Cloudcrest Lake MTG Card

Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Land
Released	2004-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Champions of Kamigawa
Set code	CHK
Number	274
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Avon

Key Takeaways

Scrying with Cloudcrest Lake refines draw quality, offering strategic planning for consistent gaming outcomes.
Provides mana acceleration for crucial, game-changing plays, albeit with a card discard requirement.
Limitations in versatility stem from specific mana costs and potential late-game resource depletion.

Text of card

: Add to your mana pool. : Add or to your mana pool. Cloudcrest Lake doesn't untap during your next untap step.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cloudcrest Lake offers the subtle yet substantial benefit of scrying before you draw, fine-tuning your upcoming plays and smoothing out your draws for consistent performance.

Resource Acceleration: By providing an additional mana of any color, Cloudcrest Lake helps to accelerate your resources, enabling those vital one-turn-earlier plays that can make all the difference in the pace of the game.

Instant Speed: The ability to tap for mana at instant speed gives you the flexibility to adapt swiftly to the battlefield’s changing dynamics, allowing for reactiveness during critical moments.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cloudcrest Lake requires you to discard a card when you tap it for mana, which could be detrimental during the late game when your hand is running low. This can lead to difficult decisions about resource management, potentially setting you back in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Cloudcrest Lake can be restrictive as it provides mana that can only be spent on instant or sorcery spells. This specificity means that it doesn’t lend itself well to decks that rely heavily on creatures or other types of permanents, thus limiting its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The need for both blue and white mana to play Cloudcrest Lake can be a hurdle in multicolored decks, especially early in the game when mana-fixing is critical. Furthermore, its entrance to the battlefield tapped means it cannot be used immediately, a factor worth considering when tempo is crucial.

Reasons to Include Cloudcrest Lake in Your Collection

Versatility: This land card is a great fit for many decks as it can tap for both colorless mana or for blue or white mana, making it a flexible choice for multicolored decks. Its versatility allows for smoother mana curves and better deck functionality.

Combo Potential: Cloudcrest Lake provides an opportunity to activate mana abilities and catalyze combos with ease. It supports strategies that revolve around multicolored spells or abilities that require specific mana combinations, enhancing your deck’s synergy and combo execution.

Meta-Relevance: Given the current trends in the meta, having a reliable mana base is crucial, and Cloudcrest Lake ensures that your land drops contribute to a stable foundation. It’s a resilient choice against decks with nonbasic land hate, as it avoids being too flashy while still performing its dual-man land role.

How to beat

Cloudcrest Lake offers MTG players the ability to fine-tune their decks by acting as a flexible mana source. Despite its benefits, overcoming this card in gameplay requires strategic adjustments. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin disrupt nonbasic lands and directly tackle the advantage that Cloudcrest Lake provides. Moreover, by pressuring the mana base of an opponent using Cloudcrest Lake early in the game can limit their ability to stabilize and make use of its utility.

Additionally, in metas where land utility is pivotal, running land destruction or counterspells such as Sinkhole or Counterspell helps maintain the pace in your favor. It’s crucial to be mindful of the tempo and stay ahead of your opponent’s land curve. Implementing these techniques diminishes the value that Cloudcrest Lake brings to the table and gives you the upper hand to navigate towards victory.

Ultimately, understanding the meta and preparing your deck to interact with versatile lands like Cloudcrest Lake is essential. This ensures that your strategy remains robust against opponents harnessing the lake’s power to smoothing out their mana distribution. Through timely interference and targeted plays, you can undermine the card’s influence and maintain control of the game.

Cards like Cloudcrest Lake

Cloudcrest Lake offers an intriguing dynamic in mana development for players of Magic: The Gathering. Its closest counterpart is Azorius Chancery, a land that similarly returns another land to its owner’s hand when entering the battlefield. While Azorius Chancery provides both white and blue mana, Cloudcrest Lake is more restricted, offering only blue mana and the ability to tap for colorless.

Another card to consider is Transguild Promenade, which also requires a return of a resource – in this case, paying one mana when it enters the battlefield. Though it provides any color mana, it’s less efficient than Cloudcrest Lake, which doesn’t demand that additional mana payment. Halimar Depths is worth mentioning too, as it allows for deck manipulation by rearranging the top three cards when it comes into play, providing an added level of strategic depth that Cloudcrest Lake does not possess.

Evaluating these options, Cloudcrest Lake stands out for its straightforward utility in decks that can accommodate the tempo pause of a returning land, securing a spot as a valuable asset for specialized strategies in Magic: The Gathering.

Transguild Promenade - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Cloudcrest Lake by color, type and mana cost

Hengegate Pathway // Mistgate Pathway - MTG Card versions

Prahv, Spires of Order - MTG Card versions

Temple of Enlightenment - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cloudcrest Lake MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa, 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 Cloudcrest Lake and other MTG cards: