Hello Happy People! I hope that you are having an amazing 2022 so far! Today is my first 2022 Top Ten article, and I wanted to bring you my Top Ten Choices for bounce spells in the format!

Here are the Rules for Type Four:

• You have an infinite amount of mana for anything.
• You can only cast one spell per turn.
• If you cast a spell with an alternate cost (like pitching a spell to cast Force of Will) then it does not count as your spell for the turn.

In this metagame, counters, beef, mass removal and bounce are all key ways to interact with the board! Most of the bounce spells below are pretty cheap, save for #1, (with a few exceptions) and cost very little to acquire on the secondary market.

Last week I looked at the Top Ten non-free counterspells in the format. I included three counters that counter target spell and bounce something at the same time quite ably - Lost in the Mist, Cryptic Command, and Very Cryptic Command. If I included them in today's bounce list, they would hit at #6 overall, but I have removed them in order to prevent redundancy and spend time on other bounce spells.

Ready for the deep dive into bounce-ery?

Honorable Mention #1. Rescind

Hitting at #12 overall is this cycling bounce spell. Note that it will bounce any permanent from lands to planeswalkers about to ultimate off. The benefit of cycling in this format cannot be overemphasized since it's a mana free to cycle, and you can dig for something else if the Boomerang isn't needed. We run loads of cyclers since it's a low cost. I have never cycled this card, since bounce is so valuable in this format, especially at instant speed. But I have seen foes do so trying to find a counter or a creature on a naked board to kill off a wounded foe. Good stuff!

Honorable Mention #2. Time Out

This silver-bordered card is an essential card for bouncing effects. Note that this is an instant bounce spell for the masses that will bounce any non-land permanent and reload it to your foe's deck, which makes this card neutral. You toss a d6 and that's how many cards down it goes. Even a 1 is fine since it gets tucked under the top spell. That random factor is why it's here at #11 overall but it's quite fun!

#10. Wipe Away

Beginning our Top Ten proper is this split second card! It can bounce anything, even a land. With split second, it cannot be traditionally answered since no spells can be cast until it resolves. Unlike normal "Cannot be countered" cards, this cannot be answered by "counters" that exile rather than counter, like Time Stop or Ertai's Meddling. Good! Unlike those, this still can be countered by things which are not spells, like morphing up Voidmage Apprentice or cycling Decree of Silence. I've never seen that combo happen before, but it's nice to know that it still has answers in the Type Four World, just a different sort of answer. This is our highest-scoring Boomerang effect that is not card advantage of some sort. Here you go!

#9. Recoil

This common from the much beloved Invasion is a powerhouse in casual formats like Commander, Five Color, and of course, Type Four as well! As you can see, it will bounce any permanent back to its owner's hand, and then they discard a card, making this a card neutral spell as you trade Recoil for the discard. Ideally, this has the power of an instant Desert Twister in Dimir colors as if your foe has no hand, they discard what was bounced, but given the casting one spell restriction of the format, this is something that rarely happens here, making this just a discard of their worst card. It is a fun effect here though!

#8. Cantripping Bounce Instants - Repeal AND Blink of an Eye AND Into the Roil AND Repulse

There are a full four cards in this category, and they are all instant bounce spells that replace themselves, which means that they are card neutrality, much like Recoil above only here you trade the instant cast with the card drawn by yourself which makes this a free tempo spell that sets your foe back a turn without spending mana doing so! This quartet is pretty strong with the tempo-ish nature of bounce effects. Enjoy it!

#7. Mystic Confluence

This has the flexibility of Cryptic Command from the counter list last week. You can, at instant speed, do three things, but the Mana Leak won't counter anything, so what this does instead is bounce up to three things which can set back folks deeply, bounce two and replace itself, draw three cards when the bounce isn't needed, or bounce once and draw twice. In a multiplayer game of Type Four this scales up from an Unsummon to bouncing a lot of threats. In duels, this usually just serves as a card-drawing powerhouse, that sets your foe back and punches above its weight! It's back here at the seven spot since it cannot counter and it only bounces a dork.

