Wild Evocation MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2010-07-16
Set symbol
Set name	Magic 2011
Set code	M11
Number	160
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chippy

Key Takeaways

Wild Evocation creates card advantage, allowing for powerful and unexpected free spell casting each turn.
It offers significant tempo through mana cost bypassing, enabling more strategic resource allocation.
Its versatility and combo potential make it a dynamic addition to decks, especially in a predictable meta.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player reveals a card at random from his or her hand. If it's a land card, the player puts it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, the player casts it without paying its mana cost if able.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wild Evocation promotes a unique form of card advantage by enabling you to potentially cast a free spell from the top of your library each turn. This encourages a deck build that maximizes the utility of every card, making your draw step even more powerful and daunting for opponents.

Resource Acceleration: With Wild Evocation, the inherent resource acceleration lies in bypassing mana costs for any spell you reveal. This can result in significant tempo gains, as you’re effectively deploying spells without investing any mana, allowing you to hold resources for other strategically crucial plays.

Instant Speed: Though Wild Evocation itself isn’t cast at instant speed, it allows the spells you reveal and cast to be played instantly if they have that ability. This can lead to unexpected twists during your upkeep, disrupting opponent strategies and potentially swinging the game in your favor with swift and unforeseen spellcasting.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other enchantments that continuously benefit you, Wild Evocation requires you to essentially ‘discard’ a card each turn since it’s automatically cast, leaving less control over your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a strict mana arrangement, needing both generic and red mana, potentially limiting deck-building options to those that can reliably produce the required colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: As a six mana card, Wild Evocation may come into play later than desired. Other cards may provide quicker or more consistent advantages for a deck looking to maintain tempo and board presence.

Reasons to Include Wild Evocation in Your Collection

Versatility: Wild Evocation offers a unique blend of surprise and strategy to any deck. It allows you to play the top card of your library for free at the beginning of each upkeep, making it a versatile addition to decks that seek to utilize their entire card pool.

Combo Potential: This card works wonders in decks that manipulate the top of the library. It synergizes with scrying, deck stacking, and other library manipulation strategies, paving the way for powerful combos and unexpected plays that can overwhelm opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy with control and predictability, Wild Evocation adds an element of chaos that can disrupt opponents’ plans. It keeps the game state dynamic and requires your adversaries to constantly adapt, giving you the upper hand.

How to beat

Wild Evocation presents an intriguing challenge on the battlefield, reshaping the pace of play with its unique ability to cast spells for free at the beginning of each turn. Confronting this red enchantment requires a strategic approach. Targeted removal spells are efficacious in dismantling the advantage it provides. Spells like Disenchant or Naturalize allow players to neutralize Wild Evocation before its effect can dominate the game. Maintaining a hand replete with instant-speed removal ensures that the enchantment can be addressed regardless of whose turn it is.

Consider also employing countermagic the moment Wild Evocation is on the stack. By using spells such as Negate or Counterspell, players can preemptively halt the enchantment from hitting the board. Moreover, adapting a playstyle that places emphasis on low-cost spells can mitigate the impact of Wild Evocation’s induced chaos, providing less opportunity for opponents to capitalize on free casts. Thus, a well-timed removal, preventive counteraction, or a fine-tuned strategy can effectively neutralize the threat of Wild Evocation, ensuring its wild nature doesn’t tip the scales against you.

Cards like Wild Evocation

Wild Evocation is an intriguing Red enchantment from Magic: The Gathering that has players reveal the top card of their library at the beginning of their upkeep and allows them to cast it without paying its mana cost. This effect bears a resemblance to the dynamics of cards like Omen Machine and Lurking Predators. Omen Machine also allows players to cast the top card of their libraries for free, but it affects all players and replaces the draw step, which can level the playing field.

Similarly, Lurking Predators offers a free casting opportunity, triggered specifically by opponents casting spells, thereby providing a reactionary advantage. Both Wild Evocation and Lurking Predators allow for a sense of unpredictability and potential card advantage, though they activate under different conditions and cater to varying strategic approaches.

Considering these relative advantages, Wild Evocation offers a unique blend of repeated free casting potential. Its mandatory nature every upkeep can be both a boon and a risk, challenging players to adapt their strategies to maximize value from the cards they reveal. This ability to consistently bypass mana costs sets Wild Evocation apart as a potentially game-swinging asset in decks designed to exploit its powerful trigger.

Cards similar to Wild Evocation by color, type and mana cost

Curse of the Fire Penguin // Curse of the Fire Penguin Creature - MTG Card versions

Homura, Human Ascendant // Homura's Essence - MTG Card versions

Cyclops of Eternal Fury - MTG Card versions

Sunbird's Invocation - MTG Card versions

Form of the Dinosaur - MTG Card versions

Haphazard Bombardment - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wild Evocation MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011, 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 Wild Evocation and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Wild Evocation has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-08-15	If a player casts a nonland card revealed with Wild Evocation’s ability, it’s put on the stack as a spell, then Wild Evocation’s ability finishes resolving. The spell will then resolve as normal, after players get a chance to cast spells and activate abilities.
2010-08-15	If a player reveals a nonland card, but can’t cast it due to a lack of legal targets or a play restriction, it simply remains in their hand.
2010-08-15	If a player reveals a nonland card, that player must cast that card if it’s possible to do so, even if they don’t want to. The player casts it as part of the resolution of Wild Evocation’s ability. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (such as creature or sorcery) are ignored. Other play restrictions are not (such as “Cast -his card] only during combat”).
2010-08-15	If casting the revealed card involves paying a mandatory additional cost (such as the one Fling has), the player casting that card must pay that cost if able. If they can’t, the card remains uncast in their hand. If the mandatory additional cost includes a mana payment, the situation is more complex. If the player has enough mana in their mana pool to pay the cost, that player must do so. If the player can’t possibly pay the cost, the card remains uncast in their hand. However, if the player has the means to produce enough mana to pay the cost, then they have a choice: The player may cast the card, produce mana, and pay the cost. Or the player may choose to activate no mana abilities, thus making the card impossible to cast because the additional mana can’t be paid.
2010-08-15	If, as the result of Wild Evocation’s ability, a player casts a card “without paying its mana cost,” any X in the mana cost will be 0, and that player can’t pay any alternative costs (such as Demon of Death’s Gate’s alternative cost). On the other hand, if the card has optional additional costs (such as kicker or multikicker), the player may pay those.