Serpentine Ambush MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Improves strategies by potentially eliminating threats and strengthening board presence efficiently.
  2. Offers tactical surprises at instant speed, but beware of indirect card disadvantage risks.
  3. Provides flexibility and meta-relevance, especially against aggressive decks, enhancing both offense and defense.

Text of card

Until end of turn, target creature becomes a blue Serpent with base power and toughness 5/5.

The merchant did guarantee the new bait would bring in something big.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Enhances your strategic play by potentially removing an opponent’s creature while bolstering your own board presence, which is a clever way to gain the upper hand without losing resources.

Resource Acceleration: Although Serpentine Ambush doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its low mana cost allows for efficient mana utilization, conserving your resources for other plays during your turn, which can indirectly lead to resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Serpentine Ambush provides the flexibility to surprise an opponent during combat, potentially saving your creature or ruining an opponent’s attack, while still keeping mana available for other instant responses until the moment of action.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Serpentine Ambush doesn’t directly ask for a card to be discarded, it can indirectly lead to card disadvantage. If the creature you target is removed in response, you’d have spent the card for no effect, leaving you one card down in the exchange.

Specific Mana Cost: Serpentine Ambush requires a precise mana allocation of one blue and one colorless, which might not always align with your mana base, particularly in multicolored decks that are mana-hungry or cannot afford such specific requirements consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing two mana, Serpentine Ambush falls on the higher end for an instant that doesn’t advance your board state and is merely a reactive card. Other cards at similar or lower mana costs might offer more versatile or impactful effects, making this card less desirable in competitive play.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Serpentine Ambush offers immediate game impact by allowing unexpected combat twists. Whether you need to block a larger creature or swing for surprise damage, this card adjusts to variety of in-game situations, making it a useful inclusion in decks that prize flexibility.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations where switching a creature’s role from defense to offense can be pivotal. It pairs well with cards that capitalize on combat tricks or with creatures that have tap abilities, now usable as soon as they hit the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where quick skirmishes define the pace, Serpentine Ambush can shift the tide of battle in your favor. It’s particularly effective if you’re facing a lot of aggro decks that don’t expect defensive creatures to turn aggressive so swiftly.


How to beat

Serpentine Ambush offers a surprising tactical twist in MTG, allowing a player to temporarily turn any creature into a 5/5 blue Serpent until end of turn. Although this card can catch an opponent off-guard and potentially swing a game, overcoming this sudden ambush is not insurmountable. Awareness and strategic planning are key. Keeping mana available for instant-speed removal spells or abilities that can neutralize threats or protect your creatures can significantly diminish the impact of Serpentine Ambush.

It can be effective to maintain a board state with creatures that can bypass or survive the transformation, such as those with indestructible or death-touch. Remember, Serpentine Ambush can also be a double-edged sword, as transforming a creature may remove key abilities that are more valuable to your opponent than a temporary power boost. Moreover, countering the spell before it resolves or using spells that exile cards from the graveyard can prevent recurring uses from effects that would return it to a player’s hand. Through careful play and thoughtful counter-measures, the edge that Serpentine Ambush might offer can be dulled, to ensure your creatures—or at least their strategic value—remain intact.


Cards like Serpentine Ambush

Serpentine Ambush finds its niche in creature control within Magic: The Gathering. When closely analyzed, it draws parallels to the likes of Turn to Frog. Both cards temporarily neutralize formidable creatures, but there’s a key difference. Turn to Frog strips away all abilities, reducing any creature to a mere 1/1 frog. Serpentine Ambush, meanwhile, transforms a creature into a 5/5 blue Serpent with no abilities, potentially turning the tides of combat more assertively.

Comparatively, Snakeform is another spell that changes a creature’s stats and abilities until end of turn. Like Serpentine Ambush, it neutralizes potentially dangerous abilities, though it curbs the creature’s power and toughness even more, transforming it into a 1/1 creature with no abilities. Serpentine Ambush stands out because it can conversely be used on your creature as a sudden buff, unlike Snakeform.

In reviewing MTG creature control, it’s evident Serpentine Ambush offers versatility, finding utility both defensively and offensively. This duality allows for dynamic play situations that could swing the momentum of a game, making it a card worth considering for strategic deck builders.

Turn to Frog - MTG Card versions
Snakeform - MTG Card versions
Turn to Frog - Magic 2012 (M12)
Snakeform - Eventide (EVE)

Cards similar to Serpentine Ambush by color, type and mana cost

Counterspell - MTG Card versions
Hurkyl's Recall - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - MTG Card versions
Lat-Nam's Legacy - MTG Card versions
Flash - MTG Card versions
Boomerang - MTG Card versions
Rebound - MTG Card versions
Memory Lapse - MTG Card versions
Hoodwink - MTG Card versions
Tidal Bore - MTG Card versions
Accumulated Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Impulse - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Thassa's Intervention - MTG Card versions
Metamorphose - MTG Card versions
Echoing Truth - MTG Card versions
Early Frost - MTG Card versions
Mana Leak - MTG Card versions
Remand - MTG Card versions
Vision Skeins - MTG Card versions
Counterspell - Commander Masters (CMM)
Hurkyl's Recall - Antiquities (ATQ)
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Lat-Nam's Legacy - Alliances (ALL)
Flash - Mirage (MIR)
Boomerang - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Rebound - Stronghold (STH)
Memory Lapse - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Hoodwink - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Tidal Bore - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Accumulated Knowledge - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Impulse - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)
Cyclonic Rift - Commander Masters (CMM)
Thassa's Intervention - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Metamorphose - Scourge (SCG)
Echoing Truth - Modern Masters (MMA)
Early Frost - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Mana Leak - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Remand - Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (DDM)
Vision Skeins - Commander 2013 (C13)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Serpentine Ambush MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Serpentine Ambush and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Serpentine Ambush Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-11-19 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Jokubas Uogintas.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-11-19Innistrad: Crimson VowVOW 772015normalblackJokubas Uogintas
22022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 3442015normalblackJokubas Uogintas

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Serpentine Ambush has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

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