Ricochet Trap MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant — Trap
Released	2010-02-05
Set symbol
Set name	Worldwake
Set code	WWK
Number	87
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jaime Jones

Key Takeaways

With Ricochet Trap, turn the tide by redirecting critical spells, outmaneuvering your competition in high-stakes moments.
Enhance your deck’s versatility and adaptability by including Ricochet Trap and exploiting its conditional low cost.
Understand the intricacies of MTG’s stack and timing to effectively counter and maneuver around Ricochet Trap’s effects.

Text of card

If an opponent cast a blue spell this turn, you may pay rather than pay Ricochet Trap's mana cost. Change the target of target spell with a single target.

In his last seconds, Remhas regretted using his most powerful spell.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ricochet Trap can be a game-changer in a duel of spells. By redirecting a key spell to a new target, this card not only negates your opponent’s original intentions but can also turn their strategies against them, leading to a swing in your advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although Ricochet Trap itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its potential to redirect certain spells can disrupt your opponent’s tempo or even use their own resource acceleration against them, making it strategically valuable for keeping the upper hand.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Ricochet Trap at instant speed is critical. It allows you to respond in real-time to threats or key plays by your opponent. This element of surprise can effectively counter your opponent’s spells while keeping your mana untapped until it’s most needed, ensuring you are always ready to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of an MTG game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For players utilizing Ricochet Trap, the absence of a discard stipulation is not a concern. This specific card does not require discarding as an additional cost, allowing you to retain your hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: While the trap cost can mitigate its expense, the normal casting cost of Ricochet Trap is a restrictive red mana and three generic mana. This can potentially limit deck-building options, as it requires a dedicated source of red mana within your deck’s mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its standard casting cost at four mana, Ricochet Trap may be considered costly—if its alternative cost condition isn’t met. There are situations where a player may find other spells that redirect or counter less expensive, especially in a high-speed game where mana efficiency is crucial.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ricochet Trap offers a unique flexibility in red decks, able to redirect a variety of spells when you’re on the defensive or looking to turn the tables with a clever play.

Combo Potential: In combination with cards that allow you to change targets or copy spells, Ricochet Trap can become an integral part of an intricate combo, disrupting your opponent’s strategy while advancing your own.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta filled with blue’s control spells or any environment where key instants or sorceries dictate the outcome of games, Ricochet Trap shines by offering an unexpected layer of interaction for a modest cost.

How to beat

Ricochet Trap offers a unique twist within Magic: The Gathering’s instant spells, presenting a strategic advantage when confronting blue decks renowned for their control tactics. This red instant card changes the trajectory of spells, allowing players to redirect targeted spells to new targets, potentially disrupting an opponent’s well-laid plans. However, like any card in MTG, Ricochet Trap has its Achilles heel. To effectively outmaneuver it, understanding timing and the stack is crucial.

The key to overcoming Ricochet Trap lies in baiting it out or playing around it. Since it specifically targets blue spells, varying the color of your important spells can minimize its impact. Alternatively, holding priority after casting a high-value spell can enable you to cast another less valuable spell. This can force your adversary to choose between using their trap prematurely or risk losing their opportunity. Careful management of your threats and a conservative approach to casting spells when Ricochet Trap’s mana cost could be reduced to a mere single red mana can drastically undermine its potential to disrupt your game plan.

Ultimately, while Ricochet Trap poses a significant threat in the right circumstances, a tactful and deliberate strategy can render it a manageable challenge on your path to victory in Magic: The Gathering.

BurnMana Recommendations

As MTG enthusiasts seeking to broaden their horizons, understanding how Ricochet Trap can bolster your red deck arsenal is pivotal. Its ability to tilt the scales of a spell duel in your favor is not something to underestimate. Whether it’s enhancing your current deck or starting a new assembly focused on strategic spell redirection, Ricochet Trap deserves a closer look. Consider how it can fit into various game scenarios and exploit its potential to catch opponents off-guard. Dive deeper into its mechanics and learn to maximize its efficacy in your game. For more enriching insights and tricks to master the use of this versatile card, join the BurnMana community and elevate your MTG gameplay to new heights.

Cards like Ricochet Trap

Ricochet Trap offers a twist in the realm of red interruption strategies in Magic: The Gathering. It can be likened to other redirection spells such as Wild Ricochet, which allows you to not only redirect a spell but also copy it. However, Ricochet Trap stands out with its potentially lower cost when responding to a blue spell due to its Trap mechanic. Wild Ricochet lacks this cost reduction feature and comes with a higher initial mana investment.

Diverging a bit, we encounter Fork, an older but still relevant card that offers the ability to copy a single instant or sorcery spell. Though it doesn’t redirect like Ricochet Trap, the ability to copy key spells can be just as disruptive in certain scenarios. Meanwhile, Reiterate offers a repeatable version of Fork with its Buyback ability, albeit at a significantly higher mana cost compared to Ricochet Trap’s conditional single red mana.

Considering these alternatives, Ricochet Trap holds its ground as an efficient tool for decks looking to outmaneuver blue-centric strategies, providing a unique balance of cost and utility that can pivot the tide of a game at a moment’s notice.

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

Hidetsugu's Second Rite - MTG Card versions

Parallectric Feedback - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ricochet 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 Ricochet Trap and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ricochet Trap has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ricochet 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 a spell targets multiple things, you can’t target it with Ricochet Trap, even if all but one of those targets have become illegal.
2010-03-01	If a spell targets the same player or object multiple times, you can’t target it with Ricochet Trap.
2010-03-01	If you cast Ricochet Trap for , you don’t have to target the blue spell an opponent cast.
2010-03-01	If you cast Ricochet Trap targeting a spell that targets a spell on the stack (like Cancel does, for example), you can’t change that spell’s target to itself. You can, however, change that spell’s target to Ricochet Trap. If you do, that spell won’t resolve when it tries to resolve because Ricochet Trap will have left the stack by then.
2010-03-01	Ricochet Trap targets only the spell whose target will be changed. It doesn’t directly affect the original target of that spell or the new target of that spell.
2010-03-01	You don’t choose the new target for the spell until Ricochet Trap resolves. You must change the target if possible. However, you can’t change the target to an illegal target. If there are no legal targets to choose from, the target isn’t changed. It doesn’t matter if the original target of that spell has somehow become illegal itself.