Dispersing Orb MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	2002-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Onslaught
Set code	ONS
Number	80
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Rebecca Guay

Key Takeaways

Dispersing Orb allows strategic board resets, disrupting opponents while you gain card advantage.
Instant speed of the card allows precise timing, maximizing its game-altering effect.
Bouncing multiple targets can set opponents back, giving you a potential resource lead.

Text of card

o3o U, Sacrifice a permanent: Return target permanent to its owner's hand.

"Like the seas, the Æther is fickle and ever-changing. If we can control one, we can master the other." —Riptide Project director

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dispersing Orb offers strategic depth by allowing you to return a number of target nonland permanents to their owner’s hands, disrupting your opponent’s board and potentially turning the tide of the game. This lets you handle threats while rebuilding your hand with more options for future turns.

Resource Acceleration: While Dispersing Orb itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it sets back your opponent’s development significantly. By bouncing their permanents, you force them to spend their resources replaying those cards, giving you the opportunity to pull ahead in the resource race.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Dispersing Orb at instant speed gives you complete control over the timing of this powerful reset button. You have the flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s end-of-turn plays, or even save it for when they commit heavily to the board, ensuring maximum impact and keeping them on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dispersing Orb requires you to discard a card in addition to paying its mana cost. This can lead to a resources disadvantage, especially in the late game when hand size could be critical.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a particular combination of blue mana which may not be easily splashed into non-blue decks without affecting the mana base consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an activation cost requiring multiple mana, Dispersing Orb’s impact on the battlefield could be delayed compared to other lower-costed options that disrupt opponents more immediately.

Reasons to Include Dispersing Orb in Your Collection

Versatility: Dispersing Orb offers a flexible solution to a variety of board states, capable of resetting complex situations, and is particularly useful in decks that can benefit from bouncing their own permanents with enter-the-battlefield effects.

Combo Potential: This card can be a linchpin in creative combos, synergizing with effects that trigger when permanents leave the battlefield or with cards that capitalize on casting multiple spells in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s saturated with strategies that go wide or rely on building a formidable board presence, Dispersing Orb serves as a safety valve, offering a scalable response that can disrupt many opponents’ plans, thereby helping to maintain game balance.

How to beat

Dispersing Orb presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, as it’s a tool that can single-handedly undo your board state by returning all your permanents to your hand. When facing an opponent with Dispersing Orb in play, the key is to minimize the orb’s effectiveness. One strategy is to deploy permanents with enter-the-battlefield effects. Cards like Eternal Witness or Impact Tremors reward you every time they come into play, hence retaliating against the drawback of Dispersing Orb.

Instant-speed removals or counter spells are also crucial. A well-timed Naturalize or Counterspell can eliminate the orb before it activates, leaving your opponent’s mana and plans wasted. Additionally, focusing on building a deck that can operate efficiently with fewer permanents on the field helps. Employing an arsenal of instant and sorceries or investing in an aggressive, low-cost creature strategy can overwhelm an opponent before Dispersing Orb becomes an issue. Remember, the orb’s controller must pay mana to activate its ability, so increasing the cost of activation with cards like Damping Sphere can also provide an edge.

Ultimately, identifying when to commit to the board and when to hold back is crucial when you know your opponent has Dispersing Orb up their sleeve. Play smart, conserve resources, and you’ll stand a strong chance of dismantling the threat of this tricky artifact.

Cards like Dispersing Orb

Dispersing Orb is an intriguing element in the arsenal of control tools within Magic: The Gathering. Its nearest relatives are cards like Perilous Vault and Nevinyrral’s Disk, which share the purpose of resetting the board. Perilous Vault exiles all nonland permanents, whereas Dispersing Orb requires a more strategic approach with the potential for multiple triggers and selective impact.

Another card worthy of comparison is Oblivion Stone, which allows players to put fate counters on specific permanents, protecting them from its imminent destruction effect. Dispersing Orb doesn’t safeguard any assets but provides recurring control, disrupting opponents repetitively. Cyclonic Rift also parallels in functionality by bouncing nonland permanents, yet it does so in a sweeping one-time wave with its overload cost, as opposed to Dispersing Orb’s potential for ongoing hindrance.

Assessing Dispersing Orb alongside its counterparts, it is a card that requires more tactical finesse and can preserve control over multiple turns. Its unique ability to incrementally alter the game board positions it as a distinctive choice for players who prefer a more calculated, less catastrophic approach to clearing the field.

Cards similar to Dispersing Orb by color, type and mana cost

Heightened Awareness - MTG Card versions

Reflections of Littjara - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dispersing Orb MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught, 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 Dispersing Orb and other MTG cards: