Essence Fracture MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Cycling
Released	2002-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Onslaught
Set code	ONS
Number	82
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Wayne England

Key Takeaways

Essence Fracture provides a momentum shift by bouncing multiple creatures and disrupting board presence.
Its instant-speed play offers strategic adaptability and surprise elements in MTG gameplay.
The card’s demanding mana requirements can limit its inclusion in diverse, multi-colored decks.

Text of card

Return two target creatures to their owners' hands. Cycling o U (o U, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.)

"Shaping reality is simply a matter of knowing where to apply pressure." —Ixidor, reality sculptor

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When casting Essence Fracture, the potential to bounce multiple targets back to an opponent’s hand can disrupt their board presence and swing the momentum in your favor—a solid step towards maintaining an edge over your opponent in terms of resources.

Resource Acceleration: While Essence Fracture itself does not directly provide mana acceleration, it can indirectly facilitate it by clearing the way for your attacks, or by resetting mana-intensive creatures your opponents control, thus slowing down their own resource development.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Essence Fracture can be a strategic asset in your arsenal. It allows you the flexibility to respond to threats or game-altering plays on your opponent’s turn, adding an element of surprise and giving you the ability to adapt to the evolving game state with agility.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Casting Essence Fracture necessitates the additional cost of discarding a card from your hand. This could hamper your strategic plays, particularly when your hand size is already diminished and every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring two blue mana to play, Essence Fracture’s cost structure can be restrictive. It demands a dedicated blue mana base which might not be optimal for more diverse, multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of four mana to unleash its effect, Essence Fracture’s mana investment is quite steep. Players could find themselves in situations where there are other cards at a lower cost that might provide a similar or better impact on the board state.

Reasons to Include Essence Fracture in Your Collection

Versatility: Essence Fracture serves as a flexible answer in decks that have to deal with a variety of creatures. Its ability to bounce two creatures to an opponent’s hand can reset their board, saving you from overwhelming strategies.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with decks focusing on denial or those that can capitalize on the casting of spells to trigger abilities, leveraging the double-target bounce to its full potential.

Meta-Relevance: Given the fast-paced nature of many competitive formats, having the capacity to disrupt your opponent’s game plan is crucial. Essence Fracture can be particularly effective in a meta where creature-based strategies dominate.

How to beat Essence Fracture

Essence Fracture presents a particular challenge in Magic: The Gathering with its potential to reset the board by returning creatures to their owner’s hand. It can disrupt an opponent’s strategy, especially if they are creature-heavy. To effectively counter Essence Fracture, it’s crucial to manage your resources wisely. Running creatures with enter the battlefield triggers can mitigate the impact of such bounce effects, as you get an additional advantage each time you play them.

Having counterspells in your deck is another strategic move. They allow you to deny Essence Fracture’s casting, maintaining your battlefield presence. Alternatively, adopting a more aggressive playstyle can also be beneficial. By applying constant pressure, you force the Essence Fracture player to use their card at a less opportune time, rather than when it would create the most disruption. Lastly, land destruction or mana denial strategies can impede your opponent’s ability to muster the required mana, making Essence Fracture harder to cast and giving you a solid upper hand in the match.

In essence, staying one step ahead of Essence Fracture calls for strategic deck building and tactical gameplay, ensuring you have the answers when this spell attempts to wash away your hard-earned board state.

Cards like Essence Fracture

Essence Fracture stands as an intriguing spell in the pantheon of blue bounce effects in Magic: The Gathering. When considering its ability to return two target creatures to their owner’s hand for a cost of four mana, it draws associations to other similar spells. Unsummon, for example, can also bounce creatures but does so at a much lower cost, targeting a single creature for one mana. While less mana-intensive, Unsummon’s limitations in affecting multiple creatures make Essence Fracture a potentially more impactful choice during games where controlling multiple threats at once is crucial.

Another comparable card is Griptide, which not only bounces a creature but also places it on top of its owner’s library. Although Griptide has a higher cost of four mana, just like Essence Fracture, the strategic placement into the library can be seen as a temporary form of card disadvantage against the opponent. In contrast, Essence Fracture’s twin-target approach might not disrupt the opponent’s draw but efficiently deals with two threats immediately.

Whether a player opts for the cost-efficient but singular effect of Unsummon, the strategic library placement of Griptide, or the dual bounce capability of Essence Fracture, each card caters to different tactics and resource management styles. What makes Essence Fracture a card worth considering is how it balances its bouncing effect with the potential to shift the tide of the game when multiple creatures pose a threat.

Cards similar to Essence Fracture by color, type and mana cost

Temporal Manipulation - MTG Card versions

Ribbons of the Reikai - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Essence Fracture 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 Essence Fracture and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Essence Fracture has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-10-01	Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.