Refraction Trap MTG Card

$Refraction Trap - Worldwake$

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant — Trap
Released	2010-02-05
Set symbol
Set name	Worldwake
Set code	WWK
Number	17
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Key Takeaways

Refraction Trap offers card advantage by potentially countering multiple threats at once, enhancing efficiency.
Its instant speed provides strategic flexibility, enabling players to disrupt opponents’ actions on the fly.
Despite benefits, the specific mana cost can limit its use, especially in multi-colored decks.

Text of card

If an opponent cast a red instant or sorcery spell this turn, you may pay rather than pay Refraction Trap's mana cost. Prevent the next 3 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control this turn. If damage is prevented this way, Refraction Trap deals that much damage to target creature or player.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Refraction Trap can potentially counter multiple spells or effects with a single cast. Having the ability to divert damage not only from one source but potentially affecting multiple spells in a chain reaction gives you a significant edge in card efficiency.

Resource Acceleration: Although Refraction Trap does not directly provide resource acceleration, it can protect your valuable creatures or planeswalkers, which in turn can maintain or enhance your board state, effectively preserving the resources that would contribute to accelerating your game plan.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Refraction Trap at instant speed allows you to react swiftly to your opponents’ actions. This can disrupt their strategy by altering the course of spells or attacks at a critical moment, which can be especially powerful during combat or in response to direct damage spells aimed at key targets.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Refraction Trap offers tactical benefits, it doesn’t come without its drawbacks. The card lacks a discard requirement, but as a trade-off, it requires that white mana be available. Managing your hand effectively becomes crucial, as holding onto Refraction Trap for the right moment could clog your hand, limiting your options for deploying other spells and strategic plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Refraction Trap demands a precise mana investment, needing one white and three colorless mana. For players running a multicolored deck, this specific mana requirement might not always align with the mana resources at hand, potentially restricting the card’s playability at key moments within a game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of four mana, Refraction Trap’s defensive utility is recognized. However, this investment is considerable when evaluating the card relative to other options within the same mana range. There are spells that can prevent damage or counter opponents’ moves for less, making the choice to include Refraction Trap in your deck one that necessitates weighing its cost against its situational benefit.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Refraction Trap, thanks to its unique reaction ability, can seamlessly integrate into various deck builds. It excels in white-based control or counter-heavy decks, offering an unexpected line of defense and tactical play options.

Combo Potential: As a trap card, Refraction Trap can serve as a key element in combos that revolve around redirecting damage. Whether it’s saving your creatures or turning an opponent’s aggression back upon themselves, it opens up numerous strategic plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to change the course of combat, Refraction Trap is considerably valuable in metas dominated by aggressive strategies. The card becomes a cost-effective tool to outmaneuver opponents committing to heavy damage spells or combat phases.

How to beat

Refraction Trap is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering offering a twist on traditional spell redirection. This white instant allows you to change the target of a spell with a single target, turning a potentially damaging situation to your advantage. To effectively overcome Refraction Trap, remember it hinges on the targeting clause—that it must have one and only one target. Multiple target spells or abilities escape its trap.

In addition, consider playing spells that can’t be countered or using abilities that don’t use the stack. As Refraction Trap relies on targeting spells or abilities as they’re played, rendering your key plays uncounterable mitigates the risk. Watch out for the conditions that reduce its casting cost, like when an opponent is targeted this turn. Avoid targeting your opponents unnecessarily if you suspect Refraction Trap. Lastly, proactive measures such as hand disruption can remove it from your opponent’s hand before it becomes a threat on the board.

Tactically and strategically planning around Refraction Trap can secure your game’s integrity against its redirection ploy, allowing you to maintain control of the battlefield and protect your own interests.

Understanding Refraction Trap’s Place in MTG

Refraction Trap is an intriguing option within the counter-heavy environment of Magic: The Gathering, reminiscent of other reaction-centric cards. It’s akin to the defensive tools like Redirect, which also specialize in altering the target of spells or abilities, defining game outcomes with clever redirection. Unlike Redirect, Refraction Trap offers a distinctive advantage when thwarting damage pointed at your permanents, turning that potential destruction into a strategic boon.

Cards like Refraction Trap

Refraction Trap shares its battlefield-shifting nature with cards like Mirror Strike. While both can turn an opponent’s attack on its head, Mirror Strike exclusively revolves around combat damage, setting it apart from Refraction Trap’s broader hijacking of any red spell’s impact. Another comparable card is Deflecting Palm, which also shines in the redirection of damage but is limited to creatures and sources you’re being attacked with, reducing its versatility compared to Refraction Trap’s wider net that catches any red source of harm.

Moreover, there’s Dawn Charm, a multifunctional spell with prevention capabilities. However, its scope, limited to preventing damage from a single source, doesn’t change the course of the damage like Refraction Trap does. When analyzing these options, Refraction Trap stands out for its tactical counterplay potential, especially in a meta filled with red spells, anchoring its position as a unique and reactive staple in many MTG collections.

Cards similar to Refraction Trap by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Refraction Trap MTG card by a specific set like Worldwake, 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 Refraction Trap and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Refraction Trap 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 Refraction Trap card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2010-03-01	If Refraction Trap doesn’t prevent any damage (perhaps because a different prevention effect is applied to the damage the source would deal, or because the damage is unpreventable), Refraction Trap won’t deal any damage itself.
2010-03-01	If the chosen source would deal damage, Refraction Trap prevents 3 of that source’s damage and the source deals its excess damage (if any) at the same time. Immediately afterward, as part of that same prevention effect, Refraction Trap deals its damage. This happens before state-based actions are checked, and before the spell or ability that caused damage to be dealt resumes its resolution.
2010-03-01	If the chosen source would simultaneously deal damage to multiple permanents you control, or would simultaneously deal damage to you and at least one permanent you control, you choose which of that damage to prevent. For example, if the chosen source is Earthquake, you might choose to prevent the next 2 damage it would deal to you and the next 1 damage it would deal to a creature you control. You don’t decide until the point at which the source would deal its damage.
2010-03-01	If the targeted permanent or player is an illegal target by the time Refraction Trap resolves, the entire spell doesn’t resolve. No damage will be prevented.
2010-03-01	Refraction Trap can prevent damage that would be dealt to you, one or more creatures you control, and/or one or more planeswalkers you control.
2010-03-01	Refraction Trap doesn’t target the source of the damage it prevents. You choose that source as Refraction Trap resolves. If you cast Refraction Trap for , the source you choose doesn’t have to be the red instant or sorcery spell an opponent cast.
2010-03-01	Refraction Trap’s effect is not a redirection effect. If it prevents damage, Refraction Trap (not the chosen source) deals damage to the targeted permanent or player as part of that prevention effect. Refraction Trap is the source of the new damage, so the characteristics of the original source (such as its color, or whether it had lifelink or deathtouch) don’t affect this damage. The new damage is not combat damage, even if the prevented damage was.
2010-03-01	Refraction Trap’s only target is the permanent or player it may deal damage to. You choose that target as you cast Refraction Trap, not at the time it prevents damage.
2010-03-01	Whether the targeted permanent or player is still a legal target is no longer checked after Refraction Trap resolves. For example, if a creature targeted by Refraction Trap gains shroud after Refraction Trap resolves but before it prevents damage, Refraction Trap will still prevent damage and still deal damage to that creature. If Refraction Trap can’t deal damage to the targeted permanent or player (because the creature is no longer on the battlefield, or is no longer a creature, or the player is no longer in the game, for example), it will still prevent damage. It just won’t deal any damage itself.