A-Dreamshackle Geist MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Spirit |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2021-11-19 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Innistrad: Crimson Vow |
| Set code | VOW |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | A-58 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Andreas Zafiratos |
Key Takeaways
- The Geist grants combat advantage by restricting enemy creatures, enhancing your battlefield control.
- Its flash ability offers tactical surprise and flexibility, vital for nuanced game states.
- The mana specificity and discard requirement may challenge deck versatility and resource management.
Text of card
Flying At the beginning of combat on your turn, choose up to one — • Tap target creature. • Target creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: A-Dreamshackle Geist offers significant strategic benefits by allowing you to temporarily remove an opposing creature from combat. This can tip the scales in your favor by reducing your opponent’s battlefield presence and thus maintaining your card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: While A-Dreamshackle Geist doesn’t provide direct resource acceleration, its ability to stall opponent creatures can indirectly accelerate your game plan by giving you more time to deploy your resources effectively.
Instant Speed: A key strength of A-Dreamshackle Geist is its flash ability, letting you cast it at instant speed. This flexibility allows you to adapt quickly to the changing game state, surprise your opponent by interrupting their strategy, or simply hold up mana to use for other instant-speed interactions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: For A-Dreamshackle Geist, having to discard a card is a stipulation players need to negotiate. This card’s entrance onto the battlefield forces you to relinquish another potential resource. This can undoubtedly be a setback, particularly when your hand is already running thin or if the discarded card could be crucial for future turns.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana requirement is not just specific, but also somewhat rigorous, featuring two blue mana symbols in its casting cost. This emphasizes its allegiance to blue and necessitates a strong blue mana base, which might not blend seamlessly into all deck archetypes thereby limiting its versatility across different strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the effects of A-Dreamshackle Geist can be game-changing, its casting cost sits at a higher bracket. When you’re deploying this card, the four total mana including the two specifically blue can be a steep investment, particularly when juggling other spells or when pondering the tempo of the match where deploying multiple threats or responses can be more effective.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: A-Dreamshackle Geist stands out for its ability to adapt to various playstyles. Its spirit subtype ensures it fits seamlessly into spirit tribal decks while its disruptive abilities provide value in control strategies.
Combo Potential: With its tap and untap ability, this card can form potent combinations with cards that benefit from creatures changing their status. It also has the potential to repeatedly exploit enter the battlefield effects or tap-sensitive abilities.
Meta-Relevance: Given its disruptive nature against opponent creatures, A-Dreamshackle Geist can maintain relevance in environments where creature-based strategies prevail. It provides a tangible way to slow opponents down while you advance your board state.
How to beat
A-Dreamshackle Geist poses a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to control opponent’s creatures. With a strategized approach, however, players can find effective ways to neutralize this threat. Engaging removal spells that do not target, such as board wipes like Wrath of God or Doomskar, can clear the field without playing into the Geist’s trap.
Alternatively, capitalizing on hexproof abilities for your creatures can nullify the Geist’s control effect. This can be achieved by including cards such as Lazotep Plating in your deck, granting not just hexproof but also providing an amass token to bolster your defenses. It’s about adapting your strategy to anticipate and counter the Geist’s influence.
Focusing on instant speed interaction is another key. Since the Geist taps down creatures only during the upkeep, utilizing spells like Heroic Intervention before your turn starts will protect your creatures and preserve your offensive line. Employing such preemptive measures ensures that, even against the disruptive force of A-Dreamshackle Geist, your strategy remains uninterrupted and your path to victory clear.
Cards like A-Dreamshackle Geist
A-Dreamshackle Geist joins the ranks of sprite and spirit creatures that offer strategic control in Magic: The Gathering. It’s akin to other spirits like Nebelgast Herald, which gives players a tool to tap opposing creatures. A-Dreamshackle Geist elevates this with its ability to not only tap a creature but also prevent that creature from untapping during the controller’s next untap step, adding an extra layer of restriction.
Comparing it further, Drogskol Captain is another spirit that creates a significant impact by giving other spirits you control hexproof as well as a power and toughness boost. While it does not tap creatures, it strengthens the board presence of a spirit-centric deck. Conversely, A-Dreamshackle Geist focuses on disrupting opponents’ strategies, providing a different type of control. Then there’s Shacklegeist, which shares the creature-tapping synergy, but requires two untapped spirits to utilize its ability, whereas A-Dreamshackle Geist acts alone.
Thus, in evaluating their capabilities, A-Dreamshackle Geist finds its own niche in spirit decks, with its unique freezing control aspect that subtly hampers an adversary’s plan. It’s the evolved control element among its ethereal counterparts.
Cards similar to A-Dreamshackle Geist by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase A-Dreamshackle Geist MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the A-Dreamshackle Geist and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where A-Dreamshackle Geist has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |