Tide Drifter MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Eldrazi Drone |
| Abilities | Devoid |
| Released | 2015-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Battle for Zendikar |
| Set code | BFZ |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 5 |
| Number | 67 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Daarken |
Key Takeaways
- Tide Drifter enhances colorless creatures’ toughness, bolstering defensive strategies in MTG gameplay.
- While versatile and synergistic, its effectiveness is limited in multi-colored or fast-paced decks.
- Strategically including countermeasures in your deck will greatly improve handling Tide Drifter’s challenges.
Text of card
Devoid (This card has no color.) Other colorless creatures you control get +0/+1.
It didn't do much, but the residents of Sea Gate gave it a wide berth all the same.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Tide Drifter stands out by offering a strong defensive boost to your other colorless creatures, potentially preventing opponents from making favorable trades and preserving your board presence over time.
Resource Acceleration: Although Tide Drifter itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its low mana cost facilitates a smoother curve, allowing you to deploy threats or establish defenses early in the game.
Instant Speed: While Tide Drifter is a creature and not an instant-speed spell, its innate ability to buff colorless creatures can be a critical advantage during combat, unexpectedly turning the tide of battle in your favor.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Tide Drifter doesn’t require discarding directly, it does add a layer of deck complexity as it’s often paired with cards that do. Players must carefully consider their hand management to make the most of synergies.
Specific Mana Cost: Tide Drifter comes with a colorless mana cost, which can be tricky in a multi-colored deck. While colorless is flexible, it sometimes doesn’t align with the mana curve of decks that need very specific color requirements early in the game.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature that provides a defensive boost with its toughness-enhancing ability, the two-mana investment can be steep, especially when options like Burst Bubble or Fortify exist, which can be more mana-efficient in fast-paced matches.
Reasons to Include Tide Drifter in Your Collection
Versatility: Tide Drifter serves as a reliable defensive option for decks that emphasize protection and durability. Its ability to beef up other creatures’ toughness by one can be the difference between losing and maintaining a critical blocker during combat.
Combo Potential: As an Eldrazi, it pairs well with other cards that capitalize on colorless creatures, such as those that allow you to spawn Eldrazi Scions or benefit from sacrifice mechanics, effectively leveraging both its toughness boost and tribal synergies.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where aggressive decks are prevalent, this card shines by fortifying your defensive lines. It can disrupt your opponent’s tempo and force them into unfavorable attacks or hold back to deal with your increasingly sturdy creatures.
How to beat
Tide Drifter is a unique creature card that can be quite a hurdle for opponents in Magic: The Gathering due to its toughness boosting ability. Found in the blue color pie, this card grants other colorless creatures on the battlefield an extra toughness, making them sturdier against damage. To effectively tackle Tide Drifter, it’s important to utilize removal spells that can bypass its toughness-increasing effect. Direct damage spells might falter due to boosted toughness, so exile effects and spells that decrease toughness without dealing damage are preferable.
Board wipes can also be an effective measure to clear not just Tide Drifter but also the creatures benefiting from its ability. Additionally, targeting strategies can work wonders. Cards that allow targeting specific creature types can remove Tide Drifter from the game without having to negotiate the augmented toughness of other creatures. Counter spells are equally effective, nipping the problem at the bud by preventing Tide Drifter from entering the battlefield in the first place. Each of these strategies requires a good reading of the battlefield and perfect timing to maximize efficacy against Tide Drifter and its synergizing allies.
Overall, adaptation and smart deck building that includes a variety of removal tools are key to staying ahead of cards like Tide Drifter in the dynamic world of Magic: The Gathering.
Cards like Tide Drifter
Tide Drifter stands out among Eldrazi cohort in Magic: The Gathering for its utility in defensive strategies. It’s not alone in its category, though. Comparable to its role as a buffer for its kin is the card Eldrazi Skyspawner. Both are low-cost creatures that bolster your board state, but Skyspawner serves an extra purpose by generating a 1/1 Eldrazi Scion token, which can be sacrificed for mana.
Looking further, we encounter Wall of Resurgence, a card with similar defensive strengths that also contributes to your battlefield presence by turning a land into a creature. While the Wall doesn’t specifically support Eldrazi or colorless creatures, it’s adaptable for various defensive strategies and creates immediate board impact. Another akin card is Blight Herder, a creature that, under the right conditions, brings along three 1/1 tokens to the party. It costs more than Tide Drifter but can be a larger threat by itself.
Although these cards share defensive and supportive traits, Tide Drifter is unique in giving other colorless creatures an extra layer of protection with its toughness-boosting ability. This subtle advantage can be crucial in matchups where resilience is key, making Tide Drifter a valued asset in decks designed around colorless creatures.
Cards similar to Tide Drifter by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Tide Drifter MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Tide Drifter 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 Tide Drifter has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Tide Drifter card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost. |
| 2015-08-25 | Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play. |
| 2015-08-25 | Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield. |
| 2015-08-25 | If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid. |
| 2015-08-25 | Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless. |
