Undersea Invader MTG Card
Key Takeaways
- Flash ability allows strategic plays, keeping opponents guessing and boosting your reactive game capabilities.
- Demands careful hand management due to its discard requirement, yet offers high impact potential when played.
- Can be a linchpin in sea-themed decks or surprise-focused strategies, shaking up the conventional gameplay rhythm.
Guide to Flash card ability
Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.
Text of card
Flash Undersea Invader enters the battlefield tapped.
"The currents are strange today, and the fish are fearful. Something's stirring in the depths." —Rathstaf, Kannah fisherman
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Engaging the depths of strategy, Undersea Invader brings a unique edge to the field. With its ability to potentially clear a path on your attack phase, you can make way for other pressing threats. This can lead to a stronger board position and indirectly influence card advantage as you pressure your opponent into unfavorable trades.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing resource acceleration, the presence of Undersea Invader can be a signal to your opponents to hold back removal or deter them from deploying their own resources, which can influence the pace of resource deployment in your favor. In a more tangential strategy, it may free up other cards in your hand to be used for accelerating your resources unimpeded.
Instant Speed: The flash ability of Undersea Invader is a game-changer, allowing you to be flexible and reactive. The power of playing creatures at instant speed cannot be understated. It enables you to keep mana available for other spells and threats or deploy the Invader when your opponents least expect it, after they’ve committed to their own turn without holding back defenses against this aquatic assailant.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Undersea Invader requires you to discard a card when it enters the battlefield. This can be particularly detrimental when your hand is already depleted, effectively forcing you to lose further grip on your game plan.
Specific Mana Cost: The card demands a strict mana arrangement with a emphasis on blue mana. This can complicate its inclusion in decks that have a diverse color palette or those that rely heavily on colorless mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that leans on the higher side, the Undersea Invader can be a challenging card to cast early in the game. There are alternatives available that may provide a more immediate impact on the battlefield for a similar, if not lower, mana investment.
Reasons to Include Undersea Invader in Your Collection
Versatility: Undersea Invader presents itself as a flexible addition to commander and casual blue decks, lending its flash ability to surprise opponents during their turns. Its synergy with instant-speed spells can help maintain a defensive stance while preparing for the right moment to counterattack.
Combo Potential: This card can work well with numerous strategies that capitalize on creatures entering the battlefield at unexpected times. Whether you’re looking to amplify your sea-themed deck or want to increase creature count for various effects, Undersea Invader offers a surprising element to your gameplay.
Meta-Relevance: Given its surprise element and the ever-shifting dynamics of MTG gameplay, Undersea Invader can disturb the opponent’s rhythm, especially in formats where creatures with flash can alter combat outcomes or where end-of-turn strategies prevail.
How to beat
Undersea Invader is a card that can be quite a surprise for players of Magic: The Gathering. With its flash ability, this creature can enter the battlefield at any time, potentially swinging the momentum of the game. Its sizable body makes it a formidable blocker or an aggressive force if it’s clear to attack.
To effectively overcome Undersea Invader, players should focus on removal spells that can bypass its flash ability. Cards like Doom Blade or Murder are solid choices as they can eliminate the creature regardless of its flash timing. Alternatively, counterspells are excellent for preempting the casting of Undersea Invader altogether. Essence Scatter or Negate can provide the necessary control at crucial moments. Lastly, board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation, which clear all creatures from the battlefield, can neutralize the threat posed by Undersea Invader without having to target it directly.
Understanding both the strengths and weaknesses of Undersea Invader is key in developing strategies to counter it. With the right mix of instant-speed removal, counterspells, and sweeping effects, players can navigate through the surprise element and maintain control over the game.
Cards like Undersea Invader
Undersea Invader is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering that brings a strategic surprise element to the battlefield. A card that echoes its functionality is Pearl Lake Ancient, which offers a similar flash ability, allowing players to cast the creature at any time they could cast an instant. Not quite as vast in power and toughness, Pearl Lake Ancient compensates with prowess and land bounce mechanic, giving players an edge in mana flexibility.
Competing for a spot in the roster of flash creatures with substantial power is Shipbreaker Kraken. Although it doesn’t have flash, at six mana to Undersea Invader’s seven, it provides a monstrosity ability that can lock down the board in the late game. In terms of raw power and immediate game impact, however, Undersea Invader’s stealthy appearance on opponent’s end turn can be instrumental in turning the tides. Filling yet another niche is Icefall Regent. While initially less imposing, the dragon freezes an opponent’s potential blocker upon entry and makes it costly to be targeted by spells or abilities, offering a tactical advantage in controlling the field.
Diving deep into the realm of underwater behemoths in Magic: The Gathering shows how Undersea Invader aligns with other creatures in terms of surprise and board influence, even as it stands out with its own brand of ambush tactics.
Cards similar to Undersea Invader by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Undersea Invader MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Undersea Invader 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
Printings
The Undersea Invader Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Lorenzo Mastroianni.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 78 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lorenzo Mastroianni | |
| 2 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 366 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lorenzo Mastroianni |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Undersea Invader has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
