Wandering Stream MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Abilities | Domain |
| Released | 2000-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Invasion |
| Set code | INV |
| Number | 224 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Quinton Hoover |
Text of card
You gain 2 life for each basic land type among lands you control.
"Dominaria touches us all." —Molimo, maro-sorcerer
Cards like Wandering Stream
Wandering Stream finds its place among a suite of land-based cards in Magic: The Gathering, providing a unique effect that allows players to fetch lands from their library. This card serves a similar purpose to Rampant Growth, which directly puts a land onto the battlefield, but the Stream lets the player choose from more options, enhancing flexibility.
In comparison, cards like Cultivate and Kodama’s Reach allow players to not only search their library for a land card but also to put one into play and the other into their hand. This contrasts with Wandering Stream’s single action, diversifying choices for players who wish to ramp. Furthermore, Farseek is another card that searches for a nonbasic land, offering a broader search criterion that can be pivotal for multicolored deck builders. Unlike Wandering Stream, Farseek directly places the discovered land onto the battlefield, providing an immediate boost in mana.
Understanding the capabilities and restrictions of each card is key for players building a mana-efficient strategy. While Wandering Stream may not offer the immediate gratification of land placement, its versatility in land choice can be instrumental in certain deck builds, making it a valuable piece in the MTG landscape.
Cards similar to Wandering Stream by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wandering Stream stands out in decks that are geared towards maximizing the number of cards in hand. Its ability to potentially draw additional land cards offers players a continuous flow of resources, keeping their hands full and options open.
Resource Acceleration: This versatile card aids in streamlining your mana base by allowing you to search for two land cards, placing one on the battlefield and the other into your hand. This accelerates your resource development, empowers your mana curve, and helps in casting more impactful spells quicker.
Instant Speed: The power of Wandering Stream is not just in what it does but also in when it can do it. With instant speed, it provides flexibility, allowing players to respond to the game’s ebb and flow, maintain strategic surprise, and fully utilize their mana each turn, whether for reactionary plays or proactive advancement of their board state.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Wandering Stream necessitates the discarding of a card which could be burdensome when your hand size is dwindling and you need to maintain options for strategic plays.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s requirement for blue mana restricts its inclusion to decks able to generate that color reliably, potentially making it less flexible for multi-color strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost, Wandering Stream competes with other spells that might deliver instant or more impactful effects, thus its place in a deck needs careful consideration due to other potentially more mana-efficient alternatives.
Reasons to Include Wandering Stream in Your Collection
Versatility: Wandering Stream, with its ability to search for a basic land card and place it into your hand, can easily find a place in a variety of green decks that aim for land consistency and smooth mana curves.
Combo Potential: This card can synergize with landfall abilities or ramp strategies, allowing you to quickly escalate the number of lands you have in play and capitalize on powerful land-based combos.
Meta-Relevance: In formats where land interaction is pivotal for deck efficiency or speed, Wandering Stream ensures that you stay ahead by maintaining land drops and supporting the foundational elements of your strategy.
How to beat
Wandering Stream is a card that challenges players to navigate its life-gaining ability with tactical precision. Facing this card in Magic: The Gathering, a player must consider strategies that thwart or bypass its effects. One approach to countering Wandering Stream is through employing removal spells to clear the path of creatures benefiting from its persistent life gain. Alternatively, taking an aggressive stance with cards that scale in power as your life total increases, can shift the tide in your favor despite your opponent’s health buffer.
Another effective tactic is embracing card types that limit spell casting or creature abilities, such as silence or suppression effects, to prevent the activation of life-gain triggers. This can disable the synergy Wandering Stream relies on, nullifying its advantage. Furthermore, incorporating win conditions that don’t depend on dealing combat damage, like milling or direct damage through burn spells, can help navigate around the life-gain obstacle it presents.
To conclude, adapting your strategy to either prevent or circumvent Wandering Stream’s life gain is crucial. Whether by using targeted removal, suppression, or alternate win conditions, ensure your deck has the tools to secure victory against decks empowered by this enchanting stream’s effects.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wandering Stream MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Wandering Stream 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
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Wandering Stream has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wandering Stream card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2009-02-01 | A number of nonbasic lands have basic land types. Domain abilities don’t count the number of lands you control — they count the number of basic land types among lands you control, even if that means checking the same land twice. For example, if you control a Tundra, an Overgrown Tomb, and a Madblind Mountain, you’ll have a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest among the lands you control. Your domain abilities will be maxed out. |
| 2009-02-01 | How many lands you control of a particular basic land type is irrelevant to a domain ability, as long as that number is greater than zero. As far as domain is concerned, ten Forests is the same as one Forest. |
| 2009-02-01 | To determine the number of basic land types among lands you control, look at the lands you have on the battlefield and ask yourself whether the subtypes Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest appear within that group. The number of times you say yes (topping out at five) tells you how powerful your domain abilities will be. |