Tightening Coils MTG Card

Tightening Coils - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)

Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
2015-10-02 - Number 86

Tightening Coils - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
2021-08-26 - Number 263

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Neutralizes threats efficiently, providing card advantage without hand depletion.
Allows for mana conservation for other plays, increasing resource management.
Though not instant speed, it changes board state dynamics significantly.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets -6/-0 and loses flying.

Having gone to the trouble of stealing a bident from a god on another world, Kiora was eager to test its capabilities.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tightening Coils enables controlling players to neutralize a major threat without spending multiple cards. By rendering an opponent’s creature far less effective, you essentially gain an advantage without depleting your hand.

Resource Acceleration: While Tightening Coils doesn’t directly produce mana or ramp, it does indirectly accelerate your resources. It allows you to save mana that would have been spent on more costly removal spells, thereby freeing up your mana pool for other uses.

Instant Speed: Although Tightening Coils is a sorcery, its lasting effect on the board offers a pseudo instant speed advantage. Once a creature is coiled, the threat is mitigated, which can instantaneously shift the game’s tempo in your favor, allowing you to efficiently plan your subsequent plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: This isn’t applicable to Tightening Coils as it doesn’t prompt a discard when played.

Specific Mana Cost: Tightening Coils has a specific mana requirement of one blue and one generic mana, which might not be ideal for all deck strategies, particularly those not running blue mana sources or decks that operate on a strictly colorless mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its control-oriented effect, the cost of two mana might be seen as high, especially when compared to other removal options. This could be a drawback in faster-paced games where mana efficiency is key.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tightening Coils is a dynamic card that can be easily incorporated into a variety of Blue decks. Its ability to reduce a creature’s power to zero allows you to counteract big threats without needing to remove them from the board completely.

Combo Potential: This enchantment pairs well with mechanics that capitalize on targeting, such as Prowess or Heroic, or with cards that synergize with enchantments. It also has potential in Blue control decks that seek to neutralize opponents’ creatures rather than destroy them.

Meta-Relevance: With creatures dominating the field in numerous MTG metas, Tightening Coils holds a place as a cost-effective control tool. Its capacity to neutralize key creatures without triggering death effects makes it a strategic asset against various creature-centric strategies.

How to beat

Tightening Coils has made a subtle impact in MTG as a control card, offering a unique solution to restrict formidable creatures. Its ability to nullify virtually any threat by reducing its power significantly is noteworthy. However, in a game as dynamic as MTG, there are various strategies to overcome the constraints imposed by Tightening Coils.

An effective method is the use of enchantment removal spells. Since Tightening Coils falls under the enchantment category, spells such as Disenchant or Naturalize can easily dismantle its grasp, freeing your creature to regain its full potential. Additionally, employing creatures with abilities that are not dependent on their power—such as those with impactful enter-the-battlefield effects or abilities like flying or deathtouch—can circumvent the limitations imposed by Tightening Coils altogether.

Equally, cards that can bounce your own creatures back to your hand reset any enchantments attached to them. In this way, the controlled creature can be played again, sans the debilitating Coils, ready to assert its influence on the game once more. Ultimately, while Tightening Coils can pose a temporary setback, the savvy player will have multiple tactics at their disposal to reclaim control and press towards victory.

Cards like Tightening Coils

Tightening Coils is a unique control card in Magic the Gathering that finds its place in strategies aimed at neutralizing opposing creatures. In its vein, one might think of cards like Claustrophobia, which also taps the creature and prevents it from untapping during its controller’s untap step. However, Tightening Coils goes a step further, reducing the creature’s power to zero, thereby eliminating virtually any combat relevance it might have had.

Another card worth comparing is Lignify, which not only nullifies the creature’s power but also changes its type to a Treefolk with no abilities, further locking out any potential threats from ability triggers. While Lignify completely nullifies the creature, Tightening Coils is often preferred in decks that value the flexibility of a lower mana cost and the ability to keep power-dependent abilities in check.

To provide a broader context, Encrust also shares similarities by tapping a creature or artifact and preventing it from untapping. Yet, the lack of power reduction means that Tightening Coils sits in a spot where it mitigates more potential risk upfront. When viewed alongside these comparisons, Tightening Coils emerges as a valuable tactical piece for players focusing on creature control without the cost of heavier enchantments.

Cards similar to Tightening Coils by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tightening Coils MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar and Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, 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 Tightening Coils and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tightening Coils Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Tyler Jacobson.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2015-10-02	Battle for Zendikar	BFZ		86	2015	Normal	Black	Tyler Jacobson
2	2021-08-26	Jumpstart: Historic Horizons	J21		263	2015	Normal	Black	Tyler Jacobson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tightening Coils 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 Tightening Coils card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.