Ignite Memories MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Storm
Released	2006-10-06
Set symbol
Set name	Time Spiral
Set code	TSP
Number	164
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Justin Sweet

Key Takeaways

Ignite Memories strips opponents’ resources and escalates your strategic plays through targeted damage.
Strategically casting this sorcery unleashes powerful storm effects, amplifying win conditions exponentially.
When timed right, its instant speed response can turn the tides, maximizing in-turn damage.

Text of card

Target player reveals a card at random from his or her hand. Ignite Memories deals damage to that player equal to that card's converted mana cost. Storm (When you play this spell, copy it for each spell played before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ignite Memories can target a player multiple times, digging through a significant portion of their deck if you have enough spells with different names in your graveyard. This can deplete their resources while boosting your chances of drawing into more strategic plays.

Resource Acceleration: While Ignite Memories doesn’t directly produce mana, its storm ability can have a cascading effect on the game, potentially accelerating your win condition. Each spell you’ve played prior to it in the turn amplifies the impact, turning a single mana investment into multiple instances of potential damage.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Ignite Memories requires strategic timing for maximum effect; however, it can be cast in response to your own instant speed spells during a complex turn rotation. This stacking of spells ensures you are maximizing the storm count and the damage output, which can rapidly change the state of the game in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Ignite Memories requires a strong focus on spellcasting, potentially leaving your hand depleted if you’re trying to maintain a storm count to maximize its impact.

Specific Mana Cost: The red mana requirement for Ignite Memories confines it to decks that can produce red mana consistently, possibly limiting the card’s versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes five mana total, including red, Ignite Memories might be considered expensive for the effect it brings, especially when compared to other options in the format that offer more immediate board influence or disruption for a similar or lower investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ignite Memories offers the flexibility to target any player with its storm ability, making it a suitable addition to a variety of red-oriented spellcasting decks looking to capitalize on casting multiple spells in a single turn.

Combo Potential: As a storm card, Ignite Memories can amplify the effects of spell-slinging combos, leading to massive damage spikes that can swing the game in your favor, especially in combination with cost-reducing effects or ways to cast multiple spells for free.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where players often hold a large hand of cards, Ignite Memories can become a powerful finisher. It’s particularly effective against decks relying on big, expensive spells, allowing you to exploit those high mana costs for devastating results.

How to Beat Ignite Memories

Facing Ignite Memories can be a daring challenge on the battlefield. This spell has the potential to deplete your life points through its storm ability, which copies itself for each spell played before it in a turn. Its randomness can be unnerving as it targets cards in a player’s hand, dealing damage equal to the mana cost of the revealed card.

To effectively navigate against Ignite Memories, consider employing strategies that minimize the size of your hand. Using low mana-cost cards quickly can reduce the impact of the damage dealt. Taking control of the stack and the number of spells you cast can also mitigate the storm effect. Cards with lifelink or spells that increase life total can serve as a buffer against the damage. Furthermore, spells that counteract noncreature spells offer a direct way to cancel Ignite Memories, keeping your life points secure and maintaining control over the match.

Maintaining awareness of your opponent’s tactics and preserving counter-play options for crucial moments when Ignite Memories is cast can make a significant difference. Resilience and strategic hand management can turn this tempest of damage into a mere flicker, ensuring your triumph in the duel.

Cards like Ignite Memories

Ignite Memories takes its place in MTG as a tantalizing choice for players looking to capitalize on their opponents’ hand compositions. This red sorcery spell shares a conceptual kinship with other spells that target the opponent based on their hand or spell cost, such as Mind’s Desire. While Mind’s Desire manifests the top card of your library for each spell you’ve cast this turn, Ignite Memories targets an opponent instead, dealing damage equal to the mana cost of a revealed card.

Another relative in this family of spells is Storm Entity, which, much like Ignite Memories, benefits from the number of spells played before it on the same turn. Storm Entity enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter for each earlier spell, potentially amassing a formidable presence. Although it relies on a creature rather than direct damage, it mirrors the storm mechanic’s cumulative power.

To measure the impact of Ignite Memories against its counterparts is to appreciate the storm mechanic’s unique force, turning a single turn into a barrage of damage potentially sweeping an opponent’s dwindling life total to zero. Its combination of surprise and scaling damage makes it a compelling option for spell-slinging aficionados in MTG.

Cards similar to Ignite Memories by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ignite Memories MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral, 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 Ignite Memories and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

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

Date	Text
2013-06-07	A copy of a spell can be countered like any other spell, but it must be countered individually. Countering a spell with storm won’t affect the copies.
2013-06-07	Spells cast from zones other than a player’s hand and spells that were countered are counted by the storm ability.
2013-06-07	The copies are put directly onto the stack. They aren’t cast and won’t be counted by other spells with storm cast later in the turn.
2013-06-07	The triggered ability that creates the copies can itself be countered by anything that can counter a triggered ability. If it is countered, no copies will be put onto the stack.
2013-06-07	You may choose new targets for any of the copies. You can choose differently for each copy.