Brainstorm MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 40 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Brainstorm offers immediate card selection, enabling players to sculpt their hand and optimize future draws.
  2. Instant speed casting allows for flexible plays, keeping opponents off-balance and adapting to dynamic game states.
  3. Maintaining its presence across several formats, Brainstorm is essential for any competitive deckbuilder’s arsenal.

Text of card

Draw three cards; then, take two cards from your hand and put them on top of your library in any order.

"I reeled from the blow, and then suddenly, I knew exactly what to do. Within moments, victory was mine." —Gustha Ebbasdotter, Kjeldoran Royal Mage


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Brainstorm is famously potent for its ability to dig into your deck’s next three cards, giving you immediate access to more options. This selection process not only provides a direct advantage in hand but is adept at helping you find the right answers when you need them the most.

Resource Acceleration: While Brainstorm itself may not produce added resources in the traditional sense, it masterfully accelerates your ability to reach crucial resources within your deck. By reconfiguring your hand, you can promptly shuffle away less useful cards with a fetch land or similar effect, thereby optimizing the quality of your plays.

Instant Speed: The fact that Brainstorm can be cast at instant speed makes it incredibly versatile. This allows players to adapt to the fluid situation of a game, whether it’s during an opponent’s end step or in response to an action. It keeps opponents guessing and can significantly disrupt their strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Brainstorm, you don’t need to discard a card, which actually is a benefit of this card. It retains card advantage without the detriment of losing resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Brainstorm requires only a single blue mana, which is quite manageable and often seen as an advantage rather than a con, offering great flexibility in multi-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Brainstorm defies this con by having a low and easily payable mana cost, providing card selection efficiency unmatched by more expensive spells.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brainstorm is a formidable addition to any deck looking for strategic depth and improved card quality. Its ability to draw three cards followed by putting any two cards from your hand on top of your library is a powerful way to filter and set up the perfect hand for upcoming turns.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with shuffling mechanisms or when setting up the perfect moment for miracle cards or cards with similar effects. Its low cost makes it incredibly efficient as a setup tool for various complex and high-impact plays.

Meta-Relevance: In competitive play environments where having the right answer at the right time is crucial, Brainstorm maintains its relevance. Its usage across multiple formats speaks to its enduring utility, ensuring that decks have access to the cards they need when they face a wide array of challenging matchups.


How to Beat Brainstorm

Brainstorm stands out as an iconic card in the realm of strategic plays in Magic: The Gathering. This simple yet powerful instant allows a player to draw three cards, then put any two cards from their hand back on top of their library. Its value lies in the ability to access more options and shuffle away unwanted cards with subsequent effects. To counteract Brainstorm’s advantage, it’s essential to understand when and how to disrupt this sequence.

One effective method is to employ cards that force shuffles or discard effects in your opponent’s library, nullifying Brainstorm’s meticulous setup. Cards like Thoughtseize that pluck key pieces from a player’s hand can also diminish the benefits Brainstorm provides. Additionally, strategic timing with cards like Vendilion Clique to extract critical cards from an opponent’s hand after a Brainstorm can significantly tilt the odds in your favor. Overall, while Brainstorm can offer a temporary boost in hand quality, a vigilant opponent who can anticipate and disrupt a player’s strategy can mitigate the card’s impact.

Ultimately, Brainstorm’s ability may sharpen an opponent’s strategy, but clever play and timing are crucial to turn the tides and beat the card’s advantages in MTG.


Cards like Brainstorm

Brainstorm holds a celebrated position in Magic: The Gathering for its unparalleled card filtering capabilities. This classic stands among other draw spells with the unique benefit of drawing three cards at the negligible cost of putting two from your hand back on top of your library. It’s often compared to Ponder, which also allows you to look at the top three cards of your library, but with Ponder, you may choose to shuffle before drawing a card, offering less immediate selection than Brainstorm’s immediate draw.

Serum Visions is another spell that’s cast for a single blue mana, offering card draw consistency. It allows you to draw one card and then scry 2, presenting a different method of manipulating the forthcoming cards. While not as powerful in terms of immediate card draw quantity, the scrying ability offers strategic setup. Preordain is yet another one-mana spell in the roster, providing the flexibility of scrying before you draw, giving it a predictive edge over the reactive nature of Brainstorm.

All things considered, Brainstorm continues to dominate as a preferred choice in decks across formats, from Legacy to Commander. Its unique combination of quantity and quality in card selection is rarely matched in the realm of blue card draw spells.

Ponder - Lorwyn (LRW)
Serum Visions - Arena League 2004 (PAL04)
Preordain - Magic 2011 (M11)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brainstorm MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Fifth Edition, 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 Brainstorm and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Brainstorm Magic the Gathering card was released in 30 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by 13 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-06-03Ice AgeICE 611993normalblackChristopher Rush
21997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 761997normalwhiteChristopher Rush
31999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 611997normalblackDiTerlizzi
42000-08-02World Championship Decks 2000WC00 jf611997normalgoldDiTerlizzi
52000-10-01Beatdown Box SetBTD 31997normalwhiteChristopher Rush
62002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 314532003normalblackDiTerlizzi
72002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 709202015normalblackDaarken
82002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 828342015normalblackRon Spencer
92004-01-01Friday Night Magic 2004F04 122003normalblackDiTerlizzi
102006-07-21Coldsnap Theme DecksCST 612003normalblackChristopher Rush
112008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 421997normalblackChristopher Rush
122011-01-02Legacy ChampionshipOLGC 20122003normalblackChris Rahn
132011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 402003normalblackDiTerlizzi
142012-09-07Duel Decks: Izzet vs. GolgariDDJ 132003normalblackWillian Murai
152014-06-06ConspiracyCNS 912003normalblackWillian Murai
162014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 582015normalblackChris Rahn
172015-11-13Commander 2015C15 902015normalblackWillian Murai
182015-11-18Legendary Cube Prize PackPZ1 192015normalblackDiTerlizzi
192016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 402015normalblackWillian Murai
202018-03-16Masters 25A25 462015normalblackChris Rahn
212018-06-15Signature Spellbook: JaceSS1 32015normalblackDaarken
222018-08-09Commander 2018C18 822015normalblackWillian Murai
232019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 3012015normalblackChris Rahn
242019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 1742015normalblackMark Poole
252019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 5822015normalblackMark Poole
262019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 11622015normalblackJohn Avon
272019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 7232015normalblackJohn Avon
282020-08-07Double Masters2XM 3382015normalborderlessRon Spencer
292020-08-07Double Masters2XM 442015normalblackWillian Murai
302020-09-26The ListPLST SS1-32015normalblackDaarken
312020-09-26The ListPLST A25-462015normalblackChris Rahn
322021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 762015normalborderlessAyako Ishiguro
332021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 132015normalborderlessJustin Hernandez & Alexis Hernandez
342021-04-23Strixhaven Art SeriesASTX 652015art_seriesborderlessJustin Hernandez
352021-04-23Commander 2021C21 1152015normalblackWillian Murai
362021-04-23Strixhaven Art SeriesASTX 65s2015art_seriesborderlessJustin Hernandez
372021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 792015normalblackWillian Murai
382022-10-07Warhammer 40,000 Commander40K 192★2015normalblackAlex Konstad
392022-10-07Warhammer 40,000 Commander40K 1922015normalblackAlex Konstad
402024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 962015normalblackWillian Murai

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brainstorm has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricBanned
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
CommanderLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernBanned
VintageRestricted
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-03-16 You draw three cards and put two cards back all while Brainstorm is resolving. Nothing can happen between the two, and no player may choose to take actions.

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