Write into Being MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Manifest

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card selection and potential board presence, pivotal for deck consistency and tactical advantage.
  2. Diverse synergy with instant-speed flip mechanics allows for unexpected plays and momentum shifts.
  3. While resourceful, the sorcery’s success can be hampered by specific mana requirements and deck composition.

Text of card

Look at the top two cards of your library. Manifest one of those cards, then put the other on the top or bottom of your library. (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Write into Being provides an immediate benefit by allowing the player to look at the top two cards of their library, keeping the most beneficial one on the top to draw or manifesting it if it’s a creature card. This effect enables you to effectively sift through your deck, increasing the chance of drawing quality cards in subsequent turns.

Resource Acceleration: By manifesting a card, Write into Being essentially puts a creature onto the battlefield for a reduced cost. This ability can accelerate your resources by giving you board presence without spending the full mana cost of the creature, which can be particularly advantageous when working towards overwhelming your opponent with superior numbers.

Instant Speed: While Write into Being operates at sorcery speed, the manifest mechanic it employs can interact favorably with cards designed to turn face-down creatures face-up at instant speed. This synergy allows for flexibility and surprise tactics, swinging the momentum of the match in your favor during critical points of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Though “Write into Being” doesn’t necessitate discarding cards to play, it does manifest the top card of your library, which could force you to forgo a valuable card you might otherwise need for later gameplay decisions.

Specific Mana Cost: This sorcery requires both blue and generic mana, meaning your deck must have a reliable blue mana source, potentially restricting its incorporation into multicolored or colorless decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, “Write into Being” offers a peek at the top two cards of your library and the manifestation of one, but other cards in the game could provide greater advantage or board presence for the same, or even lesser, cost.


Reasons to Include Write into Being in Your Collection

Versatility: Write into Being offers flexibility to decks that thrive on sculpting their next draws. This card allows players to peek at the top cards of their library, ensuring more consistent game play and synergy with library manipulation strategies.

Combo Potential: With the ability to manifest the top card of your library, Write into Being can effectively turn any card into a 2/2 creature. This has strong synergy with cards that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or can turn face-down creatures face up for surprise effects.

Meta-Relevance: Whether the current meta favors aggro, combo, or control decks, the adaptability of Write into Being can give players an edge. This card can suit various situations, serving as a creature, a way to set up future draws, or part of a larger combo, providing strategic depth in many matchups.


How to beat

Write into Being is an intriguing sorcery in MTG that combines the aspects of deck manipulation with creature generation. Players face the challenge of addressing not just the scry effect, but also the 2/2 colorless Manifest creature it conjures. This card has similarities to effects seen in cards like Ponder or Preordain, which also allow you to sort the top part of your deck and plan future plays. However, they lack the ability to put a creature on the battlefield.

When crafting a strategy to overcome Write into Being, consider instant-speed removals or cards that prohibit the opponent from manipulating the top of their deck. Cards like Thoughtseize enable you to disrupt your opponent’s hand, potentially dealing with Write into Being before it can be cast. Additionally, utilizing counterspells such as Negate or Essence Scatter can effectively neutralize the spell before its effects come into play. Importantly, paying attention to the setup of Write into Being is key; it maximizes the benefit from the top deck scrying, preemptively handling the Manifest creature can deprive your opponent of a crucial element of the card’s value.

In sum, while Write into Being can present a unique two-fold threat in gameplay, recognizing and countering the components of scrying and creature creation can substantially mitigate its impact, maintaining control over the course of the match.


Cards like Write into Being

Write into Being is an intriguing spell that carves its niche in the realm of creature summoning in MTG. It echoes similarly to cards like Ponder in its ability to manipulate the top card of your library. Yet, it stretches further by allowing the caster to put a creature into play as a manifestation token, essentially doing double duty. This is something Ponder doesn’t offer, being limited solely to library manipulation.

Expanding the similarities, cards such as Serum Visions also find common ground by providing library insight and a draw aspect. However, Write into Being’s strength is in revealing and playing with creature tokens, which Serum Visions cannot accomplish. Then there’s Sleight of Hand, offering card selection from the top of the deck. But again, it misses the mark on generating board presence that Write into Being achieves quite efficiently.

When evaluating parallel options, Write into Being offers a unique blend of foresight and creature generation, making it a compelling choice for players looking to enhance their deck strategies beyond the scope of straightforward card draw spells in MTG.

Ponder - MTG Card versions
Serum Visions - MTG Card versions
Sleight of Hand - MTG Card versions
Ponder - Lorwyn (LRW)
Serum Visions - Arena League 2004 (PAL04)
Sleight of Hand - Portal Second Age (P02)

Cards similar to Write into Being by color, type and mana cost

Volcanic Eruption - MTG Card versions
Baleful Stare - MTG Card versions
Déjà Vu - MTG Card versions
Exhaustion - MTG Card versions
Political Trickery - MTG Card versions
Time Ebb - MTG Card versions
Dream Cache - MTG Card versions
Tinker - MTG Card versions
Sage's Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Undo - MTG Card versions
Ingenious Mastery - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Reminisce - MTG Card versions
Timetwister - MTG Card versions
Fabricate - MTG Card versions
Counsel of the Soratami - MTG Card versions
Vacuumelt - MTG Card versions
Wistful Thinking - MTG Card versions
Savor the Moment - MTG Card versions
Sanity Grinding - MTG Card versions
Volcanic Eruption - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Baleful Stare - Portal (POR)
Déjà Vu - Portal (POR)
Exhaustion - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Political Trickery - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Time Ebb - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Dream Cache - Tempest (TMP)
Tinker - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Sage's Knowledge - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Undo - Starter 1999 (S99)
Ingenious Mastery - Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX)
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Reminisce - Onslaught (ONS)
Timetwister - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Fabricate - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Counsel of the Soratami - Tenth Edition (10E)
Vacuumelt - Guildpact (GPT)
Wistful Thinking - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Savor the Moment - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Sanity Grinding - Eventide (EVE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Write into Being MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Fate Reforged, 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 Write into Being and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Write into Being Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Yeong-Hao Han.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 557552015normalblackYeong-Hao Han
22015-01-23Fate ReforgedFRF 592015normalblackYeong-Hao Han
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5562015normalblackYeong-Hao Han
42020-09-26The ListPLST FRF-592015normalblackYeong-Hao Han

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Write into Being has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2014-11-24 If you’re playing with the top card of your library revealed, you’ll manifest one of the cards, then the other one will be revealed, then you can choose to put that card on the bottom of your library or leave it on top.
2014-11-24 Other players won’t know whether the card you manifest is the top card or second card of that library.

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