Welcome back! Today I want to go over some cards with one of my favorite mechanics of all time on them: flashback! Flashback is one of the best mechanics in the game, and I don't even think that's a very subjective opinion. It's like kicker, but from the graveyard!

If my searching prowess is on point, it looks like there are 194 cards with the flashback keyword in the game. Unfortunately, there are a lot of good ones, so I'll be breaking up this list into two parts, and today we'll be looking at the first eight cards. As usual, these are going to be a combination of cards that are fan favorites, iconic staples, and competitive all-stars, so nothing is really off-limits.

Let's begin!

Ancient Grudge & Ray of Revelation

Ray of Revelation was the first of these two symmetrical cards, printed way back in Judgment. It wasn't until Time Spiral that we would see the artifact removal of Ancient Grudge, but it's really satisfying to see these symmetrical effects side by side. Green really gets some great artifact and enchantment removal in these two cards, so long as you can get them into the graveyard effectively!

Bump in the Night

Bump in the Night is not a card I expected to put on the "best flashback spells" list, but here it is. Truth is Bump has become a Constructed staple and sees a ton of play in Modern and Pauper in various aggressive and Necrodominance decks. Surprisingly, it has also only had one real printing in Innistrad back in 2011, so I'm surprised you can still get copies for about a quarter.

Call of the Herd

Call of the Herd was the gold standard in creature value. Back in the day, this card was about $30 and could be found in every deck that was running Green. Seriously, if a deck had a way to produce Green mana, it was playing some number of copies of Call of the Herd.

At the time, a 3/3 for three mana was one of the best deals you could get for a creature. While the flashback of four mana for a 3/3 wasn't as good, considering it was just a bonus creature at some future point really made Call of the Herd a force to be reckoned with.

Chainer's Edict

In the same way Call of the Herd was the gold standard for a flashback card making creature tokens, Chainer's Edict was the gold standard for a flashback removal spell. Another gem from all the way back in 2002, Chainer's Edict was often able to take out the opponent's best creature, because that was all they'd have in play when you were casting it. So if you're playing a one-for-one game, where they play a creature, and you make them sacrifice it, eventually you're just going to have numerous copies of Chainer's Edict in the graveyard waiting to do it all again. The value here was undeniable.

Deep Analysis

At four mana, you may not be surprised to hear that Deep Analysis was actually rarely cast from the hand. This was often used as discard fodder to things like Psychatog, Wild Mongrel, or Merfolk Looter, then cast from the graveyard for two mana. The payment of three life was often not super relevant, especially since even now, two cards for two mana is quite the bargain.

Dread Return

Ah, Dread Return. A card so good, it was actually banned in Modern. I'm not sure a format exists where Dread Return has been legal and hasn't been taken advantage of in some way. Historically, Dread Return has had best friends like Narcomoeba, Bridge from Below, and even the also-banned Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis.

As usual, spells that can be and often are free are almost always problematic. There's a reason both of those cards are no longer legal in Modern.

Echo of Eons

Echo of Eons sees play in a ton of Legacy combo decks, which is surprising because it costs six mana. I can't understand how Legacy decks are able to pay that much!

Then you realize that no one is ever casting Echo for six mana. The goal for Echo of Eons is to put it straight into the garbage can, preferably with Lion's Eye Diamond, then casting it with the mana produced by the Diamond. At three mana, this is literally Timetwister, which I've heard is pretty good.

Faithless Looting

Faithless Looting was another card that was banned in Modern until very recently. Now you can play it again, but don't assume that means it's any less powerful; if anything, Modern has just gotten more powerful to balance out the Looting. Faithless Looting has been an enabler for a ton of decks that either want to dig for their relevant cards or want to get numerous cards into the graveyard. Sometimes both!

As a card that sees extensive play in Pauper, Legacy, and Modern, whether you're pitching things like Arclight Phoenix or Hollow Ones and Vengevines, Faithless Looting is a powerhouse of an enabler at one mana (then again at three mana).

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!

Frank Lepore

Twitch | Bluesky | YouTube