Roiling Waters MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	7
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2016-01-22
Set symbol
Set name	Oath of the Gatewatch
Set code	OGW
Number	62
Frame	2015
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	David Gaillet

Key Takeaways

Card advantage and resource acceleration make Roiling Waters highly impactful in late-game scenarios.
Instant speed lets players cast Roiling Waters flexibly, aiding in complex battle navigation.
Despite its power, the discard and mana cost requirements are significant considerations for players.

Text of card

Return up to two target creatures your opponents control to their owners' hands. Target player draws two cards.

"The Roil may be unpredictable, but it is not uncontrollable." —Noyan Dar, Tazeem roilmage

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Roiling Waters excels at shifting the tide of battle by replenishing your hand. When played, it allows you to draw a significant number of cards, ensuring you won’t fall behind in the late game.

Resource Acceleration: By returning up to two target creatures to their owner’s hand, this card effectively buys you time and accelerates your board presence, giving you the upper hand in resource management.

Instant Speed: The true power of Roiling Waters is its ability to disrupt your opponent’s strategy at instant speed. This flexibility lets you navigate complex situations, casting it when it can have the most impact during your opponent’s turn or in response to an action, making it a formidable spell in any player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must discard two cards when casting Roiling Waters which can be a substantial setback when you’re trying to maintain card advantage against your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: Roiling Waters demands a strict mana combination for casting, requiring six mana including double blue. This can be a hurdle in multi-color decks that aren’t heavily invested in blue sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of six mana, Roiling Waters is on the higher end of the mana curve. Considering the investment, the impact might not always align with the tempo of the game, especially when faster, lower-cost alternatives may provide similar or better effects.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Roiling Waters is a magic card that offers a powerful effect for decks focused on controlling the board. As a versatile card, it can disrupt opponent strategies by bouncing multiple creatures to their hand and refilling your own hand with cards.

Combo Potential: With Roiling Waters, the possibility to reset the battlefield while simultaneously drawing cards can enhance various combo strategies. It pairs well with cards that capitalize on casting multiple spells in a turn or benefit from having numerous cards in hand.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based aggro or midrange decks are prevalent, Roiling Waters serves as a tool to swing games in your favor. By removing established threats and providing card advantage, it aligns well with the pace of current competitive play.

How to beat

Roiling Waters stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a powerful late-game play, with the ability to disrupt your opponent’s strategy by returning two creatures to their hand and drawing two cards. This kind of control can swing the game’s momentum in your favor. However, even the mightiest waves can be calmed.

To overcome the impact of Roiling Waters, consider utilizing low-cost creatures to populate the board rather than relying on a few heavyweight creatures. Spells that grant hexproof such as Blossoming Defense can safeguard your key creatures from being returned to your hand. Additionally, instant-speed spells that counteract noncreature spells, like Negate or Disallow, can prevent Roiling Waters from ever hitting the battlefield. Be mindful of your opponent’s mana and possibly bait out the use of Roiling Waters with less critical spells, preserving your more valuable creatures for a later turn when your opponent’s resources might be lower.

Ultimately, the key to beating Roiling Waters lies in maintaining a diversified board presence, employing strategic spell timing, and having answers ready for your opponent’s attempt to clear the way with this potent spell.

Cards like Roiling Waters

Roiling Waters plays an intriguing role in the array of control spells in Magic: The Gathering. As a card that obliterates an opponent’s momentum, its comparison is often drawn to other bounce spells such as Flood of Tears. Flood of Tears provides a sweeping effect, returning all non-land permanents to their owners’ hands, but requires six mana compared to Roiling Waters’ seven. However, Roiling Waters offers additional value by forcing the opponent to discard two cards, a significant advantage for disrupting your opponent’s strategy.

Analogous in function is Aetherspouts, which requires one less mana and deals uniquely with attacking creatures, directing them to the bottom or top of the library instead of bouncing to hand. Although Aetherspouts doesn’t directly affect the hand, it essentially decimates an opponent’s developed board. In contrast, Devastation Tide is a miracle card that, when drawn at the right time, can be cast for substantially less and achieves a similar board reset effect, but it lacks the targeted discard benefit that characterizes Roiling Waters.

In looking at utility and impact, Roiling Waters holds a strong position among Magic: The Gathering’s control spells, especially for its built-in card disadvantage imposition alongside the traditional bouncing effect.

Flood of Tears - Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20)

Devastation Tide - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Roiling Waters MTG card by a specific set like Oath of the Gatewatch, 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 Roiling Waters and other MTG cards: