Wave Elemental MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Elemental
Released	1996-10-08
Set symbol
Set name	Mirage
Set code	MIR
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	102
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Zak Plucinski

Key Takeaways

Wave Elemental can provide card advantage by controlling multiple enemies, offering a strategic upper hand.
Its instant speed sacrifice ability disrupts opponents’ plans, making it a tactical weapon in your arsenal.
Despite strengths, its demand for specific mana and high cost can limit its practicality in some decks.

Text of card

o U, oc T, Sacrifice Wave Elemental: Tap up to three target creatures without flying.

"Consider the wave: how weak the mother yet how strong the child." —Tywanna, Shaper Guildmage

Wave Elemental Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wave Elemental stands out by potentially providing card advantage. Being able to tie up multiple opposing creatures can equate to drawing extra cards as it can restrict the opponent’s ability to make optimal plays, giving you the upper hand.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana, this card can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration by clearing the path for your attacks, which in turn can enable abilities that trigger upon dealing combat damage to a player, resulting in additional resources or effects.

Instant Speed: One of the signature strengths of Wave Elemental is its secondary ability to sacrifice itself at instant speed to tap up to three target creatures without flying. This flexibility allows you to disrupt your opponent’s strategy at a crucial moment, potentially saving you from powerful attacks or disrupting synergies, much like a classic combat trick.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Wave Elemental demands a card from your hand to be discarded upon activation. This could strain your hand, particularly if you’re struggling to keep a sufficient number of cards at the ready, diminishing your strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Commanding a particular arrangement of mana to cast, this card requires precise mana resources which might not always gel with your deck’s mana base, potentially causing a wrench in your game flow.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For the abilities it confers, Wave Elemental has a notable mana investment which might outweigh the benefits when compared to other creatures in your pool, possibly hampering your deck’s efficiency.

Reasons to Include Wave Elemental in Your Collection

Versatility: Wave Elemental offers a unique role in blue decks, particularly those centered around manipulating the battlefield. Its ability to tap potential blockers or free up your creatures to attack unimpeded makes it a flexible choice for many strategies.

Combo Potential: In combination with cards that care about the number of creatures you control or the tap/untap status of those creatures, Wave Elemental can serve as a surprising enabler. This makes it an intriguing piece for combos that require precise board states.

Meta-Relevance: With a meta that sometimes shifts towards creature-heavy strategies, having Wave Elemental in your arsenal ensures you have a tool that can quite literally shift the tides of battle in your favor, disrupting your opponent’s plans and providing you with strategic advantages.

How to beat

Confronting a Wave Elemental on the battlefield can be a daunting task for seasoned Magic: The Gathering players. This elusive creature boasts the power to disappear into the waves, keeping it out of reach from many traditional removal spells. Possessing the ability to control its own phasing, the Wave Elemental can effectively dodge sorcery-speed interaction, leading to a frustrating experience for the unprepared opponent.

However, this doesn’t mean that the Wave Elemental is unconquerable. The key is to focus on instant-speed removal or effects that don’t target the creature directly. Utilizing board wipes that clear out all creatures, for instance, can be a very effective strategy. Cards with global effects, such as Doomskar or Wrath of God, can level the playing field without having to target the elusive Wave Elemental. Furthermore, players can utilize counterspells to prevent the Wave Elemental from ever entering the battlefield in the first place. Lastly, employing passive strategies through enchantments like Rest in Peace disrupts the graveyard synergy some decks with Wave Elemental may rely on, helping to turn the tide of battle in your favor while the Wave Elemental remains phased out.

Adjusting your playstyle and maintaining patience, while keeping handy a suite of versatile responses, are critical components in overcoming the Wave Elemental’s aquatic antics. Understanding and anticipating this card’s strengths and weaknesses is vital in securing victory against any deck that includes this tricky elemental force.

Cards like Wave Elemental

Wave Elemental is an intriguing creature card in the diverse universe of Magic: The Gathering. It shares the elemental creature type with cards like Water Elemental, a creature with a straightforward presence and commitment to brute strength on the battlefield without any additional effects. Wave Elemental, by comparison, offers a unique ability to phase out, temporarily removing itself from play without formally leaving the battlefield—a nuanced strategy that allows players to dodge removal or postpone threats.

Another relative in function is the famous Tradewind Rider. Much like Wave Elemental, it disrupts opponents’ game plans, although it does so by returning permanents to the owner’s hand, which gives players a way to control the board with repeated use. Both cards promote a tactical style of play, but Tradewind Rider asks for more interaction with the board state and fellow creatures for activation.

Considering their distinct strategic benefits, Wave Elemental stands as a formidable card in MTG. It not only provides a robust body to hold the frontline but also introduces a layer of subtlety with its phasing ability, making it a card worth considering for decks that thrive on versatility and tactical manipulation.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wave Elemental MTG card by a specific set like Mirage, 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 Wave Elemental and other MTG cards: