly Journey’s white and colorless. Cloudshift also deserves a mention—it parallels the instant exile and return mechanic, albeit without the permanent power boost from a +1/+1 counter, favoring a lower mana cost for quicker, more reactive gameplay.

Comparatively, Otherworldly Journey holds its ground as a valuable tool in the realm of protective instants with the added advantage of bolstering the returning creature in MTG, thereby solidifying its place in strategies that capitalize on counter accumulation and repeated exile synergies.

Momentary Blink - MTG Card versions
Long Road Home - MTG Card versions
Cloudshift - MTG Card versions
Momentary Blink - Time Spiral (TSP)
Long Road Home - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Cloudshift - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Cards similar to Otherworldly Journey by color, type and mana cost

Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Divine Offering - MTG Card versions
Lightning Blow - MTG Card versions
Sacred Boon - MTG Card versions
Alabaster Potion - MTG Card versions
Invulnerability - MTG Card versions
Remedy - MTG Card versions
Rhystic Shield - MTG Card versions
Samite Ministration - MTG Card versions
Shield Wall - MTG Card versions
Life Burst - MTG Card versions
Shelter - MTG Card versions
Equal Treatment - MTG Card versions
Aura Extraction - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Test of Faith - MTG Card versions
Echoing Calm - MTG Card versions
Bathe in Light - MTG Card versions
Dawn Charm - MTG Card versions
Graceful Reprieve - MTG Card versions
Disenchant - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Divine Offering - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Lightning Blow - Ice Age (ICE)
Sacred Boon - Ice Age (ICE)
Alabaster Potion - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Invulnerability - Tempest (TMP)
Remedy - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Rhystic Shield - Prophecy (PCY)
Samite Ministration - Invasion (INV)
Shield Wall - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Life Burst - Odyssey (ODY)
Shelter - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Equal Treatment - Torment (TOR)
Aura Extraction - Onslaught (ONS)
Raise the Alarm - Mirrodin (MRD)
Test of Faith - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Echoing Calm - Darksteel (DST)
Bathe in Light - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Dawn Charm - Commander Legends (CMR)
Graceful Reprieve - Morningtide (MOR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Otherworldly Journey MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa and Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic, 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 Otherworldly Journey and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Otherworldly Journey Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2004-10-01 and 2015-05-22. Illustrated by Vance Kovacs.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12004-10-01Champions of KamigawaCHK 372003normalblackVance Kovacs
22009-04-10Duel Decks: Divine vs. DemonicDDC 162003normalblackVance Kovacs
32013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 232003normalblackVance Kovacs
42014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. DemonicDVD 162015normalblackVance Kovacs
52015-05-22Modern Masters 2015MM2 302015normalblackVance Kovacs

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Otherworldly Journey has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-12-01 The creature comes back onto the battlefield as a new creature, with one +1/+1 counter on it (plus any other counters that it would normally enter the battlefield with).
2005-08-01 Any Aura attached to the creature is put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action. Equipment attached to the creature become unattached but remain on the battlefield.
2005-08-01 If Otherworldly Journey is cast during an end step, the creature won’t return until the beginning of the next end step.

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