Shoal Serpent MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Serpent
Abilities	Defender,Landfall
Released	2009-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar
Set code	ZEN
Power	5
Toughness	5
Number	65
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Trevor Claxton

Key Takeaways

Shoal Serpent’s landfall amplifies its toughness, deterring attacks and bolstering defense.
Effective in land-rich decks, the card’s adaptability can shift it from defense to offense.
Despite mana costs, its versatility makes it a potential force in creature-centric metas.

Text of card

Defender Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Shoal Serpent loses defender until end of turn.

"It's like a reef that runs aground on ships." —Jaby, Silundi Sea nomad

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Shoal Serpent doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, its presence on the battlefield can contribute to card advantage by deterring opponents from attacking. When you have lands with ‘landfall’, it enables a defensive boost to keep your serpents sturdy, indirectly fostering an advantageous board state.

Resource Acceleration: Shoal Serpent isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration, but utilizing its abilities effectively can save your mana for other spells. By keeping a land in hand to activate the ‘landfall’ ability when necessary, you optimize your mana usage while maintaining a strong defense.

Instant Speed: While Shoal Serpent itself is not an instant, its inherent flexibility comes from the lands you play. Activating landfall at the right moment when a land is played—potentially on your opponent’s turn—can surprise opponents by enhancing the Serpent’s toughness, akin to the strategic advantage of playing cards at instant speed. This action can be crucial in swaying the tide of combat in your favor without expending additional resources.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Shoal Serpent doesn’t demand a card to be discarded, its formidable defense becomes activated only when you landfall, which might not always be timely or consistent throughout the game, making it less reliable in tight situations.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring two blue mana means the Shoal Serpent could be challenging to summon on curve in a multicolored deck, potentially delaying its deployment or hindering other plays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing six mana, this sea monster can be cumbersome to cast early in the game. With numerous alternative creature cards offering more impact and versatility at or below this mana threshold, it might not always justify the slot in your deck.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Shoal Serpent brings a level of adaptability to decks that can capitalize on defensive strategies. As a high-toughness creature, it can serve as an effective blocker in many game scenarios.

Combo Potential: When combined with cards that allow you to consistently have Islands enter the battlefield, Shoal Serpent’s landfall ability transforms it from a passive defender to an intimidating attacker, offering unexpected offensive capabilities.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where ground-based attacks are prevalent, having a creature like Shoal Serpent that can quickly become a formidable blocker with its landfall ability may deter opponents and influence their strategies.

How to beat

Shoal Serpent presents a unique challenge on the battlefield due to its defensive capabilities in Magic: The Gathering. This creature card becomes particularly formidable when you control an Island, as it gains the ability to block flying creatures, thereby expanding its defensive reach. To navigate around the serpent’s strengths, one must employ smart strategies that go beyond brute force.

Enchantment removal is an efficient way to bypass Shoal Serpent’s enhanced block potential. Cards like Naturalize can be effective in stripping away the Island-dependent ability, bringing the creature back down to a manageable threat. Alternatively, evasion tactics such as giving your creatures unblockable abilities or using spells that tap target creatures can neutralize the Serpent’s role without direct confrontation.

Choosing the right moment to strike is also critical. Capitalizing on a window of opportunity when the opponent is tapped out can pave the way for a successful assault. In essence, dealing with Shoal Serpent hinges on adaptability, contingency planning, and timing, ensuring that even the most persistent sea monster can be overcome in the vast world of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Shoal Serpent

Shoal Serpent presents a unique twist in the realm of Magic: The Gathering creatures. As a counterpart to creatures like Kraken Hatchling, Shoal Serpent boasts a larger frame, making it a more formidable blocker that can also become a formidable attacker under the right circumstances. Kraken Hatchling, with its low mana cost and sturdy defense is a solid early-game choice, but lacks the potential upside of Shoal Serpent’s landfall ability.

Similarly, we have Highland Game which also sits in the two mana slot but trades the capacity for growth for a reliable life-gain effect upon death. While this creature provides immediate value, it doesn’t match the raw power that Shoal Serpent can achieve through landfall triggers. Lastly, there’s Wall of Runes which also provides defensive value through scrying but once again, it can’t rival Shoal Serpent’s landfall-enabled transformation that transitions it from a defensive powerhouse to an offensive threat.

All in all, while each of these cards occupies the role of delaying the opponent in the early to mid-game, Shoal Serpent offers a dynamic that can impact the board state in a larger way. Its ability to adapt to the number of lands you play makes it a versatile choice for players who look for cards that can operate on multiple levels during a match.

Cards similar to Shoal Serpent by color, type and mana cost

Sun Quan, Lord of Wu - MTG Card versions

Arcanis the Omnipotent - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

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

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shoal Serpent has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-10-01	The landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability (such as Rampant Growth) causes you to put a land onto the battlefield under your control. It will even trigger when a spell or ability causes another player to put a land onto the battlefield under your control (as can happen with Yavimaya Dryad’s ability, for example).
2009-10-01	When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one that resolves.