Thrilling Encore- MTG Card Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

I’d like to make yet another professional wrestling reference here, but I’m not sure there’s one that’s really applicable. Maybe something about a dark match, where people who may have been on the show compete in matches that don’t affect the ongoing storylines? I don’t know; get back to me after! 

In a superficial comparison to a card like Rise from the Grave, Thrilling Encore seems to come out way ahead. Of course, it takes an awful lot of mana and the exact right support cards to reliably reanimate multiple creatures in one turn, which probably makes that specific use more of a trick for the likes of Commander. I wouldn’t overlook its other uses, though. Consider, for example, using it as a sort of super-combat trick. An unfavorable combat step can be entirely undone, and worse, a combat step that involved lots of trades can be turned into a brand new group with which to alpha strike the next turn. And of course, in multiplayer games, you can effectively get someone else to spend the mana for you. There are few things more demoralizing than when a person uses a Wrath of God effect that they expect to be game-winning, only to hand you all the creatures on the table at once!

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 5/5
EDH/Commander: 5/5

This is a nifty little reanimation spell. You get back all creatures, regardless of who owned them, if they died that turn and are still dead. While five mana is kinda awkward in terms of its pricing, it certainly fits well with the Two-Headed Giant theme (ally nukes stuff, you get it back), and it also can work in Commander and other multiplayer games. It’s way too awkward to work in Legacy, but it can make for some fun times at your kitchen table.

Constructed: 1.75
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 4.75
Commander: 4.25