As has been proven time and time again, sometimes the splashiest cards aren’t the ones that MTG players need to worry about. All it takes is a cheap spell that’s a little too efficient to cause massive mayhem in any MTG format. Hopeless Nightmare in Standard was a good example of this, as the card looked innocuous at first glance. That said, when partnered with bounce effects like Nurturing Pixie, Hopeless Nightmare did far too much and had to leave the format.
Despite many cards getting an early ban because of these overpowered bounce synergies, a new Avatar uncommon threatens to allow these strategies to rise up again. Due to its extreme versatility, it could even have an impact on formats as deep as Legacy.
Boomerang Basics
For one mana, Boomerang Basics lets you return a nonland permanent to its owner’s hand, offering card draw should you return your own. This should already draw some parallels with Bloomburrow’s infamous Into the Flood Maw, another one-mana spell that can arguably do Boomerang Basics’ job better at instant speed.
That said, these cards play slightly different roles. Into the Flood Maw is better at interacting with your opponent, but it cannot affect anything on your board in return. Boomerang Basics, in comparison, can bounce anything that Flood Maw can, albeit at Sorcery speed, but also creates value plays when bouncing your own permanents.
Because of this, Standard players have already highlighted the potential of Boomerang Basics combined with Stormchaser’s Talent. Not only will you get to create another Otter Token, but Boomerang Basics essentially grants two extra Prowess triggers for your creatures, and even replaces itself, fuelling the Prowess synergies further.
Other cards with cheap entry effects can also become more valuable with Boomerang Basics. Bouncing something like Overlord of the Balemurk in Sultai Reanimator, for example, gives you a ton of extra looks for your combo pieces, and fills your graveyard out further. You can also use Basics to bounce hate pieces like Ghost Vaccum to clear the way for your combo turn.
All of this potential on a card that can also get rid of a nasty permanent on your opponent’s board if necessary makes Boomerang Basics extremely interesting for formats that are interested in Nurturing Pixie-esque shenanigans. That said, Boomerang Basics’ usefulness goes beyond that in some specific strategies in Modern and Legacy.
Removal and Cantrip for Combo Decks
Just like how Standard players are excited for Boomerang Basics, some Modern and Legacy players are also looking at the card. The card plays a slightly different role in those formats thanks to how efficient mana is in specific decks.
While 8-Mox decks are a bit less popular in Modern right now, they are still putting up decent placings in the format. For a period of time, these decks played Repeal as a piece of interaction that can also essentially turn into a free piece of card draw. Just bounce a Mox Opal or Amber for one mana, draw a card, and recast your artifact to get your mana back.
Boomerang Basics does the same thing, but it can bounce any problematic lock piece your opponent has for just one mana. This could allow the card to see play in the new Song of Creation Weapons Manufacturing combo deck that’s starting to pick up steam, or could similarly see play in Prowess decks, depending on meta developments.
Basics does the same thing in Legacy, but it’s even more effective. This card naturally slots into Legacy Storm decks that have their own moxen. Due to the format’s speed, hate pieces are a lot more commonly played to stop fast decks like Storm, meaning that the effect Boomerang Basics provides is a lot more valuable. Basics also essentially provides an extra two Storm if used to recur your own Moxen, which is incredibly impactful with Tendrils of Agony available as a win condition.
Not Great in Every Format
If there’s one place where Boomerang Basics may not see a lot of play, it’s Commander. In a deck with lots of Moxen effects that’s trying to win quickly, like Ral, Monsoon Mage in cEDH, Boomerang Basics could make an appearance. Outside of this, however, the card doesn’t slow opponents down nearly enough. Most Commander games are exceptionally grindy, making temporary setbacks or windows that this card creates a lot less valuable than in competitive play.
Despite this, Boomerang Basics looks like an incredible tool for competitive decks to play with. It’s a one-mana temporary answer to anything, and it can easily recycle itself into some form of value in the right deck. This is everything that a one-mana card needs to succeed and, while it’s not guaranteed to impact anything, it certainly has a good chance.
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