Dreadwaters MTG Card

Avacyn Restored (AVR)
2012-05-04 - Number 49

Magic Origins (ORI)
2015-07-17 - Number 56

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 358

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number ORI-56

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Mill

Key Takeaways

Dreadwaters scales with land count, enabling a substantial mill as the game progresses.
It complements strategies that utilize a filled opponent’s graveyard for advantages.
While powerful, it requires a well-managed graveyard to maximize its potential.

Text of card

Target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is the number of lands you control.

Stray into the Morkrut and it may rise to claim you.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dreadwaters shines by scaling up with the number of lands you’ve played, potentially milling a significant chunk of an opponent’s library. This can give you a strategic upper hand as the match progresses by depleting their resources and critical strategies.

Resource Acceleration: While Dreadwaters itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it indirectly supports strategies that benefit from having numerous cards in the opponent’s graveyard. This can accelerate your game plan if you’re leveraging mechanics like Delve or Threshold.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Dreadwaters requires strategic planning for its optimal use; however, its impact on late-game scenarios can be game-changing. Casting it after deploying numerous lands can suddenly swing the game in your favor through sheer card graveyard volume.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One aspect where Dreadwaters may not always be favorable is its reliance on a filled graveyard for optimal value. If you’re unable to stock your graveyard, Dreadwaters’ impact on the game can be negligible, making it a potentially dead draw under certain circumstances.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Dreadwaters requires both blue mana and generic mana, which can be restrictive. This specific cost can hamper deck flexibility and may not always align with your mana base, especially in multicolored decks that run three or more colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana to potentially mill a significant number of cards, Dreadwaters faces competition from other mill cards or strategies that either cost less or provide additional benefits. Its effectiveness is largely dependent on the state of your graveyard, making it less consistent than lower-cost mill options.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dreadwaters shines in decks that manipulate the size of their libraries or seek to rapidly fill the opponent’s graveyard. Its scalable effect based on your land count works well in late-game scenarios when you’re more likely to have numerous lands in play.

Combo Potential: Dreadwaters has natural synergies with mill strategies looking to exploit the size of your mana base to hasten an opponent’s demise. Coupled with cards that boost land drops or untap lands, Dreadwaters can significantly amplify the milling process.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where graveyard-based decks thrive, Dreadwaters serves as both a threat and enabler, disrupting opponents’ strategies while potentially setting up your own graveyard interactions. It’s particularly potent against decks that have a hard time retrieving cards from their graveyard.

How to beat

Dreadwaters is a unique spell that has the potential to disrupt your opponent’s strategy in MTG by putting cards from their library into their graveyard. This can be an advantage for them if their deck is designed to benefit from a large graveyard; however, it can be a downfall if they rely on a full deck to execute their strategy.

To counter Dreadwaters effectively, consider including cards that shuffle your graveyard back into your library, such as Elixir of Immortality. This acts as a safeguard, making it less likely that you will be milled out of the game. Additionally, cards with graveyard hate capabilities, like Bojuka Bog, can exile an opponent’s graveyard, significantly mitigating the impact of Dreadwaters. It’s also beneficial to apply pressure with a fast-paced aggressive strategy, forcing opponents to deal with your threats on the board rather than capitalizing on their milling plan.

As you build your MTG deck, keep in mind the balance between card types and strategies. By anticipating potential challenges such as Dreadwaters and equipping your deck with appropriate countermeasures, you’ll increase your chances of maintaining control over the direction and flow of the game.

Cards like Dreadwaters

Dreadwaters is an intriguing sorcery card that carves its niche in the realm of Magic: The Gathering. It shares some similarities with other mill cards like Mind Sculpt, which also entails targeting a player to put a number of cards from the top of their library into their graveyard. However, Dreadwaters gauges the amount based on the number of lands you control, distinguishing it from Mind Sculpt’s fixed seven cards.

Moreover, Traumatize is another recognizable card in this category, known for its potent milling effect that halves a player’s library, rounded down. While Traumatize’s impact is more substantial in a single use, it comes with a heftier mana cost compared to the scalable and oftentimes milder Dreadwaters. Glimpse the Unthinkable is yet another card that can be brought into comparison, offering a significant fixed mill of ten cards for just two mana. It strikes with efficiency, but unlike Dreadwaters, it lacks scalability related to game progression.

Each of these cards offers varying strategic depth in milling opponents, and Dreadwaters stands out with its potential late-game strength as land count increases, making it an interesting choice for players who prioritize a gradual but consistent milling strategy in Magic: The Gathering.

Glimpse the Unthinkable - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Dreadwaters by color, type and mana cost

Inscription of Insight - MTG Card versions

Argivian Restoration - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dreadwaters MTG card by a specific set like Avacyn Restored and Magic Origins, 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 Dreadwaters and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dreadwaters Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2012-05-04 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Cliff Childs.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-05-04	Avacyn Restored	AVR	49	2003	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs
2	2015-07-17	Magic Origins	ORI	56	2015	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs
3	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	358	2015	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs
4	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	ORI-56	2015	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dreadwaters has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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