Coastal Drake MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Drake
Abilities	Flying
Released	2001-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Apocalypse
Set code	APC
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	22
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Gallagher

Key Takeaways

Coastal Drake’s ability to bounce flying creatures provides strategic board control and value trade-off opportunities.
The card excels in blue-focused and bounce mechanic decks, capitalizing on synergy and combo potential.
Though strong within its niche, Coastal Drake remains susceptible to common removal and control strategies.

Text of card

Flying o1o U, oc T: Return target Kavu to its owner's hand.

When the kavu emerged from their ancient nests, food chains long dormant became vibrant again.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Coastal Drake presents the opportunity to return a creature with flying to its owner’s hand, which can disrupt the opponent’s board presence, essentially trading one card for potentially more value on the backswing.

Resource Acceleration: By effectively managing the battlefield with Coastal Drake’s ability, it ensures your resources are spent hindering an opponent, which can accelerate your own game plan without committing additional cards from hand.

Instant Speed: Its activated ability can be used at instant speed, offering tactical flexibility by enabling responses to your opponent’s actions during their turn, and potentially saving mana for reactionary plays or threats.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Coastal Drake demands you to pitch another card from your hand into the graveyard to activate its key ability. During gameplay, this can put you at a card disadvantage, especially detrimental when your hand size is dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: This flying creature requires both blue and generic mana to cast, which might restrict it to blue-centric or two-color decks, potentially excluding it from broader deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of three mana, including one blue, for a 2/1 creature, Coastal Drake’s casting cost may be high relative to its impact on the game when compared to other options. The mana invested could potentially yield a more substantial board presence with different cards.

Reasons to Include Coastal Drake in Your Collection

Versatility: Coastal Drake offers adaptability for blue-focused decks, whether it’s for a quick aerial blocker or a form of creature control. Its ability to return a creature to its owner’s hand pairs well with decks that capitalize on bounce mechanics or that struggle against tokens.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combination with cards that have “enter the battlefield” abilities or with static effects that trigger upon creature bouncing. This can set the stage for powerful plays, disrupting your opponent’s board while establishing your own.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where Kavu or Drake creatures see frequent play, Coastal Drake can act as a direct counter, providing strategic advantage and surprise tempo swings that can tip the scales in your favor.

How to beat Coastal Drake

Coastal Drake is a unique flyer in the MTG universe, holding the niche ability to bounce Kavu creatures back to their owner’s hand. This ability can be leveraged as a tactical advantage in games where Kavu decks are prevalent. However, outside of this interaction, Coastal Drake is a relatively modest creature with average stats.

To counter Coastal Drake effectively, consider using spot removal spells such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile, which can dispatch the Drake for a low mana investment, ensuring your Kavu or other creatures remain on the battlefield to continue applying pressure. Additionally, employing flying blockers like Serra Angel or Aven Mindcensor can prevent Coastal Drake from chipping away at your life total while also providing a board presence.

Moreover, leveraging instant-speed spells that can be cast during your opponent’s turn, such as Essence Scatter or Negate, can be an effective way to preemptively deal with Coastal Drake before it ever has a chance to impact the board. In essence, while Coastal Drake possesses a specialized ability, it is vulnerable to the common and readily accessible removal and control strategies available in MTG.

Cards like Coastal Drake

Coastal Drake presents an intriguing dynamic in the creature card pool of Magic: The Gathering. It shares some similarities to other flying creatures such as Welkin Tern, with both offering the advantage of being airborne threats. However, Coastal Drake has the added utility of being able to return a Kavu creature card to its owner’s hand, providing strategic bounce effects that can disrupt the opponent’s board.

When considering versatility, Aether Adept is another card that invokes comparison. It allows players to bounce any creature when it enters the battlefield, not limited to Kavu. While Aether Adept lacks the flying ability, the universality of its bounce effect can be more broadly applicable in various game scenarios. Then there’s Mist Raven, which also combines the airborne assault with a similar return-to-hand mechanic. Although costing one more mana than Coastal Drake, Mist Raven doesn’t restrict the bounce to just Kavu creatures, potentially delivering greater impact in a match.

These comparisons highlight that while Coastal Drake may excel in a deck designed around Kavu synergy, its niche is narrower compared to the broader utility offered by its counterparts. In essence, identify the needs of your MTG deck to best utilize Coastal Drake’s bird and bounce combination.

Cards similar to Coastal Drake by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions

Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions

Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions

Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions

Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions

Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Coastal Drake MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse, 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 Coastal Drake and other MTG cards: