Flight of Fancy and Graveyard Recursion: A Blue Combo Guide

In TCG ·

Flight of Fancy card art from Ultimate Masters

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Blue Path to Graveyard Recursion with Flight of Fancy

Blue mana has always thrived on drawing, tempo, and clever reuse of resources. Flight of Fancy, a humble aura from Ultimate Masters, is a perfect prism for exploring a graveyard-focused strategy that still keeps your board pressure intact. With a mana cost of {3}{U} and the aura’s simple, elegant text—“Enchant creature. When this enters, draw two cards. Enchanted creature has flying.”—you’re handed a compact engine: draw two for the price of one aura, while your creature flies over blockers. It’s the kind of card that invites a playful, puzzle-like approach to deckbuilding 🧙‍♂️🔥💎.

Graveyard recursion in blue isn’t a flashy melee of overkill; it’s a cerebral game of recycling resources, reusing spells, and reaping value from the graveyard over time. The idea is to build a pipeline where Flight of Fancy can be re-floated back into play after it leaves the battlefield, either by blinking, reanimating, or returning cards from the graveyard to hand. In a world where control is king, a well-timed re-use lets you chain +2-card bursts, maintain air superiority with flying threats, and steadily out-value your opponents as the game unfolds 🧪🎲.

Core concepts you can lean on

  • Flight of Fancy as a repeated draw engine: Each successful entry triggers two fresh cards, and when paired with effects that amplify ETB triggers, your card advantage compounds in a hurry ⛏️.
  • Flicker and blink tactics: Effects that blink Flight of Fancy off the battlefield (and back onto the battlefield) can re-trigger its ETB ability, creating a swingy draw engine. If you tempo-lock or double that ETB with a perpetual blink, you’re stacking draws faster than you might realize 🪄.
  • Doubling ETB with a coordinating centerpiece: A strategy often centers a card that doubles ETB triggers for permanents you control. This can turn a single Entry trigger into multiple draws, compounding your advantage over the course of several turns 🔁.
  • Graveyard recursion as a path to sustainment: In blue, you can leverage spells and effects that move cards from graveyard back into your hand or onto the battlefield, letting you re-cast Flight of Fancy or re-create its value later in the game. The target isn’t limited to instants or sorceries; think in terms of effects that reclaim or reanimate enchantments and other permanents when possible, keeping your plan alive long after the initial cast 💎⚔️.

Practical combo path: blink, recur, and soar

A classic blueprint is to combine Flight of Fancy with a blue blink engine and a facilitator that doubles ETB triggers. Start by enchanting a dependable creature on your side of the board. Cast Flight of Fancy, letting you draw two cards as soon as it resolves. If you’ve got a way to blink (for example, a Ghostly Flicker-style spell or a similar effect) and a source that doubles ETB events, you’ll trigger multiple draws on every blink. Add a commander or artifact that doubles ETB triggers—think of Panharmonicon as a theoretical engine—and your card-draw velocity climbs rapidly. This is where graveyard recursion quietly shines: when Flight of Fancy ends up in the graveyard, you’ve got blue options to pull it back to your hand or onto the battlefield again, letting the loop continue into the late game 🧙‍♀️🎨.

Picture a turn where you blink the aura, re-entering the battlefield and attaching to the same flying creature. The aura re-enters, its ETB triggers again, you draw two more cards, and if you’ve set up a doubling effect, you’re netting four or more cards from a single aura’s entrance. Keep this going by recurring Flight of Fancy from the graveyard through blue graveyard-recovery spells, and you’ve built a platform that not only draws you ahead but also keeps your opponent guessing which threat will leap into the air next ⚔️.

Deck-building notes and practical tips

  • Protect your engine: Flight of Fancy is a fragile asset. Prioritize counterspells, bounce effects, and ways to protect the aura from removal while you assemble the blink-and-dounce loop 🛡️.
  • Optimize your mana curve: With a mana cost of {3}{U}, you’ll want reliable blue ramp or cantrips to reach your critical turns consistently. Plan for a healthy density of card draw and cantrips to fuel the recursive play you’re aiming for 🎲.
  • Include flexible recursion tools: Blues’ best gains come from spells that reclaim cards from the graveyard or reanimate them onto the battlefield. Structure your suite so you can re-buy Flight of Fancy when you need it, without overcommitting to any single line of play 🌊.
  • Fly high with a flying threat base: Since the enchanted creature gains flying, pairing Flight of Fancy with a reliable evasive beater helps you maintain pressure while you grind through cards 🪶.
  • Mind the long game: The beauty of this approach is the gradual accrual of advantage. Don’t rush; let the recursion engine breathe, draw, and present threats that demand answers. Blue decks excel at tempo, but when you’re stacking a graveyard recursion loop, you’re executing a patient, artful plan 🎨.

Flavor, art, and the thrill of the riddle

The Ultimate Masters version of Flight of Fancy carries Glen Angus’s art with a flavor text that reads, “The view from above is an inspiration to the newly winged.” It’s a reminder that magic isn’t just about raw numbers—it’s about perspective, tempo, and the joy of seeing a plan take flight. When you weave graveyard recursion into a blue shell, you’re embracing a classic MTG vibe: control the pace, outdraw the opponent, and savor the moment when your flying centerpiece finally clears the last obstacle 🧙‍♂️🔥💎.

If you’re chasing a practical, not-quite-infinite but very real draw engine that respects the blue toolkit, Flight of Fancy is a delightful anchor. It invites you to experiment with blink synergy, ETB-doubling potential, and the satisfying twist of recapturing a card from the graveyard to fuel another turn of advantage. It’s the kind of card that makes veteran players smile and new players marvel at how many fresh cards you can see in a single moment 🎲.

As you sketch out your blue control deck with graveyard recursion in mind, remember that the best lines often combine multiple layers: a reliable aura, a blink engine, a doubling effect, and a path to bring the card back from the graveyard when you need it most. If you nail these pieces together, Flight of Fancy can become a centerpiece that fires up both your brain and your board state—quite literally lifting your strategy to new heights ⚔️.

Ready to level up your setup? Explore the gear that can accompany your MTG journey and consider how a well-constructed blue recursion plan can elevate your matches. And if you’re curious to see what the wider MTG world is talking about, dive into the five curated reads below; they each explore space, perception, and strategy in ways that echo the curiosity that drives every spell you cast 🎲🎨🧙‍♂️.

Neon Desk Mouse Pad — Customizable One-Sided Print (0.12in Thick)

More from our network