Griptide MTG Card

Dark Ascension (DKA)
2012-02-03 - Number 38

Theros (THS)
2013-09-27 - Number 50

Griptide - Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (DDM)

Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (DDM)
2014-03-14 - Number 28

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Key Takeaways

Griptide can set opponents back by reshuffling a crucial creature into their deck.
Its instant-speed allows for unpredictable play and timing control.
When deck-building, consider Griptide’s mana specificity and cost.

Text of card

Put target creature on top of its owner's library.

"Beware the seagrafs just off the shore. These waters are filled with hungry geists looking for an easy meal." —Captain Eberhart

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Griptide card can effectively disrupt your opponent’s strategy by placing a key creature on top of their library. This move can set them back, as they draw into a card they’ve already played, ensuring you maintain battlefield control and potentially gain card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Griptide doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the tempo gain it offers by bouncing an opponent’s creature can indirectly accelerate your game plan. By slowing down your opponent, you often have more time to deploy your own threats and leverage your mana efficiently.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Griptide provides flexibility in your play. You can wait until the most opportune moment, such as your opponent’s attack phase or end of turn, to utilize this card. Its instant speed nature allows for surprise tactics and can effectively counteract an opponent’s plays, disrupting their tempo and giving you the edge.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike some cards that provide a bonus when played, Griptide does not have such an upside. This means you’re using a card slot for a straightforward effect without any additional perks, trading card advantage for a temporary solution.

Specific Mana Cost: Griptide’s casting cost requires two blue mana, making it a less flexible inclusion in decks that run more than one color. Players need to ensure they have the right mana available, potentially creating a strain on the mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including two that must be blue, Griptide can be a bit pricey. There are various other bounce spells or removal options available that are more mana-efficient and might provide additional benefits, leading to potentially better choices depending on the deck’s strategy.

Reasons to Include Griptide in Your Collection

Versatility: Griptide stands out due to its ability to adapt to various gameplay situations. This instant can disrupt an opponent’s strategy by placing an unwelcomed creature on top of their library, effectively delaying their plans and giving you a tempo advantage in the game.

Combo Potential: Griptide works exceptionally well with deck strategies that capitalize on the knowledge of the opponent’s top deck. It can set up for cards that benefit from revealing or drawing from the top of an opponent’s library, complementing a thoughtful and control-oriented strategy.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG meta shifts and evolves, cards like Griptide gain and lose relevance. However, in a creature-heavy meta, the utility of being able to temporarily remove a threat without committing it to the graveyard—where it could be retrieved—can be a game-changer, offering nuanced board control.

How to beat

Griptide is an intriguing spell that disrupts the battlefield by sending creatures back to the tops of libraries. This effectively delays opponents’ strategies and forces them to redraw cards they’ve already played. To counteract Griptide, consider utilizing instant-speed spells that offer protection or hexproof abilities to shield your creatures from being targeted. Cards like Blossoming Defense or Ranger’s Guile can provide the swift response needed to negate Griptide’s effect.

Another strategy is to play creatures with enter-the-battlefield abilities. This way, if your creatures are sent back to your library, you’ll get added value when you replay them. Additionally, keeping a watchful eye on open mana from your opponent can signal when it’s best to hold back on casting significant creatures, especially during critical turns where Griptide could be cast. Remember, Griptide is a tempo play; it doesn’t remove the creature permanently, so planning your plays and anticipating your opponent’s actions go a long way.

In essence, adapting your playstyle and card choices around protection, strategic timing, and resilience to battlefield disruptions can significantly lessen Griptide’s impact, allowing you to maintain control and eventually win the game.

Cards like Griptide

Griptide is an intriguing card that stands out in MTG’s array of creature control spells. It shares similarities with other tempo cards like Unsummon, which allows you to return a creature to its owner’s hand for one blue mana, offering an inexpensive way to stall opponents. Griptide differs by sending the creature not to the hand, but to the top of the owner’s library for four mana. This can significantly disrupt your opponent’s next draw, effectively delaying their game plan.

Void Snare is another comparable spell that bounces a nonland permanent to its owner’s hand for a single blue mana. Unlike Griptide, it isn’t limited to creatures and costs less, but it lacks the element of manipulating the opponent’s draw. Meanwhile, Expel from Orazca has a similar effect to Griptide but with Ascend, giving you a more potent outcome if you control ten or more permanents.

Overall, Griptide offers a unique blend of creature bouncing and draw disruption, making it a useful tool for players looking to strategically set back their opponents. It’s not just about returning creatures; it’s about tactically dictating the flow of the match. Therefore, Griptide earns its place among the interesting utility cards within the vast pool of control spells in MTG.

Cards similar to Griptide by color, type and mana cost

Careful Consideration - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Griptide MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension and Theros, 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 Griptide and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Griptide Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2012-02-03 and 2014-03-14. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-02-03	Dark Ascension	DKA	38	2003	Normal	Black	Igor Kieryluk
2	2013-09-27	Theros	THS	50	2003	Normal	Black	Adam Paquette
3	2014-03-14	Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska	DDM	28	2003	Normal	Black	Igor Kieryluk