Urborg Uprising MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Instantly returns two creatures to hand, providing players with continuous resource availability.
  2. Operates at sorcery speed, allowing for deliberate, strategic gameplay planning.
  3. The mana cost and graveyard dependency may restrict its versatility in some decks.

Text of card

Return up to two target creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. Draw a card.

In Urborg, few things are less permanent than death.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: As a spell focused on retrieval, Urborg Uprising grants you instant access to not one, but two creatures from your graveyard to your hand. This ensures a steady flow of resources and the potential to tip the scales in your favor by replaying key creatures.

Resource Acceleration: In the absence of direct mana generation, the true acceleration comes from recovering fallen creatures. The ability to reuse them allows for strategic planning and efficient use of the creatures’ abilities, which can be pivotal for maintaining momentum within the game.

Instant Speed: Urborg Uprising operates at sorcery speed, allowing you to meticulously plan your turn and strategically set up the state of the game for your benefit. This careful orchestration of game pace can lead to advantageous board positions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Urborg Uprising obliges players to return creatures from their graveyard to their hand, which can be less advantageous if your graveyard is short on worthy targets.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost demands both black mana and generic mana, necessitating a commitment to black mana sources and potentially limiting its inclusion only in black or black-focused multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of five mana, its effectiveness is debatable when compared to other cards at a similar mana cost that could potentially offer immediate board impact or more substantial card advantage.


Reasons to Include Urborg Uprising in Your Collection

Versatility: Urborg Uprising serves as a dual-purpose card, offering both retrieval of creatures from the graveyard and the immediate advantage of drawing a card. This provides strategic flexibility in various deck builds, particularly those that capitalize on graveyard mechanics.

Combo Potential: By returning creatures to your hand, Urborg Uprising can seamlessly reintegrate key combo pieces or value creatures, giving you the ability to re-establish your board presence or create powerful synergies with ease.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature removal is prevalent, or games tend to go longer, the ability to consistently recover resources and maintain card advantage can be pivotal, making Urborg Uprising a relevant choice across numerous meta scenarios.


How to Beat Urborg Uprising

Urborg Uprising is a utility spell in Magic: The Gathering that can shift the game by returning creatures from the graveyard to the player’s hand while also drawing a card. This combination of creature reanimation and card draw makes it a valuable asset in any deck that relies on graveyard strategies.

To effectively counter Urborg Uprising, consider using graveyard hate cards that can exile or restrict access to the graveyard. Cards such as Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can hinder the effectiveness of Urborg Uprising by removing the targets it relies on. Alternatively, proactive counterplay such as Thoughtseize or similar discard spells can preemptively remove Urborg Uprising from an opponent’s hand, thereby disrupting their planned plays.

Another key strategy is applying pressure. By maintaining a strong board presence and pace, you can limit the impact of what your opponent can retrieve with Urborg Uprising. Swift aggression can often outpace the value gained from recovering creatures, especially when the returned creatures have higher casting costs and are slower to impact the board again.

Being prepared for recurring threats and understanding when to challenge the opponent’s graveyard or hand is integral to overcoming the value Urborg Uprising provides in a match.


Cards like Urborg Uprising

Urborg Uprising stands out as a versatile recovery tool, allowing players to return up to two creature cards from their graveyard to their hand. This effect finds parallels in cards such as Grim Harvest and Disentomb, which also cater to graveyard retrieval strategies. Unlike Urborg Uprising, Grim Harvest comes with a recurring ability known as Recover, making it a potentially more sustainable option, albeit at the cost of being less immediately impactful: you can only return one creature per use.

In a similar strategic slot, we see cards like Cadaver Imp or Dutiful Return, both of which can retrieve creatures from the graveyard. Cadaver Imp adds a body to the field, but only brings back one creature, and Dutiful Return mirrors Urborg Uprising’s quantity, but lacks the additional draw card benefit. Resource-wise, Urborg Uprising balances the card advantage by drawing a card itself upon resolution, providing not just retrieval but also an immediate boost to its caster’s hand size.

While comparing these alternatives, Urborg Uprising holds its ground as a card that can be particularly useful in decks that want to ensure a strong late game through card advantage and graveyard manipulation, offering a double creature recovery plus a bonus card draw to maintain momentum in MTG.

Grim Harvest - MTG Card versions
Disentomb - MTG Card versions
Cadaver Imp - MTG Card versions
Dutiful Return - MTG Card versions
Grim Harvest - Coldsnap (CSP)
Disentomb - Magic 2010 (M10)
Cadaver Imp - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Dutiful Return - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)

Cards similar to Urborg Uprising by color, type and mana cost

Reign of Terror - MTG Card versions
Soul Shred - MTG Card versions
Living Death - MTG Card versions
Soul Feast - MTG Card versions
Haunting Echoes - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Unrest - MTG Card versions
Coveted Prize - MTG Card versions
Final Punishment - MTG Card versions
Sever Soul - MTG Card versions
Patriarch's Bidding - MTG Card versions
Aether Snap - MTG Card versions
Vicious Betrayal - MTG Card versions
Dance of Shadows - MTG Card versions
Brainspoil - MTG Card versions
Head Games - MTG Card versions
Voices from the Void - MTG Card versions
Promise of Power - MTG Card versions
Rise from the Grave - MTG Card versions
Incremental Blight - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Plague - MTG Card versions
Reign of Terror - Mirage (MIR)
Soul Shred - Portal (POR)
Living Death - The List (PLST)
Soul Feast - Tenth Edition (10E)
Haunting Echoes - Odyssey (ODY)
Beacon of Unrest - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Coveted Prize - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Final Punishment - Scourge (SCG)
Sever Soul - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Patriarch's Bidding - Modern Horizons 2 (MH2)
Aether Snap - Commander 2014 (C14)
Vicious Betrayal - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Dance of Shadows - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Brainspoil - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Head Games - Tenth Edition (10E)
Voices from the Void - Conflux (CON)
Promise of Power - Commander 2014 (C14)
Rise from the Grave - Zendikar Rising Commander (ZNC)
Incremental Blight - Archenemy (ARC)
Dakmor Plague - Masters Edition IV (ME4)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Urborg Uprising MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse and Vintage Masters, 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 Urborg Uprising and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Urborg Uprising Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2001-06-04 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by Adam Rex.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-06-04ApocalypseAPC 531997normalblackAdam Rex
22014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1442015normalblackAdam Rex
32016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 1112015normalblackAdam Rex
42019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 8082015normalblackAdam Rex
52020-09-26The ListPLST EMA-1112015normalblackAdam Rex
62023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 1072015normalblackAdam Rex

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Urborg Uprising has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2022-12-08 If you chose at least one target and all targets are illegal as Urborg Uprising tries to resolve, the spell won’t resolve and you won’t draw a card.
2022-12-08 You can cast Urborg Uprising with no targets if you want to only draw a card.

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