From the Ashes MTG Card


From the Ashes - Commander 2013
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Released2013-11-01
Set symbol
Set nameCommander 2013
Set codeC13
Number108
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byKarl Kopinski

Key Takeaways

  1. “From the Ashes” provides a significant advantage by resetting nonbasic lands and disrupting mana bases.
  2. It offers resource acceleration, which is beneficial for decks, enabling faster access to spells.
  3. Awareness of its cons is essential, like its specific mana cost and potential to limit strategic plans.

Text of card

Destroy all nonbasic lands. For each land destroyed this way, its controller may search his or her library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield. Then each player who searched his or her library this way shuffles it.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: From the Ashes can dramatically shift the tide of a match by replacing all nonbasic lands in play. It’s an excellent way to disrupt your opponent’s mana base while slowly rebuilding your own, often resulting in a significant card advantage as your opponents struggle to recover their land resources.

Resource Acceleration: As it allows each player to search for basic lands and put them onto the battlefield, From the Ashes can act as a resource accelerator for decks that focus on or can capitalize on basic lands. This card enables you to fast-track your mana development and gain access to critical spells earlier in the game.

Instant Speed: Although From the Ashes is a sorcery, its impact on the game can be as sudden and pivotal as that of an instant-speed interaction. By rebuilding your land base immediately after the effect, you ensure minimum downtime and can potentially have mana available to respond to threats or establish board presence quickly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When casting From the Ashes, players are forced to come to grips with a critical drawback. In exchange for its powerful effect, you’re faced with a discard requirement. This trade-off can be especially tough when your hand is full of key strategies and every card counts. Such a stipulation puts you in the challenging position of picking which piece of your game plan to sacrifice, an action that could potentially hinder your progress for the rest of the game.

Specific Mana Cost: From the Ashes commands a very particular mana allocation that may not seamlessly fit into every MTG player’s deck. The requirement of red mana means that it naturally aligns with certain archetype strategies while potentially excluding others. This can lead players toward a narrower path when deckbuilding, potentially limiting the card’s versatility and its ability to synergize within the vast landscape of existing decks across multiple formats.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the landscape-shifting ability of From the Ashes can be a game changer, its relatively lofty mana investment raises eyebrows among players who meticulously weigh cost versus impact. In an environment where efficiency is key, the four mana cost to unleash this spell competes with other less demanding options that could provide similar or greater benefits, leaving players to ponder its true value in the heat of competition.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: From the Ashes is a dynamic card that adapts to various deck styles, with particular strength in land-focused and control strategies due to its ability to reset nonbasic land arrays.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with landfall mechanics or other abilities that trigger when lands enter the battlefield, making it a formidable piece in combos that capitalize on such interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments dominated by multicolored decks relying on nonbasic lands, From the Ashes can serve as a pivotal sideboard choice to disrupt opponents’ mana bases and gain a strategic advantage.


How to beat

Dealing with the ‘From the Ashes’ card in your MTG match-up requires a strategic approach. This particular card has the potential to disrupt your land base by replacing nonbasic lands with basic ones. To navigate successfully against this move, maintaining a strong inventory of basic lands in your deck composition is advisable. Increasing the count of basic lands ensures you aren’t starved for mana when ‘From the Ashes’ is played.

Additionally, having land-fetching spells in your arsenal can mitigate the potential tempo loss. Spells that can quickly restore your lands, such as Rampant Growth or Cultivate, adjust the balance in your favor. Moreover, incorporating cards that benefit from land retrieval, like landfall cards, turns a tactical disadvantage to an advantage. Lastly, leveraging graveyard recursion spells to retrieve pivotal nonbasic lands destroyed by ‘From the Ashes’ aids in sustaining your land development strategy.

Ultimately, to outplay ‘From the Ashes’, it’s essential to have a deck structure resilient to land disruption, featuring ample basic lands, land recovery spells, and a strategy to capitalize on your opponent’s card effect, keeping you one step ahead in the game.


Cards like From the Ashes

Delving into the realm of land control in Magic: The Gathering, From the Ashes emerges as a noteworthy card. It’s often stacked against land destruction staples like Armageddon. While Armageddon eradicates all lands, forcing a universal reset, From the Ashes takes a cleaner approach, replacing all nonbasic lands with basic ones from the library. This nuance offers a more targeted strategy without entirely crippling opponents who rely less on nonbasic lands.

Another relative in this niche is Ruination. Much like From the Ashes, Ruination is a devastating blow to players with a penchant for nonbasic lands. However, Ruination leaves nothing behind, creating a more crippling effect versus From the Ashes’s rebuild potential. This gives players a chance to recover, thus often leading to a less hostile response from the table.

Evaluating this corner of MTG cards, From the Ashes holds its ground by offering a unique mix of disruption and land replacement. This balance cements its place as a tactical card that strategically targets opponents’ land bases while mitigating the total land loss often associated with land destruction effects.

Armageddon - MTG Card versions
Ruination - MTG Card versions
Armageddon - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Ruination - Stronghold (STH)

Cards similar to From the Ashes by color, type and mana cost

Flashfires - MTG Card versions
Shatterstorm - MTG Card versions
Anarchy - MTG Card versions
Phoenix Heart - MTG Card versions
Reign of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Deadshot - MTG Card versions
Aftershock - MTG Card versions
Ruination - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Flood - MTG Card versions
Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
Flameshot - MTG Card versions
Bend or Break - MTG Card versions
Scorching Missile - MTG Card versions
Reckless Crew - MTG Card versions
Draconic Intervention - MTG Card versions
Illuminate History - MTG Card versions
Demolish - MTG Card versions
Granulate - MTG Card versions
Touch and Go - MTG Card versions
Sunder from Within - MTG Card versions
Flashfires - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Shatterstorm - Antiquities (ATQ)
Anarchy - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Phoenix Heart - Celebration Cards (PCEL)
Reign of Chaos - Mirage (MIR)
Deadshot - Tempest (TMP)
Aftershock - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Ruination - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Flowstone Flood - Exodus (EXO)
Relentless Assault - Commander Legends (CMR)
Flameshot - The List (PLST)
Bend or Break - Invasion (INV)
Scorching Missile - Odyssey (ODY)
Reckless Crew - Kaldheim Promos (PKHM)
Draconic Intervention - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Illuminate History - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Demolish - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Granulate - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Touch and Go - Unhinged (UNH)
Sunder from Within - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase From the Ashes MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2013, 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 From the Ashes and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where From the Ashes has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

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