Ral's Dispersal MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Instant
Released	2018-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Guilds of Ravnica
Set code	GRN
Number	266
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lake Hurwitz

Key Takeaways

Ral’s Dispersal offers tactical board control by bouncing creatures and providing card draw at instant speed.
The card has its downsides, like a stringent mana cost and the potential loss of hand resources.
Despite alternatives, its utility in blue decks and meta relevance make it a worthy collection inclusion.

Text of card

Return target creature to its owner's hand. You may search your library and/or graveyard for a card named Ral, Caller of Storms, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you search your library this way, shuffle it.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ral’s Dispersal can swing the momentum in your favor by bouncing a key opponent’s creature back to their hand. This disruption, combined with the card you draw, can lead to significant card advantage and turn the tide of a match.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing mana or Treasure tokens, the tempo gained by setting your opponent back can effectively act as a form of resource acceleration. You’re able to develop your board while they are forced to spend a turn redeploying threats.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of Ral’s Dispersal at instant speed cannot be overstated. It allows you to react swiftly to opponents’ actions during their turn, retain the element of surprise, and make informed decisions with full knowledge of your opponent’s plays before committing to your own strategy.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When using Ral’s Dispersal, one potential drawback is having to discard a card in order to activate its alternative cost. This can pose a significant setback, especially when your hand is already stretched thin with valuable options.

Specific Mana Cost: Ral’s Dispersal demands an exact arrangement of blue mana to cast. This rigid mana requirement can make it challenging to fit into multicolored decks that might not have a reliable source of blue mana in the early to mid-game phases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a five-mana investment needed to cast Ral’s Dispersal, its overall efficiency comes into question. Players must consider whether its effect is worth the cost when compared to other bounce spells or countermeasures available, which might be cast for less mana and potentially provide a more immediate impact on the game’s board state.

Reasons to Include Ral’s Dispersal in Your Collection

Versatility: Ral’s Dispersal serves not only as a countermeasure against opposing threats but also effectively bounces creatures back to their owner’s hand, making it a versatile tool for controlling the board in a variety of blue-focused decks.

Combo Potential: This card complements strategies centered around Ral, Izzet Viceroy, or other spellslinger decks. By resetting key creatures or countering crucial spells, it can shift the tide of the game, aligning well with decks that capitalize on casting multiple spells in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment heavy with creature-based strategies or where key legendaries dictate the pace of the game, the ability to disrupt your opponent while keeping up card advantage makes Ral’s Dispersal a relevant choice for many sideboards or even main decks looking to outmaneuver the competition.

How to beat

Mastering the nuances of Magic: The Gathering includes understanding how to tackle powerful spells head-on. Ral’s Dispersal falls into the category of control cards that can disrupt your strategies by returning a creature to its owner’s hand and also allowing the player to search for the planeswalker Ral, Caller of Storms. To effectively counter this card, having a low curve of creatures allows you to redeploy your threats without a significant setback in tempo.

Utilizing instant-speed spells that can’t be countered, such as Supreme Will or Prowling Serpopard, provides resilience against Ral’s Dispersal’s disruptive effect. Alternatively, playing around the card by keeping mana open for a counter-spell like Negate or employing cards that grant hexproof to your creatures such as Lazotep Plating helps shield your board from being undone. Hand disruption spells, such as Thoughtseize or Duress, can also preemptively remove Ral’s Dispersal from your opponent’s hand before it can impact the game, giving you an upper hand.

Overall, incorporating elements to your strategy that mitigate the impact of being set back on board presence, or denying your opponent the opportunity to cast Ral’s Dispersal, is key to maintaining control in the matchup.

Cards like Ral's Dispersal

Ral’s Dispersal is a unique spell that can fit into many decks within Magic: The Gathering, providing a blend of creature disruption and card advantage. There are other cards that fill a similar role. Take for instance Unsummon or Blink of an Eye, which are both cards that return a creature to its owner’s hand. Blink of an Eye is slightly more versatile, as it can target nonland permanents and has the kicker cost option to draw a card at a higher mana investment.

Another comparable card is Essence Scatter, targeting the creatures as they are being cast, preventing them from hitting the battlefield altogether. While Ral’s Dispersal does so when a creature is already in play, Essence Scatter helps to conserve board state. Lastly, Disallow boasts a broader utility, countering any spell, activated ability, or triggered ability at the cost of three mana, just like Ral’s Dispersal. Yet, what sets Ral’s Dispersal apart is the added value of looking at the top two cards of your library, providing strategic depth and potential card draw.

As we consider these alternatives, Ral’s Dispersal showcases itself as a compelling option for controlling opponents’ creatures while gaining card selection advantage, making it a multifaceted tool for players in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Ral's Dispersal by color, type and mana cost

Mysteries of the Deep - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ral's Dispersal MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica, 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 Ral's Dispersal and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ral's Dispersal has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-10-05	If the target creature becomes an illegal target for Ral’s Dispersal, the spell doesn’t resolve. You don’t search for Ral, Caller of Storms.