Waterwind Scout MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Merfolk Scout |
| Abilities | Explore,Flying |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 84 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Alix Branwyn |
Text of card
Flying When Waterwind Scout enters the battlefield, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with ", , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
Cards like Waterwind Scout
Waterwind Scout is a notable creature card that MTG players can utilize for strategic battlefield control. This card finds its parallels in cards like Containment Priest, a creature that can also serve as a check against opponents’ creatures entering the battlefield from anywhere other than their hands. Waterwind Scout, however, offers a unique advantage with its flying ability, giving it an excellent edge in evasion tactics.
Comparative analysis reveals Mistmeadow Witch as another creature card that shares the ability to manipulate creatures on the battlefield. While Mistmeadow Witch requires mana to activate its ability and only targets a single creature, Waterwind Scout’s effect is triggered upon entering the battlefield, affecting multiple targets but only once. The tactical implications differ, with Waterwind Scout being more suited to decks that capitalize on enter-the-battlefield effects.
Evaluating Waterwind Scout against these similar alternatives underlines its potential in granting aerial supremacy and controlling the board through its multi-target effect. This aspect, combined with the potential for combo plays, makes Waterwind Scout a distinctive choice for players crafting a deck around creature control and evasive strategies in the MTG landscape.
Cards similar to Waterwind Scout by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Waterwind Scout not only brings a creature to your board but also digs through your library, allowing you to select the next spell that will enhance your hand. This selection process gives you a leg up, ensuring your plays stay relevant and powerful throughout the match.
Resource Acceleration: While Waterwind Scout itself does not directly produce additional resources, its ability to sift through the top cards of your library accelerates your access to the resources you need. Strategic selection can lead to the drawing of ramp spells or lands that propel your game forward faster.
Instant Speed: The capacity to flash Waterwind Scout at the end of your opponent’s turn or when it’s most tactically advantageous adds an element of surprise and strategic depth. This enables you to adapt to the board’s state, keeping your opponent guessing and your mana efficiently utilized.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Waterwind Scout comes with the caveat of needing to discard a card. This trade-off can put players at a disadvantage, especially if their hand is already running low on options or they’re holding onto key pieces for their strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: Utilizing this card requires access to both blue and green mana. For players not committed to these colors or running a multicolored deck, including Waterwind Scout could be restrictive, potentially leading to color mana issues during crucial moments of gameplay.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to get Waterwind Scout on the battlefield is not insignificant. With other creatures in the same cost bracket offering potentially higher impact or synergistic abilities, it’s important for players to evaluate whether its inclusion represents the best use of their mana resources.
Reasons to Include Waterwind Scout in Your Collection
Versatility: Waterwind Scout has a flexible role within blue-based decks, fitting naturally into strategies that require a creature that can affect the board upon entry while remaining a valuable asset for potential synergies.
Combo Potential: The card’s ability to bounce another creature can be a linchpin in various combos, making it an excellent choice for decks that aim to capitalize on enter-the-battlefield effects or need to reuse their own creatures’ abilities.
Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity for interaction with numerous deck archetypes, Waterwind Scout can serve as a tactical advantage in a meta dominated by tempo-oriented games, adding depth and flexibility to your game plan.
How to beat
Waterwind Scout presents an intriguing challenge on the board with its prowess in enhancing MTG blue tempo decks. Its flying ability allows it to be a consistent damage dealer, often slipping past ground-based defenses. Despite its strengths, overcoming this card involves strategic play and specific countermeasures.
Removal spells are effective against the Waterwind Scout. Since it lacks inherent protection, instant-speed removal like Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt can dispatch the Scout before it becomes a threat. Moreover, countering it on the stack is also viable. Cards like Essence Scatter serve well to thwart the Scout before it even enters the battlefield. Sweeper spells like Wrath of God can clear the Scout along with any other creatures your opponent controls if it’s already in play.
To summarize, the key to beating Waterwind Scout lies in preemptive actions and keeping handy those spells that can directly target or sweep across the board. A precisely timed removal or counter when the Scout is on the stack or early in its battlefield presence will keep the tempo in your favor.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Waterwind Scout MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 Waterwind Scout 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 Waterwind Scout has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Waterwind Scout card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-11-10 | If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate. |
| 2023-11-10 | If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.) |
| 2023-11-10 | Map tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one is a colorless artifact with the artifact subtype Map and the ability ", , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery." |
| 2023-11-10 | Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again. |