Hoodwink MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Hoodwink’s ability to bounce artifacts, enchantments, or lands offers a potential card advantage.
  2. Instant speed and versatility make it adaptable, best utilized to unsettle opponents’ strategies.
  3. However, this advantage is balanced by its mana cost and specific blue mana requirement.

Text of card

Return target artifact, enchantment, or land to its owner's hand.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: In the nuanced strategy of MTG, the Hoodwink card acts as a pivotal element for disrupting opponent momentum. The ability to return a target artifact, enchantment, or land to its owner’s hand can equate to stripping away resources they’ve committed, potentially netting you a significant advantage in the ongoing resource war.

Resource Acceleration: Although Hoodwink itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it can indirectly influence your mana development by undoing your opponent’s setup, effectively giving you a head start or more time to deploy your critical strategies unimpeded.

Instant Speed: The fact that Hoodwink can be played at instant speed provides the flexibility needed to adapt to the dynamic game states. This trait enables savvy players to wait until the most opportune moment, perhaps in response to an opponent’s play or at the end of their turn, to maximize the disruptive impact of the card, all while keeping their options open as events unfold.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In games where every card in hand is crucial, Hoodwink’s requirement to discard a card for its effect may lead to unfavorable trade-offs. Managing your resources carefully is key, and having to part with a potentially useful card can set you back, particularly in tight matches where card advantage matters.

Specific Mana Cost: Although Hoodwink’s mana cost is not color-heavy, it does require at least one blue mana. This necessity restricts the card’s inclusion to blue-inclined or multi-colored decks, possibly excluding it from mono-colored deck strategies that don’t incorporate blue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering the economics of spells, Hoodwink competes with other bounce spells that may offer lower costs or additional benefits. The need to invest three mana, including blue, for a single bounce effect might not align well with decks aiming for high tempo or efficient mana usage.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hoodwink offers a flexible answer to many situations that may arise during gameplay. It can target any permanent, making it a powerful tool in decks that need to deal with a range of threats from enchantments to troublesome lands.

Combo Potential: As a low-cost spell, Hoodwink can be a key piece in combos that take advantage of returning opponent’s cards to their hand. It works well in strategies that punish your opponent for having too many cards in hand or for replaying the same spells.

Meta-Relevance: Given that many decks rely heavily on noncreature permanents to build their board presence, Hoodwink proves to be an ever-relevant inclusion. It can disrupt opponent’s strategies and provide you with a tempo advantage, pivotal in matches where the pace of play determines the victor.


How to beat

Hoodwink is a subtle, yet potentially game-altering blue spell in the vast universe of Magic: The Gathering. This clever card offers players a bounce effect, returning an artifact, enchantment, or land to its owner’s hand. To outplay this card, strategic foresight is key. Prioritize deploying low-cost or value-generating permanents to mitigate potential tempo loss. It’s also beneficial to keep a diversified board presence, ensuring not all your eggs are in one basket, which Hoodwink could easily disrupt. Furthermore, consider spells with cast or enter-the-battlefield effects to maintain an advantage even if a permanent is returned to your hand.

Another approach is to bait the Hoodwink cast. Play a non-critical permanent and wait for your opponent to exhaust their mana and play Hoodwink. This opens an opportunity to deploy more impactful spells while they’re tapped out. Keeping mana untapped for instant-speed responses can also safeguard your critical assets, countering the Hoodwink or re-establishing your board swiftly. Above all, understanding the meta and anticipating such control measures can significantly bolster your defense against Hoodwink’s tactical evasion.


Cards like Hoodwink

Hoodwink stands out in the realm of bounce spells within Magic: The Gathering. This blue spell shares similarities with other classics like Boomerang, which also returns target nonland permanent to its owner’s hand. However, Boomerang acts on a broader range of targets including land which Hoodwink intentionally avoids. This gives Hoodwink a more targeted approach, eliminating the potential for powerful land disruption strategies.

Another card in the same conversation is Into the Roil. It too bounces nonland permanents but brings a kicker cost to potentially draw a card, adding another layer of value. Hoodwink’s advantage lies in its simpler mana requirement, which could be crucial in a tight mana situation. Echoing Truth deserves a mention as well, with its ability to bounce multiple copies of a nonland permanent, acting as a potential soft sweeper against token strategies or duplicate permanents.

Ultimately, Hoodwink may not be as versatile as some of its counterparts, but it serves a distinct purpose. Its laser-focused target restriction prevents it from disrupting the land base, while still offering a clean and efficient way to deal with other troublesome nonland permanents in Magic: The Gathering.

Boomerang - MTG Card versions
Into the Roil - MTG Card versions
Echoing Truth - MTG Card versions
Boomerang - Legends (LEG)
Into the Roil - Zendikar (ZEN)
Echoing Truth - Darksteel (DST)

Cards similar to Hoodwink by color, type and mana cost

Counterspell - MTG Card versions
Hurkyl's Recall - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - MTG Card versions
Lat-Nam's Legacy - MTG Card versions
Flash - MTG Card versions
Boomerang - MTG Card versions
Updraft - MTG Card versions
Rebound - MTG Card versions
Memory Lapse - MTG Card versions
Tidal Bore - MTG Card versions
Accumulated Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Response - MTG Card versions
Aether Burst - MTG Card versions
Impulse - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Thassa's Intervention - MTG Card versions
Metamorphose - MTG Card versions
Flash Counter - MTG Card versions
Echoing Truth - MTG Card versions
Early Frost - MTG Card versions
Counterspell - Commander Masters (CMM)
Hurkyl's Recall - Antiquities (ATQ)
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Lat-Nam's Legacy - Alliances (ALL)
Flash - Mirage (MIR)
Boomerang - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Updraft - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Rebound - Stronghold (STH)
Memory Lapse - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Tidal Bore - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Accumulated Knowledge - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Teferi's Response - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Aether Burst - Odyssey (ODY)
Impulse - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)
Cyclonic Rift - Commander Masters (CMM)
Thassa's Intervention - Theros Beyond Death (THB)
Metamorphose - Scourge (SCG)
Flash Counter - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Echoing Truth - Modern Masters (MMA)
Early Frost - Fifth Dawn (5DN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hoodwink MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Magic Online Promos, 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 Hoodwink and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Hoodwink Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 1999-10-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 841997normalblackArnie Swekel
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 624492015normalblackVolkan Baǵa

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hoodwink has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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