Stir the Sands MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Cycling
Released	2017-04-28
Set symbol
Set name	Amonkhet
Set code	AKH
Number	110
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	David Gaillet

Key Takeaways

Generates multiple creatures for blocking or attacking, immediately impacting the game state.
Instant-speed cycling offers strategic flexibility and unpredictability during play.
Demands high mana investment potentially limiting its use in faster-paced or multicolor decks.

Text of card

Create three 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle Stir the Sands, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Stir the Sands can provide a substantial boost by creating three 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens. This immediately gives you multiple blockers or attackers, potentially tipping the scales in your favor during a game.

Resource Acceleration: With the option to cycle Stir the Sands for a single black mana, you not only draw a new card but also automatically create a 2/2 black Zombie token. This can rapidly advance your board presence without losing tempo, all while refreshing your hand.

Instant Speed: The cycling ability of Stir the Sands can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s moves. This aspect of timing keeps your opponent guessing and allows you to make strategic decisions on the fly, without sacrificing your own turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Stir the Sands demands that you discard a card if you’re utilizing its cycling ability. This cost can set you back, particularly if you’re trying to maintain card advantage against your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: At one colorless and two black mana to cast normally, the card’s demand for two black mana could hinder its inclusion in multi-color decks that might not reliably have the required mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana total, Stir the Sands comes at a steep price. In the fast-paced games of MTG, there may be more efficient creatures or token-generating options available at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Stir the Sands provides flexibility in gameplay, allowing you to either create three 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens, which are excellent for swarming strategies, or to cycle it for a new card while also leaving a Zombie behind.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize well with decks that thrive on undead themes or with mechanics that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or dying, making it a strong enabler for various combo plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right environment, such as a meta heavy on creature-based strategies, Stir the Sands can quickly populate the board to keep up with your opponents or turn the tide in your favor with an unexpected chump block or end-of-turn token creation.

How to beat

Stir the Sands is a unique card in MTG that can shift the momentum of a game by creating three 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens or, through cycling, allowing a player to draw a new card and create a token. To counter it effectively, you’ll want to focus on strategies that can negate its token-creating advantage. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation are excellent options, as they can clear all of the tokens in a single move. Spot removal is less efficient due to the multiple creatures Stir the Sands produces.

It’s also a good tactic to use graveyard disruption tools, such as Relic of Progenitus or Tormod’s Crypt, which can prevent Stir the Sands from being brought back for its aftermath ability. Cards with the “exile” effect, such as Anguished Unmaking or Path to Exile, can provide a longer-term solution by removing the tokens from the game entirely, ensuring they won’t be a further nuisance.

Considering timing as well, it might be strategic to force your opponent to use Stir the Sands at a moment that’s less ideal for them, disrupting their larger game strategy. Keeping these points in mind gives you several approaches to effectively beat this versatile card.

Cards like Stir the Sands

Stir the Sands offers a versatile approach to creature generation in Magic: The Gathering. It reminds seasoned players of spells like Sengir Autocrat, which also brings multiple bodies onto the battlefield. However, Stir the Sands provides flexibility with its cycling ability, allowing you to draw a card and create a token even when you don’t have enough mana to cast the full spell. Sengir Autocrat, while instantly providing three Serf tokens, doesn’t offer such adaptability.

Exploring comparisons further leads us to From Under the Floorboards. Like Stir the Sands, this card generates a wave of Zombie tokens and even provides a life gain benefit. However, its madness cost adds another layer of strategic depth, potentially reducing its casting cost. On the other hand, Stir the Sands keeps things straightforward with a fixed effect that doesn’t require setting up a discard synergy.

Ultimately, each card has its place in Magic: The Gathering, whether for its sheer token-creating power or flexibility under tight scenarios. Stir the Sands competes commendably with its immediate ability to change board states, offering both a surprise blocker with its cycling or a small army when played fully. Such options give deck builders creative freedom to decide how best to harness its potential.

From Under the Floorboards - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Stir the Sands by color, type and mana cost

Choice of Damnations - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stir the Sands MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet, 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 Stir the Sands and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stir the Sands has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-04-18	Some cards with cycling have an ability that triggers when you cycle them. These triggered abilities resolve before you draw from the cycling ability.
2017-04-18	Triggered abilities from cycling a card and the cycling ability itself aren’t spells. Effects that interact with spells (such as that of Cancel) won’t affect them.
2017-04-18	You can cycle a card even if it has a triggered ability from cycling that won’t have a legal target. This is because the cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. This also means that if either ability doesn’t resolve (due to being countered with Disallow, for example, or if the triggered ability’s targets have become illegal), the other ability will still resolve.