#6. Aetherspouts with a shout out to Aetherize

Hello happy bounce fans! This twosome of terror is great at the bouncing of attackers, and it they will bounce away stuff that is swinging. The 'Spouts is the better card since it tucks the attackers on the top or bottom, making it pure card advantage. Aetherize just puts the attackers onto its hand but you can do a bunch at once. Note that this does not target, good for bouncing foes with hexproof or shroud, and this pair only works on attackers, but you'll never get caught up either in their bounce effect. Good pair for the masses!

Ready for the Top Five?

#5. Riddlemaster Sphinx

I just recently tossed this $0.49 bulk rare into my Sphinx-Matters Budget Commander build ($33) around Unesh earlier this week. It's really strong in mid-range and blinking Commander brews as well as Type Four where it's a useable Man-o'-War variant that actually is playable since it's a nice sized flyer of a decent 5/5 size that can swing and block with the best of them. It's really strong, and if you are building a Type Four Stack of your own and don't have one, it's pretty good.

#4B. Upheaval AND Evacuation AND River's Rebuke

The banned in Commander Upheaval is $0.49, the Rebuke is a buck, and Evacuation is $5 since it's pretty good in Commander. Each of these mass bounce spells will bounce loads of stuff, not just attackers, but hit your own stuff as well. Upheaval and Rebuke are sorcery mass bounce spells that will bounce everything including lands (Upheaval) or not (Rebuke). Good stuff. And then the Evacuation is a powerful instant that only bounces dorks, but does so at instant speed, which is pretty good for the masses!

#4A. Devastation Tide

This is another sorcery speed mass bounce spell ($1.99). Remember the rules about alternate mana costs? Well miracle is an alternate mana cost, so if you draw it as the first card of the turn, you can reveal it and cast it for free, and then use your spell for the turn to recast a keycard that was bounced or drop something from your hand. It's hard to miracle it, since only around half the time you draw it you are looking for a mass bounce answer where you cast things first. But it's pretty useful in loads of places! And if not it's still another River's Rebuke.

#3. Capsize

Capsize, whoa oh! This is one of the most powerful commons ever printed for the kitchen table. I've seen and run many a Capsize-lock in my days. Boomerang effects are fine since you can bounce anything including lands. Getting one on one turn in Type Four means that you bounce what they spent an entire turn casting but getting your bounce spell over and over and over again is just too tough to take. Capsize not only hits the number three spot on our countdown, but it also is the highest charting bounce effect that is not free. It's earned the spot!

#2B. Alchemist's Retrieval

Our second(ish) scoring card is this recently printed bounce instant that will bounce anything save for a land. You can cleave it as an alternate cost, and then you net a free spell for the turn, and I love it on an enemy's turn when you cast this for free, to bounce what your foe played and then drop a flash thing like Hullbreaker Horror or Ancient Stone Idol or you can just cast another instant that draws you cards. Good stuff! However, this is card disadvantage unlike...

#2A. Lunar Rejection

...this! Lunar Rejection is a cleavable free Unsummon that also replaces itself! Note that the Rejection only bounces a dork but the card above bounces anything not called "Land" so it's a more flexible bounce spell but without the card flow. I rank a free Repulse over a free Boomerang since card flow is so important at the kitchen table, but they are pretty close in my mind. What do you think?

#1. Cyclonic Rift

Could there be another option here? If you've played the format, then you know that the Rift which dominates Commander also dominates Type Four. Overload is an alternate cost, so it's free. This bounces all non-lands your foes' control and it scales up the more foes you are playing against. It's also one of the few pricey options that are on this list, as much of these are bulk rares, uncommons or commons. But this is not. Rough I know, but it cannot be another card, sorry!

And there we go! So...what did you think of my 20 cards on this wrongly named "Top Ten" list? Anything I missed or got in the wrong order? Just let me know and have an amazing day! (and year)