Dream Tides MTG Card

Dream Tides can grant card advantage by dictating opponents’ creature untap choices and costs. While not directly resource-accelerating, it disrupts opponents’ tempo, offering an indirect advantage. This enchantment mimics instant effects, persistently shaping the game’s pace and flow.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	1997-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Visions
Set code	VIS
Number	31
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jerry Tiritilli

Text of card

Creatures do not untap during their controllers' untap phase. Each nongreen creature's controller may pay an additional during his or her upkeep to untap that creature.

Cards like Dream Tides

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Dream Tides serves as a powerful control enchantment, closely paralleled by cards like Frozen Aether. Dream Tides slows down opponent creatures by imposing a cost on their untapping process, disrupting enemy momentum. In contrast, Frozen Aether attempts to control the pace by affecting all permanents, not just creatures, making it a broader sweep in terms of delaying strategies.

Meishin, the Mind Cage is another relative, though it approaches the control aspect differently. While Dream Tides affects the untapping of creatures, Meishin’s effect is reliant on the hand size, dramatically reducing creature power and nullifying their threat instead of affecting their tap state. This aligns with a different form of passive control, influencing battle calculations over resource accessibility.

Lastly, Rising Waters echoes Dream Tides’ ability to affect untapping, applying its restriction to lands. This change in focus from creatures to resources presents a strategic shift, pushing players into a corner where mana becomes scarce, leading to tough decisions. Each of these cards has its own niche within control archetypes, but Dream Tides stands out by forcing opponents to constantly reassess their creature deployment strategy.

Meishin, the Mind Cage - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dream Tides can significantly impact the board by making it more costly for opponents to untap creatures, thereby potentially granting you card advantage as opponents are forced to prioritize which creatures to keep active.

Resource Acceleration: While Dream Tides does not directly accelerate your own resources, it effectively slows down opponent’s resource acceleration by adding an extra mana cost to their creature’s untap process, indirectly benefiting your tempo.

Instant Speed: Dream Tides operates at the speed of an enchantment, persisting on the battlefield and constantly influencing the pace of the game, much like an effect you might expect from an instant. This continuous influence can result in instant-like advantages during every one of your opponent’s untap phases.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As you navigate the strategical waters of Dream Tides, one subtlety to consider is its ongoing effect which could require costly discards from your hand. This might put you at a disadvantage, especially when your hand is brimming with essential spells you are not ready to toss into the abyss of your graveyard.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Dream Tides calls for a dedicated investment of both colorless and blue mana. While its unique ability is undoubtedly a boon in the right deck, those not aligned with blue mana will find Dream Tides a beautiful but distant dream, arguably narrowing its utility across the diverse multiverse of decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Dream Tides floats into play with a mana value that reflects its potent board influence. However, at this cost, some might feel the tides turning against them, as other enchantments or spells may provide similar or better control at a lower investment, leaving more mana free to summon creatures or cast other game-changing spells.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dream Tides is a unique enchantment that can seamlessly integrate into decks focused on controlling the pace of the game. Its ability to tax untapping creatures can be a universal nuisance to opponents, no matter their strategy.

Combo Potential: This card excels in setups that aim to restrict or manipulate opponents’ resources. It pairs well with cards that further inhibit creature actions, amplifying its disruptive effect and paving the way for victory.

Meta-Relevance: Dream Tides’ value shines in environments saturated with creature-heavy decks. It serves as an effective tool to slow down aggressive strategies, ensuring your late-game plans remain uninterrupted.

How to beat

Dream Tides can be a tricky enchantment to navigate in MTG, particularly because it upends the normal flow of the game by inhibiting creature untapping. This card affects each player, requiring an additional cost to untap creatures which can be a stumbling block for many strategies. Despite its broad reach, the key to overcoming Dream Tides is to wield non-traditional methods of freeing your creatures from its grasp or to rely on untapped resources.

To circumvent the taxing effect of Dream Tides, consider incorporating cards that naturally untap your creatures such as Murkfiend Liege, or ones that change the status of a creature to untapped like To Arms!. Moreover, use creatures with vigilance since they won’t need to untap if they haven’t been tapped for attacking. Another strategic move is to utilize enchantment removal spells like Disenchant, making short work of Dream Tides and clearing the path to resume your normal play without additional costs. Advanced players often keep an arsenal of such flexible answers to mitigate and challenge the implications of persistent board-altering cards like Dream Tides.

Ultimately, while Dream Tides may appear daunting at first, its impact can be mitigated with the right mix of preparedness and responsive game tactics, ensuring your strategy remains fluid and resilient in the face of control enchantments.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dream Tides MTG card by a specific set like Visions, 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 Dream Tides and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dream Tides has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dream Tides card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2006-02-01	You can only untap nongreen creatures once, since this has a beginning of upkeep triggered ability.