Merrow Wavebreakers MTG Card


Merrow Wavebreakers - Shadowmoor
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Merfolk Soldier
Released2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set nameShadowmoor
Set codeSHM
Power 3
Toughness 3
Number44
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byAlex Horley-Orlandelli

Key Takeaways

  1. Card draws when attacking provide a sustained advantage, escalating your potential in-game resources.
  2. Lands untap during attacks, allowing quicker spells and amplifying your mana pool efficiency.
  3. Instant-speed unblockability offers strategic flexibility, making surprise attacks more effective.

Text of card

, {Q}: Merrow Wavebreakers gains flying until end of turn. ({Q} is the untap symbol.)

The merrows' prey have retreated from the shore, so they have learned to follow.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Merrow Wavebreakers provides players with the ability to draw cards upon connecting with an opponent, offering a continuous potential to generate card advantage over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: This card has the potential to untap all lands you control when it attacks, significantly speeding up your mana availability and paving the way for casting higher-cost spells much earlier than usual.

Instant Speed: Merrow Wavebreakers can be turned into an unblockable creature at instant speed, giving players the strategic edge to make surprise maneuvers and optimize their attacks without being hindered by enemy creatures.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of Merrow Wavebreakers, players often find the discard requirement to be a stumbling block. This forces you to weigh the potential of the deployed creature against the immediate loss of another card from your hand, which may not always be beneficial, especially in longer or more strategic games where hand management is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: The Merrow Wavebreakers come with a mana cost that requires not just generic mana but also a specific blue commitment. This tailored cost means that in decks that don’t heavily favor blue mana or that are multi-colored and mana-stretched, these creatures may strain your mana resources or delay their play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a card that essentially offers a creature with a conditional ability to become unblockable, its mana cost is seen by some players as high. There are a variety of other creatures or spells in the MTG universe that might provide either a solid creature body or evasion abilities for a lower investment, potentially giving those cards an edge in deck construction efficiency.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Merrow Wavebreakers bring flexibility to blue-based decks as they can be a threat in themselves while also enabling other sea creatures. Their ability to become unblockable provides consistent pressure on your opponent.

Combo Potential: With the capability to make themselves and other Merfolk unblockable for a turn, Merrow Wavebreakers synergize well with Merfolk strategies that benefit from safe combat or direct damage to opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where creature combat is prevalent, Merrow Wavebreakers offer an edge by bypassing blockers, making them relevant in various match-ups and metagames.


How to beat

Merrow Wavebreakers can be a tricky card to navigate in Magic: The Gathering due to its Islandwalk ability, essentially making it unblockable as long as the opponent controls an Island. This aquatic-oriented creature from the Blue faction brings a unique challenge to the table, highlighting the need for strategic countermeasures.

Tackling Merrow Wavebreakers requires a bit of insight into managing enchanted creatures. Cards like Unsummon present an efficient solution, bouncing the Wavebreakers back to the opponent’s hand and disrupting their momentum. Spells like Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization offer removal options, extracting the threat from the field or replacing it with a less problematic creature. You could also alter the battlefield itself: cards like Blood Moon can transform nonbasic lands into basic Mountains, negating the Wavebreaker’s unblockability if Islands are the source. While land removal is generally frowned upon, strategic land alteration can be highly effective.

Ultimately, understanding the synergies that make Merrow Wavebreakers powerful and disrupting those links can effectively diminish its impact on the game, maintaining control of the match and paving the way towards victory.


Cards like Merrow Wavebreakers

Merrow Wavebreakers join the cadre of aquatic creatures in Magic: The Gathering that shine in decks geared towards sea faring themes. With its ability to grant unblockable status to one of your creatures until end of turn, the Merrow Wavebreakers draw parallels to Tidal Warrior, another creature that can temporarily influence the battlefield by turning any land into an Island. While Tidal Warrior offers a more strategic land manipulation ability, the Wavebreakers have a distinct advantage in promoting direct combat superiority.

Scroll Thief is another comparable card, sharing the Merfolk creature type and the theme of combat advantage. It awards card draw upon dealing combat damage to a player, supporting a consistent advantage in card resources. Though lacking the combat evasion enhancement provided by the Wavebreakers, it compensates with its inherent card advantage mechanic.

Altogether, in a versatile Merfolk deck or those capitalizing on evasive maneuvers, Merrow Wavebreakers have a valuable role. They may not always turn the tide of the game with card draw or land alteration, but they excel at clearing the way for decisive attacks, securing their place among the myriad of options players have for reinforcing their aquatic strategies.

Tidal Warrior - MTG Card versions
Scroll Thief - MTG Card versions
Tidal Warrior - Stronghold (STH)
Scroll Thief - Magic 2011 (M11)

Cards similar to Merrow Wavebreakers by color, type and mana cost

Vesuvan Doppelganger - MTG Card versions
Water Elemental - MTG Card versions
Air Elemental - MTG Card versions
Sandbar Crocodile - MTG Card versions
Pirate Ship - MTG Card versions
Segovian Leviathan - MTG Card versions
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer - MTG Card versions
Mawcor - MTG Card versions
Timin, Youthful Geist - MTG Card versions
Geology Enthusiast - MTG Card versions
Coastal Hornclaw - MTG Card versions
Meloku the Clouded Mirror - MTG Card versions
Azami, Lady of Scrolls - MTG Card versions
Cloudhoof Kirin - MTG Card versions
Drelnoch - MTG Card versions
Adarkar Windform - MTG Card versions
Infiltrator il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Mulldrifter - MTG Card versions
Chasm Drake - MTG Card versions
Belltower Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Vesuvan Doppelganger - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Water Elemental - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Air Elemental - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Sandbar Crocodile - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Pirate Ship - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Segovian Leviathan - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Mawcor - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Timin, Youthful Geist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Geology Enthusiast - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Coastal Hornclaw - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Meloku the Clouded Mirror - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Cloudhoof Kirin - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Drelnoch - Coldsnap (CSP)
Adarkar Windform - Coldsnap (CSP)
Infiltrator il-Kor - Future Sight (FUT)
Mulldrifter - The List (PLST)
Chasm Drake - Magic 2012 (M12)
Belltower Sphinx - Magic 2012 (M12)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Merrow Wavebreakers MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Merrow Wavebreakers and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Merrow Wavebreakers has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-05-01 If a creature with an {Q} ability hasn’t been under your control since your most recent turn began, you can’t activate that ability, unless the creature has haste.
2008-05-01 If the permanent is already untapped, you can’t activate its {Q} ability. That’s because you can’t pay the “Untap this permanent” cost.
2008-05-01 When you activate an {Q} ability, you untap the creature with that ability as a cost. The untap can’t be responded to. (The actual ability can be responded to, of course.)

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