Abandon Reason MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Madness
Released	2016-07-22
Set symbol
Set name	Eldritch Moon
Set code	EMN
Number	115
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Josh Hass

Key Takeaways

Boosts creatures unexpectedly in battle, often securing advantageous trades and altering combat outcomes.
Madness cost enables mana efficiency, potentially accelerating resource utilization when discarding.
Instant speed grants flexibility, allowing players to respond adeptly to in-game situations.

Text of card

Up to two target creatures each get +1/+0 and gain first strike until end of turn. Madness (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Abandon Reason stands out by allowing players to enhance their creatures’ prowess, potentially creating a favorable combat scenario. While not directly drawing cards, it effectively turns each affected creature into a larger threat, often resulting in a two-for-one trade with an opponent’s creatures.

Resource Acceleration: With its Madness cost, this card can act as a form of resource acceleration. If discarded due to another card’s effect, it can be cast for its Madness cost, resulting in efficient use of mana and maintaining tempo in the game.

Instant Speed: This card’s instant speed is a tactical boon. It can be used unexpectedly during combat or at the end of an opponent’s turn, keeping opponents on their toes and possibly mismanaging their resources in preparation for threats that may never materialize.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Abandon Reason forces you to discard a card, which can be detrimental if you’re already behind on card advantage. This trade-off requires careful hand management and timing to ensure you do not deplete valuable resources that you may need later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that necessitates both red mana and generic mana, Abandon Reason can be challenging to play in decks that do not have a consistent red mana base. This limitation makes it less versatile and potentially a dead draw in multicolored or color-light decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a cost of two and a red mana for its effect, there are cards available that can provide similar or better outcomes at a lower cost. Efficient deck building often involves evaluating mana costs relative to effects, and Abandon Reason might not always make the cut when more cost-effective alternatives exist.

Reasons to Include Abandon Reason in Your Collection

Versatility: Abandon Reason offers flexibility to red deck players, fitting seamlessly into a variety of strategies. It can be used offensively to surprise opponents with instant-speed boosts or defensively to outmaneuver potential threats.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to give creatures both extra power and first strike until end of turn means it can be a game-changer in combat-focused decks or those that exploit such temporary buffs to springboard into larger combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where quick responses and combat tricks are crucial, Abandon Reason stands out. It can tip the scales during pivotal battle phases, making it a relevant addition to any collection that aims to stay competitive and reactive to fast-paced playstyles.

How to beat Abandon Reason

Abandon Reason is a versatile instant that can skew combat phases in your favor with its dual buff and discard ability. To effectively counteract Abandon Reason, timing is crucial. Utilize removal spells before attackers or blockers are declared, minimizing the impact of those surprise power and toughness increases. Instant speed removals like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can excel here, allowing you to respond to Abandon Reason by eliminating the key creature before the spell resolves.

Additionally, counterspells like Negate or Mana Leak can shut down Abandon Reason outright, denying your opponent the opportunity to tip the scales in combat or leverage the discard for madness synergies. Similarly, spells that give your creatures indestructible, such as Heroic Intervention, can nullify Abandon Reason’s combat advantage by preserving your blockers or attackers through their combat trick.

Understanding the role of key instants in Magic: The Gathering, knowing when to expect them, and having answers ready in response are all part of strategizing against cards like Abandon Reason. Keep these tactics in mind, and you’ll significantly reduce the impact of this clever combat card on your matches.

Cards like Abandon Reason

Abandon Reason is a versatile instant spell that stands out in the fiery realms of red chaos cards in Magic: The Gathering. It is akin to cards such as Expedite, which also offers creatures a sudden burst of speed with haste. Abandon Reason, however, brings an extra layer of utility by not only granting haste but also a power boost and the option to discard a card, potentially triggering madness.

Brute Strength is another comparable card, giving creatures a significant power and toughness increase during combat. While Brute Strength lacks the discarding facet, it solidifies its position by directly augmenting a creature’s combat capabilities. Then there’s Rush of Adrenaline, which offers a similar combat trick with its power boost and the addition of trample, yet without the flexible advantage of milling cards for madness purposes.

Ultimately, each card possesses its unique appeal. Abandon Reason fits well into strategies seeking to benefit from both the madness mechanic and the element of surprise, ensuring a pivotal impact when timing and card synergy are crucial.

Cards similar to Abandon Reason by color, type and mana cost

Merchant of the Vale // Haggle - MTG Card versions

Path of Anger's Flame - MTG Card versions

Flames of the Blood Hand - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Abandon Reason MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon, 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 Abandon Reason and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Abandon Reason has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-07-13	You can't target the same creature twice to have it get +2/+0.
2022-12-08	A card with madness that's discarded counts as having been discarded even though it's put into exile rather than a graveyard. If it was discarded to pay a cost, that cost is still paid. Abilities that trigger when a card is discarded will still trigger.
2022-12-08	A spell cast for its madness cost is put onto the stack like any other spell. It can be countered, copied, and so on. As it resolves, it's put onto the battlefield if it's a permanent card or into its owner's graveyard if it's an instant or sorcery card.
2022-12-08	Cards are discarded in a Magic game only from a player's hand. Effects that put cards into a player's graveyard from anywhere else do not cause those cards to be discarded.
2022-12-08	Casting a spell with madness ignores the timing rules based on the card's card type. For example, you can cast a sorcery with madness if you discard it during an opponent's turn.
2022-12-08	If you choose not to cast a card with madness when the madness triggered ability resolves, it's put into your graveyard. Madness doesn't give you another chance to cast it later.
2022-12-08	If you discard a card with madness to pay the cost of a spell or activated ability, that card's madness triggered ability (and the spell that card becomes, if you choose to cast it) will resolve before the spell or ability the discard paid for.
2022-12-08	If you discard a card with madness while a spell or ability is resolving, it moves immediately to exile. Continue resolving that spell or ability, noting that the card you discarded is not in your graveyard at this time. Its madness triggered ability will be placed onto the stack once that spell or ability has completely resolved.
2022-12-08	Madness works independently of why you're discarding the card. You could discard it to pay a cost, because a spell or ability tells you to, or because you have too many cards in your hand during your cleanup step. You can't discard a card with madness just because you want to, though.
2022-12-08	To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a madness cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined by only its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast that spell was.