Ritual of the Returned MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Instant |
| Released | 2014-05-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Journey into Nyx |
| Set code | JOU |
| Number | 80 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Zack Stella |
Key Takeaways
- Grants a second life to creature cards, translating graveyard contents into potent board presence.
- Demands strategic play due to discard and specific mana costs, rewarding foresight in deck construction.
- Despite cost, it offers a robust response in the right decks within the MTG meta.
Text of card
Exile target creature card from your graveyard. Put a black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield. Its power is equal to that card's power and its toughness is equal to that card's toughness.
A mask forged to avenge a death forgotten.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ritual of the Returned scores by converting a creature card from your graveyard into a formidable 2/2 black Zombie token. This transformative ability does wonders as it not only utilizes your graveyard resources effectively but also swells your board presence, tipping the scales massively in your favor during the grind of a long game.
Resource Acceleration: This sorcery pushes the limits of resource acceleration through its essence. By reanimating a previously defeated creature, it essentially gives you a double dip into your card investments, squeezing out every drop of value. This is a strategic boon, leveraging the resources you have while conserving your hand.
Instant Speed: While Ritual of the Returned operates at sorcery speed, its strategic placement in your rotation can be as critical as any instant. Strategize your graveyard lineup and pace the casting in sync with your game plan, making the revival of your creatures a powerful and unexpected move that can parallel the flexibility of an instant in the right circumstances.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Ritual of the Returned insists on a player discarding a card as part of its casting cost. This demand can deplete your hand, particularly detrimental when battling with a limited arsenal or when every card in hand is crucial to your game plan.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost necessitates black mana, which confines its inclusion to black-centric or black-compatible decks. If your strategy doesn’t prominently feature black mana, integrating Ritual of the Returned could pose consistency challenges.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The four mana required to cast Ritual of the Returned is uptick relative to other options in the format. Given the competitive nature of the game, investing a full turn’s worth of resources into this spell might not always align with the efficient allocation of your mana, particularly when facing off against decks designed to operate at peak performance with lower-cost spells and strategies.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Ritual of the Returned offers flexibility in deck building, fitting into strategies that capitalize on graveyard manipulation or instant-speed interaction.
Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with high-powered creatures in the graveyard, translating into an efficient way to create potent token copies on the battlefield.
Meta-Relevance: Given the current state where graveyard decks are pervasive, Ritual of the Returned serves as a robust response or accelerant within such archetypes, maintaining relevance in diverse play environments.
How to beat
Ritual of the Returned is a card that illustrates the resourceful nature of graveyard strategies in Magic: the Gathering. When playing against a deck that employs Ritual of the Returned, timing and disruption are key to overcome its strategic advantage. It’s crucial to hinder your opponent’s graveyard from growing rich with potential targets for the ritual.
Graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus can be invaluable in your sideboard, as their ability to exile graveyards disrupts the entire strategy behind Ritual of the Returned. Similarly, counterspells or instant-speed removal can be timed to intercept the creation of the Zombie token before it can make an impact on the battlefield. Strategies that involve exiling cards directly from your opponent’s graveyard, such as with Scavenging Ooze, are also strong measures against Ritual of the Returned.
By keeping the graverobbing strategies at bay and attacking the core mechanics that Ritual of the Returned relies on, you can effectively neutralize its advantages and maintain control over the game. Keeping your wits about card interaction will serve you well in these matchups.
Cards like Ritual of the Returned
Ritual of the Returned finds its niche within the black spells of Magic: The Gathering that focus on reanimating creatures from the graveyard. This card converts a creature card from your graveyard into a black Zombie creature token, while also factoring in that creature’s power. A direct comparison can be drawn to the card Zombify, which also brings back creatures from the graveyard but differs by returning the exact creature to the battlefield rather than a token representation. Another related card is Animate Dead; however, while it resurrects creatures at a lower cost, it weakens the revived creature – a drawback that Ritual of the Returned sidesteps by using the creature’s full power for the token.
Examining the dynamics of Exhume, yet another reanimation spell, its symmetric effect can be double-edged, benefitting both players. Ritual of the Returned avoids this by solely focusing on the caster’s graveyard. Goryo’s Vengeance is a faster, albeit temporary solution, offering speed but not the permanence that Ritual of the Returned’s token ensures.
Ultimately, each of these cards has its situational advantages, but for players seeking to exploit the power of their graveyard for token creation, Ritual of the Returned holds its ground with its unique offer in the realm of reanimation spells.
Cards similar to Ritual of the Returned by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ritual of the Returned MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx, 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 Ritual of the Returned and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ritual of the Returned has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ritual of the Returned card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-04-26 | If the creature card leaves the graveyard in response to Ritual of the Returned, Ritual of the Returned won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won't get a Zombie token. |
| 2014-04-26 | Use the creature card's power and toughness as it last existed in the graveyard to determine the power and toughness of the Zombie token. |
