Sunken City MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Sunken City enhances blue creatures, but requires a blue card discard during each upkeep.
  2. Its specific mana requirements may limit its use in multi-colored decks.
  3. Despite high upkeep costs, it can be a game-changer in creature-centric metas.

Text of card

All blue creatures gain +1/+1. If you do not pay o Uo U during your upkeep, Sunken City is destroyed.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sunken City is a fascinating card that can present players with a unique form of card advantage. By boosting the power of each of your creatures, it potentially turns them into more significant threats, forcing your opponent to deal with them or suffer increased damage each turn.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing traditional mana acceleration, Sunken City can be strategically used to create a form of resource acceleration by allowing you to make more effective use of your creatures. This can lead to accelerated damage and pressure on your opponent, altering the pace of the game.

Instant Speed: While Sunken City itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the card does allow you to develop a formidable board state quickly. When paired with creatures that have flash or with other instant speed spells, it creates opportunities to capitalize on the enhanced power of your creatures at unexpected moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Sunken City requires a continuous investiture of cards, with the added stipulation of discarding a blue card from your hand at upkeep. This can strain your hand, leaving you at a disadvantage in the long game.

Specific Mana Cost: Sunken City’s activation is locked behind blue mana, making it a potentially cumbersome addition for multicolored decks that can’t reliably produce the required blue mana each turn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Sunken City offers a boost to your blue creatures, the ongoing requirement of two blue mana at each of your upkeeps is a steep price, especially considering there are single-payment enchantments that offer similar or greater benefits.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sunken City, as an enchantment, possesses the flexibility to support blue-focused decks by boosting the power of creatures. This can make even your most humble creatures into significant threats.

Combo Potential: In decks revolving around blue creatures or those that play off of buffed creatures, Sunken City can become a cornerstone. It lays the groundwork for powerful synergies while augmenting sea-themed or merfolk strategies, for instance.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to enhance multiple creatures, Sunken City can be particularly effective in a meta that favors creature-based combat or in environments where board presence is key to achieving victory.


How to beat

Confronting the Sunken City card in a game of Magic: The Gathering presents a unique challenge. This captivating enchantment offers players a way to potentially lock down an opponent’s land, forcing them to consider their land drops and mana usage carefully. To effectively counter this hindrance, strategic deck building can be crucial. Utilizing artifact-based mana sources that are unaffected by Sunken City can be a game changer, as these bypass the card’s limiting effect.

In addition, running enchantment removal spells in your deck significantly increases your chances of overcoming Sunken City’s influence. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant provide an immediate solution to the problem, freeing your lands from the enchantment’s grip. By preparing in this way, the potential impact of Sunken City on your game can be minimized, allowing you to maintain the flow of your strategy and secure an advantage over your opponent.

Therefore, by incorporating smart removal options and considering alternative mana sources, players can navigate around the challenges posed by Sunken City, ensuring that this powerful card doesn’t dictate the tide of the match.


Cards like Sunken City

Sunken City is a unique enchantment that has made a splash among Magic: The Gathering blue mana decks. It bears some resemblance to other cards that bolster creature strength, akin to Glorious Anthem. Yet, what sets it apart is its focus on blue creatures, enhancing their power and toughness as long as the upkeep cost is paid, giving it a distinct role in blue-centric decks.

Another related card is Favorable Winds, which also provides a power boost, but this card targets flying creatures exclusively, offering a wider range of color versatility compared to Sunken City. With a one-time cost and no further upkeep, it’s a staple in any airborne assault. Moreover, we have Merfolk Sovereign that specifically empowers Merfolk creatures, integrating well in tribal synergies alongside the boon of occasionally making them unblockable, diversifying tactical approaches in blue creature decks.

While each of these enchantments serves a parallel purpose in amplifying your forces, Sunken City demands continuous investment but rewards players with a potentially unyielding advantage for their devoted blue minions. It’s a testament to the strategic depth and variety that Magic: The Gathering offers to players through such thematic and influential cards.

Glorious Anthem - MTG Card versions
Favorable Winds - MTG Card versions
Merfolk Sovereign - MTG Card versions
Glorious Anthem - Urza's Saga (USG)
Favorable Winds - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Merfolk Sovereign - Magic 2010 (M10)

Cards similar to Sunken City by color, type and mana cost

Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Flooded Shoreline - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
Immobilizing Ink - MTG Card versions
Stupefying Touch - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Power Leak - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Phantasmal Terrain - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Stasis - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Creature Bond - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Lifetap - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Power Artifact - Antiquities (ATQ)
Psychic Venom - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Venarian Gold - Legends (LEG)
Soar - Mirage (MIR)
Flooded Shoreline - Visions (VIS)
Dance of Many - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Teferi's Veil - Weatherlight (WTH)
Legacy's Allure - Tempest (TMP)
Chill - Tempest (TMP)
Buoyancy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mana Maze - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Psionic Gift - Odyssey (ODY)
Immobilizing Ink - Odyssey (ODY)
Stupefying Touch - Torment (TOR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sunken City MTG card by a specific set like The Dark and Fourth Edition, 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 Sunken City and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Sunken City Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 1994-08-01 and 2007-09-10. Illustrated by Jesper Myrfors.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-08-01The DarkDRK 361993normalblackJesper Myrfors
21995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 1061993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
31995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 1061993normalblackJesper Myrfors
41995-08-01RenaissanceREN 421993normalblackJesper Myrfors
52007-09-10Masters EditionME1 511997normalblackJesper Myrfors

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sunken City has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks