Banishing Knack MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2008-07-25
Set symbol
Set name	Eventide
Set code	EVE
Number	17
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Howard Lyon

Key Takeaways

Banishing Knack excels in enabling reuse of impactful ETB effects for sustained card advantage.
The card facilitates mana acceleration in decks, unlocking potentially game-winning mana loops.
With instant speed, it provides strategic flexibility, allowing players to disrupt opponents mid-game.

Text of card

Until end of turn, target creature gains ": Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand."

Suddenly he realized that everything was connected by invisible strings, strings that could be pulled—or cut.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Banishing Knack can be a key piece in combo decks seeking to reuse enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects or recover artifacts and creatures for repetitive use. This can serve as an engine to draw multiple cards with the right setup, ensuring a consistent flow of resources.

Resource Acceleration: This card can interact with permanents that generate mana when they enter the battlefield or when used in conjunction with cost reducers, creating a loop that potentially generates an abundance of mana in a single turn.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Banishing Knack at instant speed offers the ability to disrupt opponents’ strategies on their turn. This can interfere with your opponent’s combat plans or protect your key pieces by returning them to your hand in response to removal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Banishing Knack doesn’t have a traditional discard requirement, its combo potential often necessitates having very specific other cards in hand or play to be effective. Without these, it can sit idly in hand, potentially reducing the benefit of the cards you do play.

Specific Mana Cost: Banishing Knack’s single blue mana cost means it’s primarily suited for mono-blue or blue-heavy decks. Those running a more diversified mana base might find including it a less than optimal choice, especially when working towards maintaining a consistent mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the card itself is low cost at a single blue mana, the requirement to play other cards to maximize its effectiveness can inflate the total mana cost of the combo it’s part of. There are alternative cards with standalone value that might consume less mana and offer immediate impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include Banishing Knack in Your Collection

Versatility: Banishing Knack offers a highly adaptable addition to any deck looking to capitalise on recurring spells or permanent bounce mechanics. Its low casting cost and instant speed make it a superb tool for a variety of game scenarios.

Combo Potential: Banishing Knack shines in combo decks, especially those that revolve around creatures with tap abilities or untap synergies. With the right board state, this card can become the linchpin of an infinite combo, propelling you to victory.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to disrupt opponent’s strategies by returning key permanents to their hand, Banishing Knack proves to be a strong tactical choice in metagames that are heavy on creature-based synergies or rely on specific artifacts and enchantments to function.

How to Beat Banishing Knack

Banishing Knack is a unique instant in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to return nonland permanents to their owner’s hand can disrupt many strategies, particularly if the targeted permanents are pivotal to an opponent’s game plan. To mitigate its impact, consider using creatures with haste to immediately capitalize on a cleared battlefield. Cards with ‘etb’ (enter the battlefield) effects also regain value when replayed, turning Banishing Knack’s bounce into a potential advantage for you.

Counterplay options include implementing counterspells to prevent Banishing Knack from resolving or deploying hexproof and shroud creatures that are impervious to targeted spells. Utilizing graveyard retrieval abilities allows you to recover from the tempo loss if key creatures are returned to your hand. Additionally, by maintaining a diversely synergistic field rather than relying on a single permanent, you can diminish the setback caused by Banishing Knack’s targeted removal.

Understanding its limitations can be key. As an instant, it’s only as good as the timing of its deployment. If played without a strong follow-up, Banishing Knack merely delays the inevitable, giving you a chance to reestablish board presence and strategize your comeback in the MTG arena.

Cards like Banishing Knack

Banishing Knack is a unique and tactical card in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, primarily enhancing combo strategies. It bears similarity to cards like Retraction Helix, which also grants a creature the ability to return nonland permanents to their owner’s hand. Yet, Banishing Knack stands out with its single blue mana cost, making it easier to weave into a turn compared to Retraction Helix’s additional generic mana requirement.

Cerulean Wisps is another card with relevance here. It doesn’t bounce permanents but aims to untap a creature and draw a card for one blue mana. This can also facilitate combo plays, highlighting the versatility of cheap blue cantrips. Banishing Knack focuses on disrupting opponent plays by bouncing permanents, while Cerulean Wisps leans more towards acceleration and card flow. Disperse is an alternative that doesn’t require a combo piece since it directly returns target nonland permanent to its owner’s hand but lacks the recurring utility provided by Banishing Knack.

Analyzing these options, it’s clear Banishing Knack holds a strategic foothold in decks that exploit the reuse of enter-the-battlefield effects or other abilities that trigger off casting spells or bouncing permanents. Its low cost and synergistic potential give it a distinctive position in Magic: The Gathering’s array of control and combo cards.

Cards similar to Banishing Knack by color, type and mana cost

Blue Elemental Blast - MTG Card versions

Whispers of the Muse - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Banishing Knack MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Banishing Knack and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Banishing Knack has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-08-01	The targeted creature’s controller, not Banishing Knack’s controller, is the one who can activate the creature’s new ability.
2008-08-01	“Summoning sickness” applies. The new ability can’t be activated unless the targeted creature has been under its controller’s control since the beginning of that player’s most recent turn or it has haste.