Floodtide Serpent MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Return: Floodtide Serpent allows you to return an enchantment you own to your hand when it attacks. This mechanic can be repeatedly used to gain advantage from enchantment cards with valuable enter-the-battlefield effects or to save them from removal.

Blocker Deterrent: With its 4/4 stats, Floodtide Serpent is a respectable threat that can serve as a solid blocker or an attacker that can encourage defensive play from your opponent, potentially slowing down their assault.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing mana, the ability to reuse enchantments can accelerate your game plan by leveraging the same resource multiple times, especially if those enchantments are mana-generating or cost-reducing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Floodtide Serpent obliges players to return an enchantment they control to their hand to attack. This can result in a loss of momentum, especially if you rely on that enchantment’s effect on the board.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card requires both blue mana and generic mana, necessitating a mana base that can consistently provide blue sources, potentially limiting deck-building options.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana for a 4/4 body, Floodtide Serpent may be outclassed by other creatures in the same mana range that offer additional abilities or higher stats without the attacking restriction.

Reasons to Include Floodtide Serpent in Your Collection

Versatility: Floodtide Serpent offers unique gameplay as it requires an enchantment to be returned to your hand to attack. This can seamlessly integrate into blue-centric decks that capitalize on casting spells multiple times for increased benefits.

Combo Potential: This serpent can be a critical piece in an enchantment-heavy strategy, repeatedly unlocking the value of enchantments with enter-the-battlefield effects or those that can be recast for additional advantages.

Meta-Relevance: With the constantly shifting MTG landscape, Floodtide Serpent holds its ground in metas that celebrate clever use of enchantments, potentially outmaneuvering opponents who are less prepared for recurring enchantment strategies.

How to beat

Understanding your opponent’s strategies in Magic: The Gathering is key to securing victory, and knowing how to tackle Floodtide Serpent is no different. This creature card, requiring blue mana as part of its casting cost, comes with a unique restriction; it can’t attack unless you return an enchantment you control to its owner’s hand. This limitation gives you an insight into how to dismantle the strategy that revolves around this card. Maintain control over the board and minimize the number of enchantments your opponent has in play. Without enchantments to bounce back, Floodtide Serpent loses its ability to engage in combat, essentially becoming a sitting duck.

Consider employing removal spells or abilities that target enchantments, such as Disenchant or Naturalize. Counterspells can also be effective by preventing the Serpent from entering the battlefield in the first place. Moreover, since the Serpent must return an enchantment to attack each turn, it opens windows for you to capitalize on your opponent’s depleted defenses. While it might not be the most formidable of foes, recognizing and disrupting the rhythm of Floodtide Serpent can certainly tip the scales in your favor during a match.