Unquenchable Thirst MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Locks down creatures, providing strategic advantage and tempo control in-game.
  2. Demand for desert lands can limit early game plays and deck versatility.
  3. In right decks, its unique desert synergy makes it a formidable control card.

Text of card

Enchant creature When Unquenchable Thirst enters the battlefield, if you control a Desert or there is a Desert card in your graveyard, tap enchanted creature. Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unquenchable Thirst is a powerful utility when it comes to disrupting your opponent’s board. By locking down a pivotal creature, you hinder their strategy while maintaining your own troop’s readiness.

Resource Acceleration: Although Unquenchable Thirst doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it effectively saves you mana by neutralizing threats that would otherwise require costlier removal spells. This efficient use of mana can lead to a resource advantage over the course of a match.

Instant Speed: While Unquenchable Thirst is a sorcery and not castable at instant speed, its lasting effect on the battlefield continues to work for you during each of your opponent’s turns. It’s a one-time investment that keeps paying off, ensuring that the tempo of the game is tilted in your favor, turn after turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In order to cast Unquenchable Thirst, players must have a desert either on the battlefield or in their graveyard. This prerequisites can be a restrictive condition, especially in the early game where those resources might not be readily available or would better serve other strategic purposes.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires one blue mana to cast, which pigeonholes it into blue-centric or blue-inclusive decks. This makes Unquenchable Thirst less versatile for decks that operate outside of those mana specifics or those that have a limited blue mana pool.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although two mana might not seem overly expensive, in the world of control spells, there are alternatives that may provide more bang for your buck. There are other control options that cost the same or less but offer additional flexibility or advantages. Hence, Unquenchable Thirst could be overlooked when deck-building in favour of these more cost-efficient spells.


Reasons to Include Unquenchable Thirst in Your Collection

Versatility: Unquenchable Thirst brings utility to blue decks by offering a straightforward control mechanism. It can tap down creatures from aggressive decks, stalling opponents and preserving your life total while you set up your own board.

Combo Potential: Its ability to keep a creature tapped pairs well with other cards that capitalize on tapped-out adversaries, such as those enabling cipher and exert mechanics, or with cards that benefit from your opponents having tapped creatures.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Unquenchable Thirst serves as an effective tool to slow down your opponents, giving you an edge by limiting their offensive capabilities.


How to beat

Unquenchable Thirst is a unique enchantment that can lock down a creature by keeping it tapped as long as its controller has a Desert or there’s one in the graveyard. To get around this, ensuring that Deserts aren’t part of your game plan can be pivotal. Creature-based strategies could implement cards with abilities to untap your creatures or include removal spells that can dispose of Unquenchable Thirst itself.

Incorporating enchantment removal into your deck is another practical approach. This could mean adding in versatile spells like Naturalize or running creatures that can destroy enchantments upon entering the battlefield. Additionally, dodge dependency on a single creature. Diversify your threats so that the impact of Unquenchable Thirst on your game plan is minimized, and you won’t get bogged down by a single tapped creature. Engaging in such preemptive deck modifications can be your key to outmaneuvering the paralyzing grip of Unquenchable Thirst.


Cards like Unquenchable Thirst

Unquenchable Thirst is a compelling control card in MTG that renders an opponent’s creature virtually ineffective. This card is closely related to Claustrophobia, which likewise ensures that a targeted creature remains tapped without the ability to untap during the untap step. What makes Unquenchable Thirst unique, however, is its dependency on Desert lands – if you control a Desert, or there’s one in your graveyard, the enchanted creature doesn’t untap as long as Unquenchable Thirst remains on the battlefield.

Another comparable enchantment is Frogify, which not only keeps the creature from doing any harm by removing all abilities but also diminishes its stats to a weak 1/1 creature. While Frogify offers a more permanent solution regardless of the battlefield’s conditions, Unquenchable Thirst’s cheaper mana cost and synergy with Deserts can be preferable in a land-focused deck. Lastly, Ice Over shares a similar freezing effect, but without the Desert interaction, presenting a straightforward yet less versatile option.

Overall, Unquenchable Thirst’s capability to exploit the specific land type sets it apart, making it particularly potent in the right deck setup and a noteworthy enchantment among MTG control strategies.

Claustrophobia - MTG Card versions
Frogify - MTG Card versions
Ice Over - MTG Card versions
Claustrophobia - Innistrad (ISD)
Frogify - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Ice Over - Aether Revolt (AER)

Cards similar to Unquenchable Thirst by color, type and mana cost

Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
Immobilizing Ink - MTG Card versions
Stupefying Touch - MTG Card versions
In Too Deep - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Power Leak - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Phantasmal Terrain - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Stasis - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Creature Bond - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Lifetap - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Power Artifact - Antiquities (ATQ)
Venarian Gold - Legends (LEG)
Psychic Venom - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Soar - Mirage (MIR)
Dance of Many - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Teferi's Veil - Weatherlight (WTH)
Legacy's Allure - Tempest (TMP)
Chill - Tempest (TMP)
Buoyancy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mana Maze - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Psionic Gift - Odyssey (ODY)
Immobilizing Ink - Odyssey (ODY)
Stupefying Touch - Torment (TOR)
In Too Deep - New Capenna Commander (NCC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Unquenchable Thirst MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Amonkhet Remastered, 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 Unquenchable Thirst and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Unquenchable Thirst Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by Jeremy Wilson.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-07-14Hour of DevastationHOU 532015normalblackJeremy Wilson
22020-08-13Amonkhet RemasteredAKR 862015normalblackJeremy Wilson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Unquenchable Thirst has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-07-14 For abilities that trigger only if you control a Desert or there is a Desert card in your graveyard, one condition must be true as the ability triggers and one must be true as the ability resolves. They don’t have to be the same condition, though. For example, you could sacrifice your only Desert after the ability triggers but before it has resolved.
2017-07-14 If an ability checks whether you control a Desert or there is a Desert card in your graveyard, having more than one doesn’t matter. Controlling one is the same as controlling five. There is also no extra bonus for both controlling one and having one in your graveyard.

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