Return to Dust is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Exile target artifact or enchantment. If you cast this spell during your main phase, you may exile up to one other target artifact or enchantment.
Complete guide
Return to Dust is a versatile white removal spell that offers a powerful two-for-one trade if timed correctly. While it functions as a standard instant, its true potential is unlocked when you use it proactively during your own turn. By understanding the timing restrictions, you can efficiently clear the board of dangerous non-creature threats.
Dual Targeting and Timing
Return to Dust allows you to exile a target artifact or enchantment at instant speed. However, if you cast the spell during your main phase, you gain the option to choose up to one additional target artifact or enchantment. This bonus is specifically tied to the act of casting the spell during your main phase; if the spell is copied or cast during another phase, you generally only get one target.
Resolution Step-by-Step
First, you cast Return to Dust and choose your primary target. If it is your main phase, you may also choose a second target. Upon resolution, the game checks if the targets are still legal. If they are, both are exiled simultaneously. If you cast it outside of your main phase, only the first target will be exiled, even if you attempted to select a second one during the targeting process.
Common Pitfalls
A frequent mistake involves copy effects. Because the bonus target only applies if you 'cast' the spell during your main phase, a copy of Return to Dust created by another ability will not exile a second target, as the copy itself was not cast. Additionally, remember that exiling is not destroying; this spell bypasses Indestructible, making it highly effective against certain types of protection.
Strategic Implementation
Deciding when to play Return to Dust depends on the threat level. While it is an instant, using it on an opponent's turn reduces its efficiency by 50%. You should weigh the immediate need to stop a combo against the value of removing two permanents later during your own main phase.
Interaction examples
During your Precombat Main Phase, you cast Return to Dust. You target an opponent's Sol Ring and their Smothering Tithe. Since you cast it during your main phase, both permanents are exiled when the spell resolves.
Generous GiftAn opponent casts Generous Gift targeting your best creature during their turn. You respond by casting Return to Dust to exile their Bolas's Citadel. Because it is not your main phase, you only exile the Citadel and cannot exile a second target, even though you might need to.
Teferi's ProtectionYou cast Return to Dust during your main phase targeting an artifact and an enchantment. In response, your opponent casts Teferi's Protection. All of their permanents phase out and 'don't exist' for the game engine. When Return to Dust tries to resolve, its targets are illegal, and it is removed from the stack with no effect.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Return to Dust
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Return to Dust can always target a second artifact or enchantment; it just won't exile it if it's not your main phase when you cast Return to Dust.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell or ability copies Return to Dust, the copy exiles only the first target artifact or enchantment. This is because the copy wasn't cast at all.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Return to Dust
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.