Mystic Retrieval – Innistrad Remastered
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.37
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.63
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Mystic Retrieval does exactly what the name implies – and there are spellslinger decks where the key cards are good enough to justify having a card whose only job is to set up a second casting. Of course, that’s not every spellslinger deck; for example, those built around casting the low-mana value cantrips would rather just have more of those. That’s probably why it’s never made a major splash in constructed, but it’s certainly good enough for rogue strategies or brewers. When used at the right time and in the right deck, it’s just as effective as any other Regrowth variant, and often just as demoralizing. It’s also so elegant that I’m surprised it’s never been paired with a similar one for permanents (maybe green with a white flashback cost?).
Like many niche cards, Mystic Retrieval has helped many people design cubes with specific goals, and it has a particularly notable role in the briefly viral format Forgetful Fish, where some people errata it to be able to return Dandan from the graveyard. That makes me wonder why some fan formats and cubes are so vehemently opposed to errata or special rules. There’s one that’s bothered me ever since Ikoria Standard: I still maintain that some of the original companions are not at all broken with the original rule.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Spell recursion can be a pretty interesting effect to have access to, and Mystic Retrieval has the wrinkle of letting you eventually get two spells. The main downside is that seven mana is an investment, and each half alone is not trivial…the interesting wrinkle, though, is that the flashback being red opens up something red rarely gets access to.
This is by no means phenomenal, but it’s an efficient enough way to smooth out a deck’s consistency if you’re relying on spells for your gameplan. It has a clear home, and it does shine if you can pull the cost of it down, but if you need it at full price, it can function in a pinch.
Constructed: 2.5 (I think it’s too pricey for recursion to make it where it’s legal)
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.25
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
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