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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Unravel the Ęther
Image from Wizards.com

Unravel the Ęther
- Born of the Gods

Reviewed April 25, 2014

Constructed: 3.60
Casual: 3.20
Limited: 4.20
Multiplayer: 3.20

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Unravel the AEther

Just like yesterday's card, this needs to exist because the Gods of Theros exist and are indestructible. Nothing in Magic: the Gathering is without an answer-- not Gods, not planeswalkers, not even Split Second. This one is slightly more interesting because it puts its target back into its owner's deck, where he or she might draw it again at some point. But the odds of that happening are sufficiently low (even in a format with Scry) and the time it would take to re-cast it significant enough that this is as good as exiling it in most cases.

Constructed- 3
Casual- 3
Limited- 3.5
Multiplayer- 3

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Unravel the Aether
 
So this is basically the green version of yesterday's card? In the same set? If I hadn't made that comment about sets full of obvious targets yesterday, I'd make it now. This one is perhaps less powerful in the strictest sense of the word, but let's be honest about it: we've had years to play with these sorts of shuffle or into-library effects, and how many times have you really seen them re-draw the exact same card? And that's even worse in singleton formats!
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 5/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Unravel the Aether which is a two mana Green instant that shuffles target artifact or enchantment into the owner's library.  Aside from rarity this is the same as Deglamer and is a very powerful removal option for Green as it works on Indestructible making it useful as an alternative to Naturalize.  It will see play, particularly in sidedecks and Commander, and may become a frequent sight if enchantment creatures are popular in Standard or Modern.
 
In Limited this is an obvious choice to include when running Green as one of the few removal options available and one that can dismiss a god.  In the format it is a bit more likely to see the card played again when compared to the larger decks in Constructed, but even placing a card from play on top of the opponent's deck is useful and this can effectively remove something from the game.  A solid second or third pick in Booster and automatic inclusion when running or splashing Green in Sealed.
 
 
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.5

Mattedesa

Deck Garage

Unravel the Aether

Today's card is very similar in effect to yesterday's card (Revoke Existence) in that it gets rid of artifacts and enchantments. Because of that fact alone, it's going to be useful with the plethora of enchantments out there. While both of these cards are similar, let's look at when you might want to use each one (aside from the obvious issue of which colors are you running).

Unravel the Aether is instant speed so you can get rid of the problem permanent immediately or at the end of your opponent's turn for maximum efficiency. The problem is that you only shuffled it into their library, meaning it could rise to wreak havoc again. Unless you're playing a long, drawn out game, the chances of this are small, so it's usually a worthwhile drawback. Revoke Existence is better if you are playing a long game or your opponent has ways to search their library and get their card back.

Constructed: 4
Casual: 2
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 2


Michael Sokolowski

Seem similar to yesterday's card? Today we have the other really good option in artifact and enchantment removal.
 
Unravel the Ęther has a few pros and a few cons over its competitors. Being an instant is great, letting you use it as a combat trick or just saving your mana for the end of your opponent's turn. But instead of destroying or exiling, it chooses a very different and somewhat interesting plan of attack.
 
Sending something back into the library will definitely get it off the field, that's for sure. It's gone. But for how long? Could be one turn. Could be the whole game! And therein lies the uncertainty, it's a bit of a random roll of the dice. Now statistically, they probably won't get it back soon, if at all. But what's also interesting is even if they do draw it again, they've now wasted a draw for something they already had already drawn before. Although "wasted" may be a bit of a strong word; if you're casting Unravel the Ęther on it, it's probably something dangerous you wanted very much to get rid of.
 
Exile is definitely better than shuffle into library, no question. But is returning it to the library better or worse than the standard "destroy" you'd get from Naturalize? Well, even with the risk of your opponent getting their dangerous card back, Unravel the Ęther can get rid of indestructible things, and Naturalize can't.
 
And that's pretty much in a nutshell. If you want the sure thing, but slightly slower, then run Revoke Existence. If you want the speed and combat trick potential, then run Naturalize. But if you want something sort of in the middle, which has the best of both worlds but with the additional risk that it might not be a permanent fix, then you run Unravel the Ęther. It all depends on the following question: Do you like to live... dangerously?
 
Thanks for reading my first week of card reviews! I hope you've been enjoying what I have to say, and I'm looking forward to bringing you many more breakdowns of the pros and cons of all sorts of Magic cards!
 
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3


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