Recoil MTG Card

Invasion (INV)
2000-10-02 - Number 264

Recoil - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)

World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
2002-08-14 - Number cr264sb

Recoil - Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas (DDH)

Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas (DDH)
2011-09-02 - Number 61

Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
2023-01-13 - Number 197

Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
2023-01-13 - Number 365

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

Key Takeaways

Recoil provides card advantage by returning threats and forcing discards.
The card’s specific mana requirements limit its deck compatibility.
Versatile and meta-relevant, it’s a strong addition to control decks.

Text of card

Return target permanent to its owner's hand. Then that player discards a card from his or her hand.

Anything sent into a plagued world is bound to come back infected.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Recoil gives you the edge in maintaining card superiority by effectively removing a threat while also forcing your opponent to discard a card, potentially disrupting their game plan and hand balance.

Resource Acceleration: While this card doesn’t directly increase your mana, it indirectly accelerates your resources by setting your opponent back, giving you a comparative advantage and the opportunity to pull ahead in the race for board presence.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed allows strategic gameplay, enabling you to wait until the most opportune moment, such as your opponent’s end step, to cast Recoil and maximize its potential impact on the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Recoil forces the user to discard a card when it’s cast. This can be particularly cumbersome if the player’s hand is already dwindling, turning a tactical play into a potential setback by reducing available options.

Specific Mana Cost: Comprised of both blue and black mana, the specific colors required for Recoil mean it is only smoothly incorporated into decks that run both. This can restrict the card’s inclusion to certain archetypes, potentially leaving it out of mono-colored or color-limited decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three mana might seem reasonable, but in an environment where efficiency is key, Recoil could be seen as a costly investment. Given that it doesn’t impact the board directly and competitors may offer similar outcomes for less, its opportunity cost rises, especially in fast-paced games where tempo is crucial.

Reasons to Include Recoil in Your Collection

Versatility: Recoil offers a flexible approach in disrupting opponents. It can target any permanent, making it a useful tool in a variety of game scenarios, whether you’re bouncing a problematic creature or setting back an opponent’s land development.

Combo Potential: This card is perfect for decks focusing on tempo or disruption. Recoil not only removes a threat but also ensures your opponent has to discard a card, which could be crucial when creating a card advantage or disrupting the opponent’s combo pieces.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where permanents with significant enter-the-battlefield effects are prevalent, Recoil allows you to deal with them temporarily and force opponents to use more resources if they want to replay it, making it a worthwhile addition, particularly in interactive blue-black control decks.

How to beat

Recoil is a unique interruption tactic in Magic: The Gathering. This spell swiftly bounces an opponent’s permanent back to their hand, coupled with the twist of also causing them to discard a card. Notably, this card disruption can be a setback for many strategies, especially if they rely heavily on a key permanent.

Devising a strategy to outmaneuver Recoil involves maintaining card advantage and being cautious about playing high-cost or critical permanents when your opponent has untapped lands. Counterspells, direct damage, or hexproof abilities can be instrumental in protecting your assets. Moreover, playing cards that benefit from being returned to your hand or have a lower casting cost can mitigate the impact of Recoil.

Ultimately, being adaptive and retaining a varied hand decreases your vulnerability to Recoil’s disruptive capability. By adjusting your strategy to anticipate this type of interference, you can maintain control of the board and render this spell less effective against your game plan.

Cards like Recoil

Recoil holds a unique position within the interaction spells available in Magic: The Gathering. Its direct competitors in the realm of bounce spells include the likes of Unsummon and Boomerang. What differentiates Recoil is the additional requirement for the opponent to discard a card after the targeted permanent is returned to their hand. While Unsummon is more mana-efficient, only requiring one blue mana and targeting creatures, it doesn’t impact the hand like Recoil, diminishing its potential for card advantage.

Boomerang is also similar in mana cost and has the flexibility of targeting any permanent, not solely creatures. However, it too lacks Recoil’s forced discard effect, making it a straightforward bounce spell without the added psychological and resource pressure. Dissipation Field is another bounce-related enchantment that returns permanents to their owner’s hand whenever they take damage from a source, but this passive approach doesn’t guarantee the same level of control or direct hand disruption that a player can achieve with Recoil.

Given these comparisons, it’s clear that while there are other options for returning permanents to an opponent’s hand, Recoil’s synergy of bounce and discard is a powerful combination that can provide card advantage and disrupt opponents’ strategies in MTG.

Cards similar to Recoil by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Recoil MTG card by a specific set like Invasion and World Championship Decks 2002, 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 Recoil and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Recoil Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2000-10-02 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by Alan Pollack.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2000-10-02	Invasion	INV	264	1997	Normal	Black	Alan Pollack
2	2002-08-14	World Championship Decks 2002	WC02	cr264sb	1997	Normal	Gold	Alan Pollack
3	2011-09-02	Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas	DDH	61	2003	Normal	Black	Alan Pollack
4	2023-01-13	Dominaria Remastered	DMR	197	2015	Normal	Black	Alan Pollack
5	2023-01-13	Dominaria Remastered	DMR	365	1997	Normal	Black	Alan Pollack