Disturbing Plot MTG Card


Disturbing Plot - Shadowmoor
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Conspire
Released2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set nameShadowmoor
Set codeSHM
Number64
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byLarry MacDougall

Key Takeaways

  1. Instant speed enables tactical plays, adding dynamic responses to opponents’ moves.
  2. Discard requirement may limit hand options, considered when strategizing plays.
  3. Ideal for decks that utilize graveyard strategies and require creature retrieval.

Text of card

Return target creature card in a graveyard to its owner's hand. Conspire (As you play this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that share a color with it. When you do, copy it and you may choose a new target for the copy.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Disturbing Plot shines in providing card advantage by enabling you to retrieve a creature from your graveyard directly to your hand. This can help you regain pivotal pieces for your strategy or simply increase the number of resources at your disposal.

Resource Acceleration: While Disturbing Plot may not create Treasure tokens or ramp your mana directly, it can act as a form of resource acceleration. Recovering an essential creature can be just as impactful as gaining extra mana, allowing you to reutilize creatures with valuable enters-the-battlefield effects or recurring abilities, thus effectively speeding up your game plan.

Instant Speed: The ability to use Disturbing Plot at instant speed grants you the flexibility to react dynamically to the state of the game. Whether it’s during your opponent’s end step or in response to a threat, this scalability provides tactical depth and ensures that your mana is never idle, giving you the edge to outmaneuver your opponent.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Disturbing Plot calls for you to discard a card as part of its activation. This could deplete your hand when you might otherwise need a full grip of options to respond to opponents’ moves.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both black and generic mana to play. Decks not focused on a black mana base may find it challenging to meet this demand, potentially making the card less versatile in a multi-colored strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With other spells in the game offering graveyard retrieval at lower mana expenditures, Disturbing Plot’s cost can be steep. For three mana, players might anticipate a more impactful effect, which might make this card overlooked when building an efficient deck.


Reasons to Include Disturbing Plot in Your Collection

Versatility: Disturbing Plot is a card that can be effectively included in various decks, particularly those that require graveyard manipulation or wish to retrieve key creatures.

Combo Potential: This card offers great synergy with self-mill strategies or those that incidentally put creatures into the graveyard, enabling powerful reanimation combos.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where creature-based strategies dominate, being able to recover valuable creatures from the graveyard can be crucial, making Disturbing Plot a relevant choice.


How to beat Disturbing Plot

Disturbing Plot is an intriguing card in Magic: The Gathering that can pose a challenge with its recursion ability. When facing a strategy that includes this card, timing is everything. To effectively counteract Disturbing Plot, players should focus on graveyard management. Using cards like Tormod’s Crypt, which can instantly purge a graveyard, will nullify the card’s potential to return a creature to the player’s hand.

Additionally, running instant-speed removal can be invaluable. By removing key creatures in response to Disturbing Plot’s activation, its impact is greatly diminished. Consider spells like Path to Exile or Fatal Push for their efficiency in managing threats both on the board and in the graveyard.

Moreover, the card’s prerequisite for tapping an untapped creature you control means that disrupting the opponent’s board state can prevent the Plot from being executed. It’s also worth noting that Disturbing Plot is a sorcery, which limits its use to the player’s own turn; understanding this can guide you when choosing the opportune moment to play your removal or graveyard hate.


Cards like Disturbing Plot

Disturbing Plot is an intriguing card that offers a unique twist on creature recursion strategies in Magic: The Gathering. It draws a parallel to spells such as Raise Dead, as both allow the retrieval of a creature card from your graveyard back to your hand. Disturbing Plot, though, adds to the mechanic with its training ability, potentially strengthening another creature when you bring back a card. Raise Dead lacks this additional perk and focuses solely on the return aspect.

Another comparable card is Unearth, providing a different angle on bringing creatures back to play. Unearth not only returns a small creature for just one mana, it does it immediately onto the battlefield and it gains haste until the end of the turn. However, it doesn’t leave a lasting impact like the potential +1/+1 counter Disturbing Plot could furnish. Next in the lineup is Macabre Waltz, which recovers not one but two creatures from the graveyard to your hand and requires a discard in exchange. While Waltz deals in volume, it doesn’t interact with the battlefield or strengthen your creatures like Disturbing Plot.

In essence, while exploring the multitude of options for creature retrieval in Magic: The Gathering, Disturbing Plot holds its own with an additional layer of creature enhancement, offering strategic depth that may very well tip the scales in its favor.

Raise Dead - MTG Card versions
Unearth - MTG Card versions
Macabre Waltz - MTG Card versions
Raise Dead - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Unearth - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Macabre Waltz - Dissension (DIS)

Cards similar to Disturbing Plot by color, type and mana cost

Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Demonic Tutor - MTG Card versions
Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Word of Binding - MTG Card versions
Soul Exchange - MTG Card versions
Dry Spell - MTG Card versions
Hymn to Tourach - MTG Card versions
Mind Knives - MTG Card versions
Shattered Crypt - MTG Card versions
Disturbed Burial - MTG Card versions
Death Stroke - MTG Card versions
Exhume - MTG Card versions
Imperial Edict - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
Decompose - MTG Card versions
Chainer's Edict - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Predators' Hour - MTG Card versions
Nausea - MTG Card versions
Distress - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Demonic Tutor - Commander Masters (CMM)
Sinkhole - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Word of Binding - Renaissance (REN)
Soul Exchange - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Dry Spell - Homelands (HML)
Hymn to Tourach - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mind Knives - Portal (POR)
Shattered Crypt - Weatherlight (WTH)
Disturbed Burial - Tempest (TMP)
Death Stroke - Stronghold (STH)
Exhume - Jumpstart (JMP)
Imperial Edict - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Diabolic Intent - Planeshift (PLS)
Decompose - Odyssey (ODY)
Chainer's Edict - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Walk the Plank - The List (PLST)
Predators' Hour - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Nausea - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Distress - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Disturbing Plot MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Disturbing Plot and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Disturbing Plot has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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