Tidewalker MTG Card

Scaling power of Tidewalker can dominate the board as the game advances. Supports strategies increasing land count for a resource and mana advantage. Flexible growth aligning with instant speed effects adds surprise elements.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Elemental
Abilities	Vanishing
Released	2007-02-02
Set symbol
Set name	Planar Chaos
Set code	PLC
Power	*
Toughness	*
Number	49
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Dave Kendall

Text of card

Tidewalker comes into play with a time counter on it for each Island you control. Vanishing (At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from this permanent. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.) Tidewalker's power and toughness are each equal to the number of time counters on it.

Cards like Tidewalker

Tidewalker holds its own in the vast seas of creature cards available to enthusiasts of the game. When you compare it to Water Elemental, another blue creature with a comparable mana value, Tidewalker’s strength lies in its scalability. While Water Elemental has a fixed power and toughness, Tidewalker’s power scales with the number of Islands you control, making it potentially more powerful in mono-blue or island-heavy decks.

We can also look towards Marjhan, which, like Tidewalker, benefits from being on the battlefield with numerous Islands. However, Marjhan requires a larger mana investment and offers an array of abilities besides scaling power. There’s an inherent flexibility in Tidewalker’s simplicity, especially for players opting for an ease of play over complex synergies.

In essence, Tidewalker presents itself as a card with clear advantages in the right deck environment. Its ability to be a chameleon in the battlefield based on land count aligns it well with strategies that demand few complications but potentially large aquatic creatures.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The allure of Tidewalker lies in its ability to scale with the game, potentially yielding a significant creature size advantage as the match progresses. This cumulative growth can translate into a commanding board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Embedded in Tidewalker’s design is a synergy with strategies that swell the number of lands on the battlefield. This harmonious interaction fuels resource acceleration, propelling your mana availability ahead of the curve and enabling more impactful plays.

Instant Speed: While Tidewalker itself is not an instant-speed spell, it benefits from effects that operate at such speed. Being able to summon lands or grow Tidewalker out of the usual turn sequence allows for reactive playstyles and keeps adversaries guessing about the full extent of your capabilities.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One potential drawback of Tidewalker is its reliance on discarding a card to trigger its abilities. This can be a significant drawback in situations where your hand is already depleted. Having to let go of useful cards could set you behind, particularly in the late game when every card in hand counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Tidewalker comes with a specific mana cost that demands a heavy blue mana commitment. This characteristic might restrict the card’s inclusion to mono-blue or two-color decks where generating the necessary blue mana is feasible, potentially excluding it from a wider range of multi-color decks that can’t reliably meet its mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost sitting at the higher end of the spectrum, Tidewalker faces stiff competition from other creatures or spells in the same mana range. Players may find that other cards at a similar cost could provide more immediate impact on the board or offer abilities that are more beneficial to their overall strategy.

Reasons to Include Tidewalker in Your Collection

Versatility: Tidewalker has a flexible role in your deck-building arsenal. With its scalable power, it can adapt to various stages of the game, ensuring it remains a pertinent force whether you’re establishing your board or pushing for that final stretch.

Combo Potential: Its ability to amass +1/+1 counters opens the door for synergies with other counter-based cards. This potential for exponential growth can turn Tidewalker into a formidable threat that can take your opponents by surprise.

Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment that’s heavy on creature-based combat, Tidewalker offers a valuable asset with its ability to swell in size, making it a card that matches well against several prevalent deck types, thereby solidifying its place in your collection.

How to beat

Tidewalker can be a challenging card to face in MTG thanks to its variable power and toughness that scale with the number of time counters on it. The card grows stronger with each passing turn, potentially overwhelming opponents who are unprepared. Nevertheless, players can adopt several strategies to triumph over Tidewalker.

One effective approach involves utilizing removal spells that can eliminate creatures regardless of their size, such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade. Another tactic is to prevent the accumulation of time counters with cards like Clockspinning or Timecrafting, which can manipulate time counters and diminish Tidewalker’s power.

Moreover, countering Tidewalker before it even hits the battlefield remains a solid option. Counterspells like Negate or Essence Scatter can stop Tidewalker early in the game, avoiding the need to deal with it later. Players may also consider using strategies that bypass the creature entirely, such as direct player damage spells or spells that grant unblockable to their creatures, effectively circumventing Tidewalker’s ever-increasing threat.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tidewalker MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos, 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 Tidewalker and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tidewalker has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2007-02-01	If you don’t control any Islands when Tidewalker enters the battlefield, its vanishing ability has no effect. (It enters the battlefield with no time counters on it, so neither of the vanishing triggers can trigger. See “Vanishing” in the General Notes section above.) On the other hand, it will be 0/0 and will be put into its owner’s graveyard unless something is boosting its toughness.
2007-02-01	Unless something is boosting Tidewalker’s toughness, when the last time counter is removed, it will be put into the graveyard as a state-based action for having 0 toughness before it can be sacrificed as the result of vanishing.