Who doesn't love drawing more cards. One Blue? Instant? Doesn't get any better than this!
xvrock
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(4 votes)
*** Nice Card... IMBA!
stygimoloch
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(6 votes)
Wait wait wait... ass is blocked and *** isn't? *facepalm*
Guest57443454
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(5 votes)
The most overpowered of cards printed in Alpha, and it formed a cycle with Healing Salve of all cards...
Mr_Hendry
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(10 votes)
It may have established blue's drawing theme and as a boon made sense but I just don't understand why it was made so absolutely powerful. It just doesn't make sense for a card to exist like this. However, in Vintage it is absurdely cool that you are allowed to play with a max of one of these in your deck, that is if you own one, which I don't.
I read that Richard Garfield's justification for rare cards like this and Black Lotus was that he assumed only a few would exist in any given region and no one would ever get their hands on more than one of them. Of course this underestimated the popularity of the game and human nature to horde things.
redwinedrummer
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(7 votes)
Use with Isochron Scepter for power card advantage. Sure, there's a one mana drawback, but a 2cc instant to draw three? Sold!
SlackWareWolf
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(8 votes)
Richard Garfield said once that the reason he was OK with the Power 9 was that he didn't think the game would get as big as it did. He basically thought it would stay small so it wouldn't matter much. The part about finding them wasn't all it.
Heh, if you think it's powerful in Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited, did you know that in Gamma, the set before Alpha (Playtest set) Ancestral Recall and Time Walk were BOTH COMMONS? That is correct, this and Time Walk, as Commons.
mrbgddy
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
One of my top 5 favorite cards of all time! Drawing 3 cards as an instant for one mana is NEVER useless, and pond for pound this might be the MOST mana efficient spell of all time. All the hardcore players know that blue is the color of choice (as long as your format allows the big blue!)
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(17 votes)
"Force opponent to draw three cards." As in, you must hold him down and control his appendages, forcing him to pick up three cards by moving and pinching his hand with your own.
Honestly, I don't think he'd need much prompting.
Watchingwolf51
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(21 votes)
sick combo: island + ancestral recall.
Beekhead
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Arguably the best card ever printed in Magic: the Gathering.
Pinsir52
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(9 votes)
Strictly worse than Ancestral Vision.
Chosen_of_the_Dark_Sun
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
@Pinsir52: Wrong, it's actually the other way around. While Ancestral Vision does have a CMC of 0, as one isn't listed, that does not mean it costs 0 to play. As there is no mana cost listed on Vision, you can't play it from your hand, as you can't pay a non-existent cost. This means that the only way to play Ancestral Vision is to either cheat it out (which will probably cost you more than it would to just pay U for Recall) or use the Suspend cost, which is, surprise surprise, the same amount of mana it costs to play Ancestral Recall. Long story short, Recall is better because in the end they're going to cost you the same amount of mana, but Recall comes into effect when you pay the cost while Visions goes off four turns later. Ancestral Vision was printed pretty much for the sole purpose of making a balanced version of Ancestral Recall.
Lestat13
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(6 votes)
@Chosen_of_the_Dark_Sun
It's called a joke, ***got.
Pontiac
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
My most favorite card of all time, out of all the power 9 I sold, Ancestral Recall is the one I miss the most.
WilloftheLisp
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
"Richard, don't you think it's a bit overpo-"
"LALALA CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALAL..."
Necropsy
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Strictly worse than Storm Crow. Unless used to draw Storm Crows.
Norrinthewary
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Type your comment here.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I gave this a .5/5 stars because it shows how "slow" wizards are. Yes this was among the first cards, but give me a day of testing and I would put my foot down.
Im guessing they wanted to start out there business by making everyone tear threw as much booster packs as they could to get these, Time Walk and Black Lotus. Unless you like loosing to your friends who have a smug attitude while beating you with these cards. It was either you had a deck stacked (no 4 card rule) with these things or you lost, and the only way to get em was to rip someone off or tear threw more booster backs, well played.
Yeah its worth way more now, but thats just because you people cant stop tearing threw them booster packs.
AND TO THE GUYS WHO CLAIM THEY WERE UNAWARE OF HOW POWERFUL THIS WAS..... The first time you cast it you can see how good it is... they had 3 sets of testing before they released Alpha to the public. This was the only card of the 1cc spell cycle that was bumped up to rare obviously because they figured out theres no way they can keep it at common. My hunch is they just had to have that "3" cycle symmetry, or they were playing for big money. Maby a little bit of both. They played there game many times before this was launched they were well aware.
Ihateworking
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I am one of the lucky(and I mean lucky) few to own an Alpha Ancestral Recall in decent shape.
SIlverSkyz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Type your comment here.
Kurraga
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is immensely powerful. You could build a deck around trying to reccur this thing as many times as possible. Also best card in the game in my oppinion (suck it Black Lotus).
