Volatile Fjord MTG Card
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Snow Land — Island Mountain |
| Released | 2021-02-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Kaldheim |
| Set code | KHM |
| Number | 273 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Randy Vargas |
Text of card
(: Add or .) Volatile Fjord enters the battlefield tapped.
"I watched with my own eyes as Jari Eagle-Caller fell from these cliffs, only to be snatched from the air by a giant bird!" —Iskene, Kannah storyteller
Cards like Volatile Fjord
Volatile Fjord joins the roster of modal dual-faced lands in Magic: The Gathering, much akin to the Pathway lands such as Riverglide Pathway and Barkchannel Pathway. These lands present players with a choice upon entering the battlefield, allowing for a flexible mana base. However, Volatile Fjord has the edge of being an Island Mountain, granting it the ability to tap for either blue or red mana, without needing to choose a side immediately.
The Fjord is also reminiscent of the classic dual lands like Steam Vents but with a significant difference – it enters the battlefield tapped with zero cost to life points. This contrasts with lands like Steam Vents that provide immediate utility at the expense of life or tempo. Another comparison is with the shock lands, which also offer instant land availability, but with the added price of potentially damaging the player’s life total.
Although not as flexible as the aforementioned shock lands in terms of immediate play, Volatile Fjord does contribute towards land count for cards like Fabled Passage, helping with landfall triggers or domain abilities seamlessly. It’s a strategic and budget-friendly alternative for deck builders prioritizing consistency over tempo in their mana base.
Cards similar to Volatile Fjord by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Volatile Fjord. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: By offering modal utility, Volatile Fjord enhances your card advantage. It ensures you have the option to develop your mana base or amplify your spells, depending on what the current board state requires.
Resource Acceleration: As a card that can be played as land, Volatile Fjord can accelerate your resources without taking up an additional slot in your deck that a traditional land would. Its flexibility in mana generation can be crucial for casting high-cost spells earlier in the game.
Instant Speed: Volatile Fjord doesn’t directly operate at instant speed; however, it allows you to optimize your land drops at the most strategic times. This can lead to having open mana when it’s most advantageous, ensuring that your instant-speed spells have the necessary resources available exactly when you need them.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Volatile Fjord demands that you discard another card to capitalize on its full potential. This could be a significant setback if your hand is already depleted or if the card you must forfeit is crucial for your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: Providing only red or blue mana, Volatile Fjord restricts flexibility. It requires a deck that is fine-tuned to these colors, which might not be ideal for multi-colored or colorless deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Deploying Volatile Fjord comes with a steep resource cost. Deploying land that enters the battlefield tapped unless you pay two life shows a high opportunity cost, impacting your tempo and potentially giving opponents an edge.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Volatile Fjord offers dual land functionality, seamlessly integrating into multicolored decks that are aligned with its blue and red mana output. Its adaptability makes it a staple for any player looking to optimize mana flow without compromising deck consistency.
Combo Potential: This particular card opens up possibilities for synergies within instant and sorcery heavy strategies, as it provides essential mana of two different types. By smoothing out mana availability, it enables quicker execution of combo plays that could swing the game in your favor.
Meta-Relevance: As the meta shifts, decks that can swiftly adapt prevail. Volatile Fjord holds its ground in a variety of competitive formats, offering the mana flexibility demanded by fast-paced games. Whether it’s facilitating early game plays or ensuring you have the necessary resources later on, including Volatile Fjord could give you the edge in the current landscape.
How to beat
Volatile Fjord enters the battlefield in the vast realm of Magic: The Gathering offering both versatility and utility. As a dual-faced card, it can be a game-changer offering players the option to either have an untapped blue mana source or to flip it into a tap for red. Its subtle advantage lies in the strategic flexibility it provides for mana fixing.
To effectively counter this card, consider the timing of land destruction. By disrupting the mana base before Volatile Fjord transforms, you can limit its usefulness. Targeted spells that remove nonbasic lands or effects that restrict players from choosing land types can sever the dual utility of Volatile Fjord. Players should also be wary of bluffing; the mere presence of the card might suggest a red splash in a primarily blue deck, so don’t be misled into misallocating your resources. Pay attention to your opponent’s land drops and apply pressure accordingly.
Ultimately, keeping a close watch on your opponent’s mana and having a response ready can negate the flexibility that Volatile Fjord brings to the table in Magic: The Gathering, rendering it just another card in their arsenal rather than the hinge of a master strategy.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Volatile Fjord MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim, 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 Volatile Fjord and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Volatile Fjord has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Volatile Fjord card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-05 | Snow is a supertype, not a card type. It has no rules meaning or function by itself, but spells and abilities may refer to it. |
| 2021-02-05 | Snow isn’t a type of mana. If an effect says you may spend mana as though it were any type, you can’t pay for {S} using mana that wasn’t produced by a snow source. |
| 2021-02-05 | Some cards have additional effects for each {S} spent to cast them. You can cast these spells even if you don’t spend any snow mana to cast them; their additional effects simply won’t do anything. |
| 2021-02-05 | The Kaldheim set doesn’t have any cards with mana costs that include {S}, but some previous sets do. If an effect says such a spell costs less to cast, that reduction doesn’t apply to any {S} costs. This is also true for activated abilities that include {S} in their activation costs and effects that reduce those costs. |
| 2021-02-05 | The {S} symbol is a generic mana symbol. It represents a cost that can be paid by one mana that was produced by a snow source. That mana can be any color or colorless. |