First printed in Time Spiral (2006)
All 16 prints
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Secret Lair Drop (SLD) #2564, 2026
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Commander Masters (CMM) #153, 2023
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Commander Masters (CMM) #637, 2023
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Dominaria Remastered (DMR) #302, 2023
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Dominaria Remastered (DMR) #80, 2023
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Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K) #200, 2022
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Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K) #200★, 2022
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Time Spiral Remastered (TSR) #111, 2021
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Double Masters (2XM) #89, 2020
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The List (PLST) #DDQ-55, 2019
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Magic Online Promos (PRM) #60482, 2017 (digital)
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Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed (DDQ) #55, 2016
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Commander 2014 (C14) #142, 2014
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Premium Deck Series: Graveborn (PD3) #23, 2011
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Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0) #A41, 2010 (digital)
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Time Spiral (TSP) #104, 2006
Dread Return 
Sorcery
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Flashback—Sacrifice three creatures. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Those who forget the horrors of the past are doomed to re-meet them.
- Illustrated by
- Kev Walker
Legality
- Legal in
- Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Commander, Duel Commander, Pauper Commander, PreDH, Oathbreaker
- Banned in
- Modern
- Not legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Future Standard, Historic, Timeless, Alchemy, Penny Dreadful, Premodern, Old School 93/94, Gladiator, Tiny Leaders, Brawl, Standard Brawl, Competitive Brawl
Rulings (7)
- To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a flashback cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
- You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card's type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using flashback only when you could normally cast a sorcery.
- "Flashback [cost]" means "You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack."
- If a card with flashback is put into your graveyard during your turn, you can cast it if it's legal to do so before any other player can take any actions.
- You can cast a spell using flashback even if it was somehow put into your graveyard without having been cast.
- A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way.
- You choose the target for Dread Return before paying any of its costs, so it's not possible to cast it using flashback and bring back one of the creatures you sacrifice.
Prices
MTGO price: 0.09 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 28 Oct 2026).
Staple
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Legacy staples:
main deck, 2% of decks (#221)
Black, Sorceries, Recursion -
Pauper staples:
main deck, 4% of decks (#125)
Black, Sorceries, Recursion
Last 120 days of MTGO results and paper tournaments.
Combos
34 combos, the most popular first:
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage + Viscera Seer
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Ashnod's Altar + Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage
- Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB…: Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage + Goblin Bombardment
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage + Phyrexian Altar
- Infinite self-mill, Win the game: Cephalid Illusionist + Dread Return + Narcomoeba + Nomads en-Kor + Thassa's Oracle
- Infinite black mana, Infinite death triggers…: Dread Return + Sacrifice + Scholar of the Ages
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Altar of Dementia + Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage
- Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite creature ETB…: Carrion Feeder + Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Dread Return + Dualcaster Mage + Umbral Collar Zealot
- Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite black mana…: Burnt Offering + Dread Return + Scholar of the Ages