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Commenting on Every Card in Gatherer this weekend ^_^
Because I'm bored and as one commentor on Desert said, I have too much time on my hands.
Ancestral Recall is ludicrously ridiculous. There's no way to balance the Boon cycle while you are still trying to Draw three cards at once. If I was going to Restart Magic, I'd try to pick a different effect for the Blue Boon.
Most Blue things don't really work for well as 3-for-1 though, from a Development perspective. :P
{U}: Target creature gets -3/-0 until end of turn.
This would actually go very nicely with Healing Salve, Giant Growth, and Lightning Bolt. I might also suggest making the call that Lightning Bolt be divided into two cards, and the Black Bolt hits players and the Red Bolt hits creatures. That would really make the cycle feel VERY interconnected! :D
With Bump in the Night, while a one-mana instant 3-damage to player in Black would be really powerful, it doesn't sound insane?
Either that, or else leave Lightning Bolt how it is, and make the Black Boon: "Pay 3 life: Search your library for a Black card and reveal it, then put it into your hand."
EGarrett01
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
He's gotta FEVER. And the only PRESCRlPTION...is YOU DRAWIN' A STUPID AMOUNT OF CARDS.
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This and his friend Time walk are sure to get Snappy restricted in Vintage
Very close race between this and Lotus for top card, although this gets my vote
5/5 Stars
Ibn_Shisha
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Come on, force me to draw 3 cards. I can take it.
TheManakinTransfer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
For each of this cycle, imagine if you will the effect that would occur if instead of 3 occuring it was instead 2. Lightning Bolt already has shock, Healing Salve would become even less efficient, Giant Growth would become quite weak and Dark Ritualwould still be playable. However if this was instead draw 2 cards instead of 3, it would still be banned in nearly every single format. That level of power still hasn't been printed on a 1cmc blue card since this. THAT is how powerful Ancestral is.
BongRipper420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is absolutely bonkers. Bonkers, I tell you.
SevesDariku
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
And to think I run Concentrate in about all my EDH decks with blue. 4 mana for 3 cards at sorcery speed? My my, that sounds nice!
1 mana for three cards at instant speed? Hah! You're joking right? ...right?
Comments (29)
I read that Richard Garfield's justification for rare cards like this and Black Lotus was that he assumed only a few would exist in any given region and no one would ever get their hands on more than one of them. Of course this underestimated the popularity of the game and human nature to horde things.
Heh, if you think it's powerful in Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited, did you know that in Gamma, the set before Alpha (Playtest set) Ancestral Recall and Time Walk were BOTH COMMONS? That is correct, this and Time Walk, as Commons.
Honestly, I don't think he'd need much prompting.
It's called a joke, ***got.
"LALALA CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALAL..."
Unless used to draw Storm Crows.
Im guessing they wanted to start out there business by making everyone tear threw as much booster packs as they could to get these, Time Walk and Black Lotus. Unless you like loosing to your friends who have a smug attitude while beating you with these cards. It was either you had a deck stacked (no 4 card rule) with these things or you lost, and the only way to get em was to rip someone off or tear threw more booster backs, well played.
Yeah its worth way more now, but thats just because you people cant stop tearing threw them booster packs.
AND TO THE GUYS WHO CLAIM THEY WERE UNAWARE OF HOW POWERFUL THIS WAS.....
The first time you cast it you can see how good it is... they had 3 sets of testing before they released Alpha to the public. This was the only card of the 1cc spell cycle that was bumped up to rare obviously because they figured out theres no way they can keep it at common. My hunch is they just had to have that "3" cycle symmetry, or they were playing for big money. Maby a little bit of both. They played there game many times before this was launched they were well aware.
Because I'm bored and as one commentor on Desert said, I have too much time on my hands.
Ancestral Recall is ludicrously ridiculous. There's no way to balance the Boon cycle while you are still trying to Draw three cards at once. If I was going to Restart Magic, I'd try to pick a different effect for the Blue Boon.
Most Blue things don't really work for well as 3-for-1 though, from a Development perspective. :P
{U}:
Target creature gets -3/-0 until end of turn.
This would actually go very nicely with Healing Salve, Giant Growth, and Lightning Bolt. I might also suggest making the call that Lightning Bolt be divided into two cards, and the Black Bolt hits players and the Red Bolt hits creatures. That would really make the cycle feel VERY interconnected! :D
With Bump in the Night, while a one-mana instant 3-damage to player in Black would be really powerful, it doesn't sound insane?
Either that, or else leave Lightning Bolt how it is, and make the Black Boon: "Pay 3 life: Search your library for a Black card and reveal it, then put it into your hand."
Very close race between this and Lotus for top card, although this gets my vote
5/5 Stars
4 mana for 3 cards at sorcery speed? My my, that sounds nice!
1 mana for three cards at instant speed? Hah! You're joking right?
...right?