Risen Riptide MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elemental
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Power	0
Toughness	5
Number	73
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Zezhou Chen

Key Takeaways

Generates card advantage through synergy with kicked spells, enhancing deck efficiency.
Instant speed activation allows for surprising defensive or offensive plays.
Requires strategic mana and spell management to maximize potential.

Text of card

Whenever you cast a kicked spell, Risen Riptide has base power and toughness 5/5 until end of turn.

"Most days the sea is my friend. But only most days." —Jori En, expedition leader

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Risen Riptide shines in decks focused on casting kicked spells, potentially creating multiple threats for opponents. Each kicked spell not only leads to a potential advantage on the board but synergizes with the riptide, making your deck more efficient in each play.

Resource Acceleration: Although Risen Riptide itself doesn’t produce additional mana or resources directly, its ability to turn into a formidable creature as a result of kicked spells can accelerate your board presence significantly, making it easier to keep pressure on your opponent without expending additional resources.

Instant Speed: Risen Riptide benefits greatly from spells cast at instant speed. Its ability activates for each kicked spell you play, regardless of timing. This means you can surprise your opponent by turning a seemingly innocuous creature into a massive blocker or attacker during their turn, potentially turning the tides of a game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Risen Riptide’s activation is contingent upon casting a kicked spell, which may lead to instances where you’re without a suitable card to unlock its potential, acting as a pseudo discard requirement that can hamper your board presence if not timed correctly.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a casting cost that includes a blue mana, Risen Riptide necessitates a firm commitment to blue in your mana base, potentially limiting its inclusion to decks that are predisposed to heavy blue mana usage or dual-color strategies that may not always have the exact mana ready.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of three including one blue, Risen Riptide demands a moderate investment which can impact tempo, particularly considering it has no immediate effect on the battlefield without a kicked spell. Other creatures at similar cost points could influence the game right away or fit more seamlessly into a wider variety of decks.

Reasons to Include Risen Riptide in Your Collection

Versatility: Risen Riptide slides seamlessly into elemental and spell-slinging decks. Its ability to become a 5/5 whenever you cast a kicked spell offers consistent and adaptable pressure in various game scenarios.

Combo Potential: Risen Riptide has natural synergy with kickers and instants, making it explosive in combination with cards that utilize or amplify those mechanics. This capability allows for powerful turns and game-changing swings.

Meta-Relevance: With a dynamic MTG meta always on the move, Risen Riptide can serve as a solid piece in decks crafted to counter slower, more controlling strategies, leveraging its size to apply pressure and keep opponents on the defensive.

How to beat

Risen Riptide presents a unique challenge on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. As a creature that becomes significantly more powerful when you cast a kicked spell, it requires a strategic approach to defeat. One effective method to subdue this ominous elemental is by limiting its trigger opportunities. By countering kicked spells or removing the Risen Riptide from play before a kicked spell is cast, you can prevent its potent ability from activating and causing devastation.

Spot removal cards such as Murder or Path to Exile can swiftly handle the Riptide, taking it out of the equation. Artifact removals like Naturalize or artifact disruption like Stony Silence can also be instrumental if your opponent is relying on equipment or enchantments to enhance their Risen Riptide’s abilities. Additionally, utilizing bounce spells like Unsummon can reset the power level of Risen Riptide, giving you a chance to stabilize the board and prepare for the next wave of threats.

Ultimately, your ability to anticipate and disrupt your opponent’s strategy by cleverly managing your spells and resources is key to sinking the Risen Riptide and staying afloat in MTG’s dynamic tide of challenges.

Cards like Risen Riptide

Risen Riptide stands out in the world of Magic: The Gathering as a creature with a specific synergy that thrives in kicker-focused decks. Watertrap Weaver is a card that often draws comparison. Both are blue creatures that excel in controlling the opponent’s board, but Watertrap Weaver’s ability to tap a creature doesn’t require the same kicker conditions.

Murmuring Mystic is another relative, converting instant and sorcery spells into flying bird illusions to defend your skies. While Risen Riptide leverages the kicker mechanic for a temporary power boost, Murmuring Mystic steadily builds your board presence. Surge Mare, interestingly, shares the water theme and can also become a formidable blocker or an aggressive attacker, though it depends on spending mana rather than playing kicker spells.

Assessing these cards alongside Risen Riptide, the latter presents an aggressive strategy for scaling power with kicker spells, fitting well into decks designed around this mechanic. Each has merits within their niche, ultimately adding rich layers of strategic depth to MTG gameplay.

Cards similar to Risen Riptide by color, type and mana cost

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Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Risen Riptide MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Risen Riptide and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Risen Riptide has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-09-25	Effects that modify Risen Riptide’s power or toughness without setting it will apply to its new base power and toughness no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness.
2020-09-25	Risen Riptide’s ability overwrites any previous effects that set its power and/or toughness to specific values. Other effects that set these characteristics to specific values that start to apply after the ability resolves will overwrite that part of the effect.