Buoyancy MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant, Flash
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	63
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jeff Miracola

Key Takeaways

Buoyancy enhances strategic gameplay with instant-speed adaptability and resourceful mana untapping.
While offering deck versatility, it requires blue mana and card discarding commitment.
Its meta-relevance and combo potential make it a strong contender in certain matchups.

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

You may play Buoyancy any time you could play an instant. Enchanted creature has flying.

Saprazzan merfolk become legged on land, but some find it quicker to bring the water with them.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Buoyancy provides a meaningful edge as it can offer card filtration, allowing players to control their draws and access to critical resources in a game. Keeping your hand replenished is key, and this card plays a strategic role in achieving that.

Resource Acceleration: This card stands out by facilitating resource acceleration. It effectively untaps targeted lands, which can be pivotal for ramping up mana production. This feature is particularly beneficial when looking to deploy high-cost spells or activate demanding abilities earlier in the match.

Instant Speed: The versatility of instant speed cannot be overstated. With Buoyancy, strategists can optimize their turns by utilizing their mana efficiently and disrupting opponents’ plays. Acting at the end of an adversary’s turn or in response to an action ensures maximum unpredictability and tactical depth.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Buoyancy necessitates the player to discard another card, which could be a significant setback especially in decks that rely on maintaining card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both blue mana and generic mana, potentially restricting its integration to decks that run on specific mana bases, making it less flexible in multicolored deck designs.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Buoyancy demands a total of three mana, which includes two blue, to cast. When compared to other enchantments or spells that may provide similar or greater utility, this cost is considered on the higher side, potentially slowing down your game tempo.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Buoyancy offers utility across a variety of blue-based decks, often fitting seamlessly into both tempo and control archetypes. Its ability to return creatures to a player’s hand can be used defensively or to reutilize advantageous enter-the-battlefield effects.

Combo Potential: This enchantment easily synergizes with cards that capitalize on casting multiple spells or bouncing creatures. Its low mana cost enables it to be a cog in a machine that can execute potent combinations as early as mid-game.

Meta-Relevance: Against decks that rely on establishing a board presence with creatures, Buoyancy adds a layer of control. This helps in prevailing over matchups where the pace and state of the battlefield dictate the game’s outcome.

How to Beat

Buoyancy is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that allows players to float their permanents back to their hand. Navigating a game where Buoyancy is in play requires a strategic approach. One way to overcome this card’s strength is by using instant speed, targeted removal. This forces the Buoyancy player to use their mana inefficiently if they want to save their permanent. Counterspells are also quite effective since they prevent Buoyancy from hitting the field in the first place.

Moreover, playing cards that restrict the number of spells a player can cast each turn will negate the advantage Buoyancy provides. Look out for cards like Deafening Silence for a one-spell-per-turn limit. Cards that hinder or strip away abilities of permanents, such as Suppression Bonds, also dampen this card’s buoyant effect. Finally, include some untargeted removal like board wipes in your deck. Since Buoyancy relies on targeting, a sweep of the board clears the way, leaving your opponent’s strategy sunk.

Keep in mind, utilizing these measures shifts the tides in your favor, as your opponent will either lose resources or be unable to fully capitalize on Buoyancy’s bouncing benefits.

Cards like Buoyancy

Buoyancy brings a unique twist to the enchantment lineup in Magic: The Gathering, akin to cards that focus on protecting and reutilizing creatures. Comparable to cards like Rancor, Buoyancy offers creatures the ability to return to hand rather than just granting a power boost. Where Rancor gives a creature trample and returns to hand when the creature dies, Buoyancy provides an aerial advantage, ensuring creatures can bounce back to your hand and avoid removal or unfavorable blocks by returning when they become the target of a spell or ability.

Another peer in this category is Whip Silk, which endows a creature with reach and also has the returning characteristic akin to Buoyancy but involves a mana cost to trigger the return. This differentiates itself from Buoyancy which allows for a cost-free return mechanism when triggered. Then there’s the Fleeting Image, a creature that allows itself to be returned to the owner’s hand at will, offering a level of control over the board, much like Buoyancy’s protective aspect. Unlike static enchantments or creatures, Buoyancy adds a dynamic layer of strategy in maintaining board presence.

Altogether, Buoyancy offers players a subtle yet robust way to safeguard key creatures while maintaining hand advantage. Its automatic trigger can disrupt opponents’ plans, making it a strategic choice within Magic: The Gathering’s vast array of enchantments.

Cards similar to Buoyancy by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Buoyancy MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Buoyancy and other MTG cards: