MagicTheGathering.fyi

Retraction Helix

Instant

Until end of turn, target creature gains "{T}: Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand."

CMC
1
Mana cost
{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Pioneer Masters
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#4377
Buy on TCGplayer
Retraction Helix card art
Retraction Helix turns any creature into a repeatable bounce engine for a single blue mana — the catch is it requires a creature already in play to target, making it a combo piece rather than a standalone spell. In shells built around Valley Floodcaller or Rona, Herald of Invasion, that condition is trivially met, and the card becomes the glue that loops a board indefinitely.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Rona, Herald of Invasion

24.5% of decks · synergy 0.24

Rona, Herald of Invasion is the canonical home: her ability to untap a creature whenever you cast a legendary spell pairs with Retraction Helix to bounce and replay permanents infinitely, often winning on the spot with a zero-mana artifact in the loop.

02
Narset, Jeskai Waymaster

Narset, Jeskai Waymaster

14.1% of decks · synergy 0.14

Narset, Jeskai Waymaster decks lean on Retraction Helix as a cheap instant that triggers prowess-adjacent abilities and clears blockers or problematic permanents mid-combo — at one mana, it fits cleanly into the low-to-the-ground spell package these lists run.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Retraction Helix earns its slot exclusively in combo decks — it does nothing on its own, but in the right shell it's a one-mana piece that closes games. Pauper is where it sees the most competitive repetitions, powering artifact-loop and Storm strategies that can assemble the engine as early as turn two. In Modern and Pioneer the card is legal but rarely played; dedicated combo decks have access to more redundant or lower-cost pieces that don't require a creature already on board. Legacy and Vintage are similar — the effect is fine but the field moves faster than a conditional bounce at instant speed can keep up with outside of a fully tuned shell.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

25,004 decks
Valley FloodcallerRetraction HelixSol Ring

Valley FloodcallerRetraction HelixSol Ring

Infinite storm count; Infinite untap of some creatures you control; Infinite power and toughness for certain creatures until end of turn; Infinite colorless mana

View combo details →

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Retraction Helix isn't currently available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the live number. Historically it's been a bulk common — expect to pay well under a dollar — which makes it a trivial pickup for any deck that can actually use it.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.