Ethereal Ambush MTG Card

Fate Reforged (FRF)
2015-01-23 - Number 152

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 1423

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number FRF-152

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Manifest

Key Takeaways

Instantly manifests two cards, significantly altering battlefield dynamics with potential surprise elements.
Simic decks reap benefits from Ethereal Ambush’s instant-speed strategic adaptations and board presence.
Leveraging its creature manifestation is crucial, as it can sway game momentum if used wisely.

Text of card

Manifest the top two cards of your library. (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)

The energies of the Temur lands are readily unleashed upon intruders.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ethereal Ambush lets you manifest the top two cards of your library, effectively putting them into play as creatures. This not only puts bodies on the battlefield but potentially turns any card into a surprise attacker or blocker.

Resource Acceleration: Although Ethereal Ambush doesn’t directly produce mana or treasure tokens, it does contribute to your board presence at a critical moment, allowing for a faster development by surprising your opponent and potentially accelerating your game plan by turning non-creature cards into threats.

Instant Speed: The power of playing at instant speed cannot be overstated in MTG. Ethereal Ambush can be cast during your opponent’s turn, keeping your options open and catching your opponent off guard. This flexibility allows you to react to your opponent’s actions and can swing the momentum in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ethereal Ambush demands players to have creatures in their deck to maximize its effectiveness, potentially causing issues if the deck is creature-light or focused on other strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both green and blue mana, Ethereal Ambush limits flexibility, fitting primarily into Simic decks and hindering its inclusion in multicolored or other color combination decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of five, Ethereal Ambush comes in at a point in the game where players could be casting impactful creatures or game-changing spells, making it a less attractive option given the mana investment versus potential impact.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ethereal Ambush’s instant speed and ability to manifest the top two cards of your library allows for surprise blockers or end-of-turn threats, making it a flexible choice for decks looking to adapt quickly to opponents’ actions.

Combo Potential: Since the manifested cards can be turned face up at any time for their mana cost if they’re creatures, the card synergizes with decks that capitalize on morph or flip mechanics, potentially unveiling powerful creatures at unexpected moments.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors creature-based tactics, Ethereal Ambush can serve as a form of creature-based control, disrupting combat calculations, or in a slower game scenario, it offers the element of surprise that can swing games in your favor.

How to Ethereal Ambush

Ethereal Ambush is an intriguing instant in Magic: The Gathering that can catch many players by surprise. It’s a card that stands out for its ability to manifest the top two cards of a player’s library, turning them into 2/2 creatures that could be anything—lands, spells, or even formidable creatures waiting to be turned face up.

When facing an opponent who uses Ethereal Ambush, the key tactic is to maintain open mana for removal spells or to have board wipe cards at the ready. Since the card is cast during the opponent’s turn, instant-speed removal like Shock or Fatal Push can be particularly effective against the newly manifested creatures before they pose a greater threat. Additionally, always be wary of combat tricks or potential high-value permanents that could be flipped the following turn. If the creatures manifested by Ethereal Ambush remain on the battlefield, make sure to manage your threats judiciously and keep an eye out for when the opponent might turn them face up. Thus, anticipation and timely reaction are central to overcoming the surprise factor of Ethereal Ambush.

Overall, dealing with Ethereal Ambush is about staying one step ahead, keeping resources ready to address unexpected threats, and not underestimating what might lie face down on the battlefield.

Cards like Ethereal Ambush

Ethereal Ambush stands out in the world of Instant spells that impact the board immediately in Magic: The Gathering. If we place it side by side with Spectral Procession, another card creation spell, a stark difference is observed. Although both carve a path for creature development, Spectral Procession requires a dedicated color commitment often difficult in multicolored decks. Ethereal Ambush’s flexibility in a two-color blue-green deck is a clear advantage—offering the surprise factor of putting creatures into play during an opponent’s turn.

Comparably, Advent of the Wurm creates a single substantial creature, a large Wurm with trample. This can be more predictable and less impactful in terms of board presence variance than the multiple creatures potentially unveiled with Ethereal Ambush. Both being Instants offers strategic defensive tools, but Ethereal Ambush may yield a wider distribution of threats. On the other side, Fated Infatuation offers copying creatures, which is a conceptually similar territory but lacks the spontaneous board presence Ethereal Ambush provides from cards drawn off the top of your library.

Conclusively, Ethereal Ambush occupies a unique niche that provides immediate board presence with the added excitement of unpredictability. This, in turn, poses a multifaceted challenge for an opponent and enriches the instant spellcasting strategy within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Ethereal Ambush by color, type and mana cost

Repudiate // Replicate - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ethereal Ambush MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged and Mystery Booster, 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 Ethereal Ambush and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ethereal Ambush Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Lius Lasahido.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2015-01-23	Fate Reforged	FRF	152	2015	Normal	Black	Lius Lasahido
2	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	1423	2015	Normal	Black	Lius Lasahido
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	FRF-152	2015	Normal	Black	Lius Lasahido

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ethereal Ambush has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2014-11-24	A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected.
2014-11-24	Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2014-11-24	At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to.
2014-11-24	Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.
2014-11-24	Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.
2014-11-24	If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends.
2014-11-24	If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost.
2014-11-24	If you’re playing with the top card of your library revealed as Ethereal Ambush resolves (perhaps because you control a card such as Courser of Kruphix), you’ll manifest the top card, reveal the next card (now the top card), and then manifest that card.
2014-11-24	Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down.
2014-11-24	The cards are manifested one at a time. It must remain clear which face-down creature was the top card of your library and which one was the second card of your library.
2014-11-24	The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a converted mana cost of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics.
2014-11-24	There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up.
2014-11-24	Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.
2014-11-24	Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card.
2014-11-24	You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on).