Unsummon

Unsummon was first introduced in the Alpha edition of Magic: The Gathering in 1993, acting as a foundational blue spell that allowed a player to return a creature to its owner's hand. As a quintessential 'bounce' spell, it provided a low-cost, versatile mechanism for managing board state during the game's earliest years. By the time it was included in the 1994 Revised Edition, it had already established itself as a staple of competitive play, prized for its ability to disrupt an opponent's tempo for a single blue mana.

The artwork for the card was created by Sandra Everingham, who contributed several pieces to the game's formative sets. Her depiction of a ghostly, ethereal figure being pulled back into the void reflected the game's high-fantasy roots and the color philosophy of blue magic, which emphasizes illusion and control over brute strength. While simple in its composition compared to later, more elaborate digital illustrations, the original art is recognized by long-term collectors for its distinctive, hand-drawn charm that defined the aesthetic of the early Revised era.