Nightcreep MTG Card


Nightcreep - Dissension
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Released2006-05-05
Set symbol
Set nameDissension
Set codeDIS
Number49
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byJeff Miracola

Key Takeaways

  1. Nightcreep disrupts opponents by turning all lands into Swamps, creating unexpected strategic advantages.
  2. The card’s instant speed allows players to cast it at critical moments, impacting opponents’ turns.
  3. Despite its power to alter gameplay, it requires card discard and specific mana, limiting its versatility.

Text of card

Until end of turn, all creatures become black and all lands become Swamps.

"Please tell me I'm hallucinating. I'd rather be crazy than here." —Gorev Hadszak, Wojek investigator


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nightcreep offers the strategic benefit of transforming all lands into Swamps until end of turn, which can be leveraged to disrupt opponent strategies while potentially boosting your own land-based abilities and synergies.

Resource Acceleration: By converting all lands to Swamps, Nightcreep allows for a seamless execution of Swamp-dependent spells and effects that could accelerate your resource capabilities, as many MTG cards reward you for controlling multiple Swamps.

Instant Speed: Nightcreep’s value is heightened by its instant speed, affording you the flexibility to alter the landscape of the game during the most opportune moment—often during your opponent’s turn, which can catch them off-guard and upset their planned course of action.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nightcreep compels players to discard, potentially depleting strategic resources or crucial cards from your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s black mana requirement restricts it to decks that can produce that type of mana, possibly limiting its versatility among various strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment needed for Nightcreep may not always justify the temporary effect it provides, especially when alternatives may offer more permanent solutions.


Reasons to Include Nightcreep in Your Collection

Versatility: Nightcreep brings a unique ability to the table by turning all lands into Swamps for a turn. This feature allows for some unexpected plays and strategies, fitting well into various deck archetypes that capitalize on land types.

Combo Potential: With its transformative nature, Nightcreep can be a linchpin in combos involving land types or color-specific spells. It works as an enabler for cards that profit from a widespread change in the game’s mana base or require specific land types to maximize efficacy.

Meta-Relevance: Should the gameplay shift towards decks that are heavily dependent on nonblack mana, Nightcreep gains significance as a disruption tool. It can inhibit opponents’ plans and strategies, making it a tactical inclusion in a sideboard or even as a main deck choice when the meta indicates the advantage can be leveraged.


How to beat

Nightcreep is a unique Magic: The Gathering card known for its ability to turn all lands into Swamps until end of turn. This can be incredibly disruptive, especially for decks that rely heavily on specific land types to cast their spells. Overcoming the challenge posed by Nightcreep involves flexibility in mana base and the strategic use of spells.

One approach is using land cards that can produce multiple types of mana, reducing the card’s impact on your gameplay. Cards such as Mana Confluence and City of Brass are excellent inclusions for their ability to provide any color of mana. You could also incorporate instant spells that can be cast at the opportune moment, ensuring your mana is used effectively before Nightcreep takes effect. Additionally, consider running cards capable of countering spells or removing enchantments that can nullify the effects of Nightcreep, such as Disenchant or Naturalize.

Understanding how Nightcreep can derail your strategy is vital. Building a deck that is resilient to such tactics will greatly enhance your chances of victory. By diversifying your mana sources and having backup plans, you can thwart the temporary setback Nightcreep poses and maintain the upper hand in your MTG matchups.


Cards like Nightcreep

Nightcreep stands out in the pantheon of Magic: The Gathering cards that focus on altering the properties of permanents. A notable counterpart is Darkness, which shares its instant speed and the capacity to prevent damage by turning all creatures into shadowy figures that cannot block or be blocked for a turn, though it doesn’t change their color to black. On the flipside, Sudden Spoiling is another spell that can instantly turn the tables in combat by not only turning creatures into 0/2 figures but also removing their abilities, effects akin to Nightcreep’s impact on the board.

Peek into the world of color-changing spells and you’ll find Darkest Hour, a static enchantment with a continuous effect similar to Nightcreep, but its one-color focus resounds throughout the entire game rather than just one turn. Each of these cards provides players with tools to manipulate the battlefield in their favor, whether for a single turn with Nightcreep or Durress, or over many turns with Darkest Hour. As players evaluate their decks’ needs, the ephemeral yet pivotal impact of Nightcreep might just be the trick they need to gain unforeseen advantages in the thick of battle.

Darkness - MTG Card versions
Sudden Spoiling - MTG Card versions
Darkest Hour - MTG Card versions
Darkness - Legends (LEG)
Sudden Spoiling - Time Spiral (TSP)
Darkest Hour - Urza's Saga (USG)

Cards similar to Nightcreep by color, type and mana cost

Word of Command - MTG Card versions
Terror - MTG Card versions
Simulacrum - MTG Card versions
Transmutation - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Edict - MTG Card versions
Headstone - MTG Card versions
Soul Rend - MTG Card versions
Wicked Reward - MTG Card versions
Urborg Justice - MTG Card versions
Imps' Taunt - MTG Card versions
Rapid Decay - MTG Card versions
Tainted Pact - MTG Card versions
Toxic Stench - MTG Card versions
Doom Blade - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Cast Down - MTG Card versions
Smother - MTG Card versions
Hero's Demise - MTG Card versions
Sickening Shoal - MTG Card versions
Goryo's Vengeance - MTG Card versions
Word of Command - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Terror - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Simulacrum - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Transmutation - Legends (LEG)
Diabolic Edict - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Headstone - Homelands (HML)
Soul Rend - Mirage (MIR)
Wicked Reward - Visions (VIS)
Urborg Justice - Weatherlight (WTH)
Imps' Taunt - Tempest (TMP)
Rapid Decay - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Tainted Pact - Odyssey (ODY)
Toxic Stench - Judgment (JUD)
Doom Blade - Magic 2012 (M12)
Go for the Throat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Cast Down - Commander Legends (CMR)
Smother - Worldwake (WWK)
Hero's Demise - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Sickening Shoal - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Goryo's Vengeance - Ultimate Box Topper (PUMA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nightcreep MTG card by a specific set like Dissension, 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 Nightcreep and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Nightcreep has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2006-05-01 A land or creature that enters the battlefield after Nightcreep resolves won’t be affected by it.
2006-05-01 If a permanent is both a creature and a land, Nightcreep replaces all of its land types with Swamp, but it doesn’t affect its creature types. The creature land loses all abilities generated by its rules text and its previous land types but retains any abilities granted to it by other effects. For example, an animated Blinkmoth Nexus becomes a black creature land with the land subtype Swamp whose only abilities are flying and “: Add .”
2006-05-01 This effect overwrites all creatures’ colors. Creatures will be black instead of any other color or colors.
2006-05-01 This effect overwrites all lands’ land types. Lands will be Swamps instead of any other land types. This won’t affect a land’s supertypes (such as basic or legendary). Lands will lose their normal abilities and have the ability “: Add ” instead.

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