The Best Bounce Spells in Magic: The Gathering Standard
With the release of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Earthbending mechanic has completely reshaped how we look at mana bases.
For those who haven’t faced it yet, Earthbending allows a player to turn a land into a 0/0 creature with haste and a stack of +1/+1 counters. The scary part? If you kill it or exile it, the land comes right back to the battlefield tapped. It’s resilient, annoying, and everywhere.
But here is something that can help you better deal with these decks; bounce spells are the kryptonite to Earthbending.
When you cast an Unsummon on an Earthbent land, it doesn’t die. It doesn’t get exiled. It goes back to the opponent’s hand. Because it didn’t die, their recursive safety net doesn’t trigger.
You have effectively cast a one-mana Stone Rain. You removed their creature and you set them back a land drop. In a format defined by tempo, forcing your opponent to spend turn five replaying a tapland they played on turn one is absolutely devastating.
Whether you’re looking for responses to Earthbending deck or just on the lookout for some great bounce spells, here are my choices you need to be playing in Standard right now.
Into the Flood Maw
If you are playing Blue, you start your list with four copies of this card. Period. Coming out of Bloomburrow, Into the Flood Maw has become the gold standard for efficient interaction.
For a single Blue mana, you can bounce any nonland permanent. Opponent has a Sheoldred? Gone. A Temporary Lockdown? Gone. The drawback is that if you target an opponent’s permanent, you gift them a tapped 1/1 Fish token.
Don’t let the fish scare you. In a game where people are dropping 6/6 dragons or Earthbending 5/5 lands, a 1/1 fish is a negligible price to pay for unconditional, one-mana removal.
The financial market agrees with me here, foil copies of this card are skyrocketing because it’s seeing play in Modern and Pioneer.
Unsummon
Sometimes, you just can’t beat the classics. With its inclusion in Foundations, Unsummon is legal in Standard until at least 2029.
While Into the Flood Maw is flashy, Unsummon is surgical. It only hits creatures, but it has zero downside. In the current Dimir Midrange mirror matches, games are often decided by who can protect their Kaito, Bane of Nightmares the best.
Unsummon doubles as a protection spell; you can bounce your own creature in response to removal without giving your opponent a fish. Plus, bouncing an Earthbent land for one mana with this card feels great.
Boomerang Basics
From the Avatar: The Last Airbender set, we get a card that speaks to my combo-loving heart. Boomerang Basics is a Sorcery that bounces a nonland permanent.
The Sokka flavor here is on point, but the text box is where the money is. If you bounce your own permanent, you draw a card. This turns the spell into an engine.
In deck builds focusing on enters the battlefield triggers, like Spyglass Siren or Three Steps Ahead tokens, this card lets you re-buy your best effects while digging deeper into your deck.
Whoosh!
Yes, that is the actual name of the card. Coming from the Marvel’s Spider-Man set, Whoosh! is essentially a reprint of the classic Into the Roil, but with Spidey art.
It costs two mana at base to bounce a nonland permanent. But the Kicker cost is what makes it a mid-game staple. If you have the extra mana, you can kick it to draw a card.
In control matchups, maintaining card parity is everything. Being able to remove a threat and replace the card in your hand allows you to keep your shields up for the next turn. It’s not the most efficient spell on this list, but it is often the one that wins you the long game.
Summon: Leviathan
We’re going big for the final entry. From the Final Fantasy set, Summon: Leviathan is a massive Saga creature.
When this enchantment enters the battlefield, it bounces every creature that isn’t a sea monster (Kraken, Leviathan, Octopus, etc.).
In a board stall, this is your I Win button. It clears the blockers, resets the opponent’s Earthbent lands, and leaves you with a 6/6 body that draws cards whenever your sea monsters attack.
If you are building a Simic ramp deck, this is the top-end payoff you want. It turns a fair game of Magic into a one-sided beatdown instantly.
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