Skyline Cascade MTG Card
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Land |
| Released | 2015-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Battle for Zendikar |
| Set code | BFZ |
| Number | 246 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Philip Straub |
Key Takeaways
- Locks down creatures, providing control while expanding mana without using a card draw.
- Instant impact on the battlefield, offering strategic advantage in board control.
- One-time use and color limitation can restrict versatility in multicolor decks.
Text of card
Skyline Cascade enters the battlefield tapped. When Skyline Cascade enters the battlefield, target creature an opponent controls doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.: Add to your mana pool.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Skyline Cascade enters the battlefield and has the ability to lock down an opposing creature by preventing it from untapping during its controller’s next untap step. This effect can shift the balance by negating a turn of your enemy’s offense or defense, effectively acting as a temporary removal and granting you a subtle upper hand.
Resource Acceleration: As a land, Skyline Cascade ensures your mana base expansion without costing you a draw, blending smoothly into your land drops. While it doesn’t tap for mana the turn it comes into play, the advantage of immobilizing an enemy creature can be indispensable in setting up for future plays.
Instant Speed: Although Skyline Cascade isn’t a spell you cast, its effect mirrors the strategic flexibility of instant speed interaction. Upon entering the battlefield, you can immediately impact the state of the game, dictating the tempo and potentially disrupting your opponent’s carefully laid plans for their next turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Skyline Cascade does not directly impose a discard requirement, it’s worth considering its potential as a nonbo in decks that capitalize on hand resources. In such cases, holding onto a land that only taps for blue might not be as impactful as a card that actively contributes to your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: This land produces only blue mana, which can be restrictive in multicolor decks. Players needing versatile mana sources might find Skyline Cascade less desirable compared to dual lands or other utility lands that can tap for different types of mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite being a land, the primary feature of Skyline Cascade—its ability to freeze an opponent’s creature upon entering the battlefield—is a one-time effect. Other lands or spells might offer recurring control effects or additional benefits beyond a single use, making them potentially more resource-efficient over the course of a game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Skyline Cascade offers a unique ability to control the battlefield without taking up valuable spell slots in your deck. By freezing an opponent’s creature upon entering the battlefield, it plays a dual role of land and disruption tool, suitable for decks looking to tempo out their opponents.
Combo Potential: This land has synergy with decks that capitalize on landfall mechanics or require untapped creatures for their own combos. By resetting the combat readiness of potential blockers or surprise attackers, it becomes more than just a mana source.
Meta-Relevance: In a fast-paced environment where creatures often determine the pace of the game, Skyline Cascade can provide an unexpected edge. It’s particularly effective in slowing down aggressive strategies and can be a crucial part of control or midrange strategies looking to stabilize against creature-heavy decks.
How to beat
Skyline Cascade, a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering, offers a strategic approach to managing opponents’ creatures. It enters the battlefield tapped and, when it does, it freezes an opposing creature, keeping it from untapping during the controller’s next untap step. This effect can be a thorn in the side of aggressive decks that rely heavily on swiftly turning creatures sideways to apply pressure.
Overcoming the chilling touch of Skyline Cascade requires foresight and smart play. Utilize untap abilities or untap spells to bypass its freezing effect, or take advantage of cards that allow creatures to act as if they weren’t tapped to continue your onslaught. Alternatively, cards that bounce Skyline Cascade back to the owner’s hand or force a land sacrifice can neutralize its impact on the game. Deploying these methods with precision, you can counteract the tempo disadvantage imposed by Skyline Cascade and maintain the upper hand in combat.
Remember, while Skyline Cascade can be a hindrance, it does not pose a long-term threat. It offers no mana acceleration or additional card advantage, so with the right strategy, its temporary setback can be easily surmounted, allowing you to reclaim the momentum on the battlefield.
Cards like Skyline Cascade
In the landscape of land cards within Magic: The Gathering, Skyline Cascade offers a unique control feature, freezing an opponent’s creature upon entering the battlefield. This is akin to other cards that provide control effects, like Frost Lynx, which also taps a creature when it enters the play area. However, Skyline Cascade’s advantage is in its repeatable nature as a land, not subject to the same vulnerabilities as creatures.
Looking at other lands, Halimar Depths stands out with its ability to manipulate upcoming draws by allowing players to look at the top three cards of their library and rearrange them. Though not hindering opponents directly, it offers strategic planning. Ice Floe is another comparable land card; it doesn’t require tapping to use its freezing feature, but it can only target untapped creatures, unlike Skyline Cascade which targets any creature regardless of its state.
While each card has its place depending on the deck strategy, Skyline Cascade provides a reliable form of creature control that can be essential to gaining the upper hand, especially in decks that take advantage of landfall triggers and strategies that aim to stall opponent’s momentum.
Cards similar to Skyline Cascade by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Skyline Cascade MTG card by a specific set like Battle for 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 Skyline Cascade and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Skyline Cascade has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Skyline Cascade card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | Skyline Cascade's triggered ability doesn't tap the creature. It can target any creature, tapped or untapped. If that creature is already untapped at the beginning of its controller's next untap step, the effect won't do anything. |
| 2015-08-25 | The triggered ability tracks the creature, but not its controller. If the creature changes controllers before its first controller's next untap step has come around, then it won't untap during its new controller's next untap step. |
