Riptide Laboratory MTG Card
2002-10-07 - Number 322
2020-07-17 - Number 494
2021-06-18 - Number 303
2020-09-26 - Number ONS-322
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land |
Key Takeaways
- Riptide Laboratory’s bounce effect can protect key wizards and reuse their powerful enter-the-battlefield abilities.
- Its instant-speed interaction allows for strategic flexibility and adaptation during an opponent’s turn.
- Specific blue mana cost and bounce ability make it a strategic choice in wizard-themed decks.
Text of card
oc T: Add o1 to your mana pool. o1o U, oc T: Return target Wizard you control to its owner's hand.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Riptide Laboratory has a unique ability to return a Wizard you control to your hand. This can be utilized to protect key Wizard creatures from removal, or to reuse their enter-the-battlefield abilities for ongoing advantage. Cards that provide repeatable effects like this can tip the balance in your favor, ensuring that you have a steady stream of resources throughout the game.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly producing mana or tokens, Riptide Laboratory can indirectly accelerate your resources by saving your Wizards from being destroyed. This can help maintain your board presence without having to spend additional mana to recast creatures, effectively saving resources for other strategic plays.
Instant Speed: The ability to bounce a Wizard back to your hand at instant speed is invaluable. This means you can wait until the last possible moment, such as in response to an opponent’s spell or at the end of their turn, to make a move. This flexibility allows you to adapt to the evolving game state without committing to a course of action prematurely.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Though Riptide Laboratory doesn’t have a discard effect, users must be mindful of the cards necessary to capitalize on its abilities, potentially leading to challenging decisions about what to keep or discard.
Specific Mana Cost: The activation cost of Riptide Laboratory requires one blue and one colorless mana, which restricts its use to decks that can reliably produce blue mana and may not be optimal in multicolored mana bases or colorless decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a land that enters the battlefield untapped yet with no ability to generate mana on its own, the cost of utilizing Riptide Laboratory’s ability, especially in the early game, might set back the player compared to other utility lands that provide immediate value or don’t require mana to use their abilities.
Reasons to Include Riptide Laboratory in Your Collection
Versatility: Riptide Laboratory provides a unique ability to return a Wizard creature you control to your hand. Its inclusion affords your deck a level of protection and flexibility, as you can save your key creatures from removal or reuse their enter-the-battlefield effects.
Combo Potential: Within decks that heavily utilize Wizard synergies, Riptide Laboratory can become an integral combo piece. It can repeatedly activate abilities of creatures like “Snapcaster Mage” for added value, turning your instants and sorceries into repeatable resources.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies and targeted removal are prevalent, having the capability to reuse vital Wizard effects and dodge removal can significantly disrupt your opponent’s plans. This card keeps your strategy resilient against a variety of threats.
How to beat
Riptide Laboratory holds a unique role in MTG as a land capable of creating an impact on a player’s strategy. It provides a haven for Wizards, allowing you to return a target Wizard you control to your hand. This defensive capability can be tricky to navigate around, particularly when an opponent leverages the Laboratory to protect high-value Wizards or reuse their enter-the-battlefield effects.
To dismantle this strategy, it’s crucial to remove the Laboratory from play. Land destruction spells or cards that change land types can effectively neutralize its abilities. Direct removal, like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, can manage this task, dismantling the Laboratory’s influence. Additionally, preventing the card from being activated by using cards like Pithing Needle on Riptide Laboratory or exerting discard pressure to disrupt your opponent’s hand, reduces the chances they will have the Wizards needed to capitalize on the Laboratory’s strength.
Being mindful of the tempo and conserving instant-speed responses for critical moments when your opponent activates Riptide Laboratory can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Teasing out their Wizards before they can use the Laboratory or countering the activation with stifle effects also weakens their strategy.
Cards like Riptide Laboratory
Riptide Laboratory offers a unique blend of utility for players who favor wizard spells and abilities. This MTG card shines in comparison to other lands such as Academy Ruins, which is also tailored to a specific card type – artifacts. While Academy Ruins provides a way to recur artifacts from the graveyard to the top of the library, Riptide Laboratory focuses on saving and reusing wizard creatures by bouncing them back to the player’s hand.
Equally noteworthy is Mystic Sanctuary, another land with a specific interaction. It caters to instants and sorceries by potentially putting them back on top of your library, but it requires an island-heavy deck for its activation. Unlike Mystic Sanctuary, Riptide Laboratory offers immediate impact by protecting your valuable wizard creatures and doesn’t necessitate a particular land composition.
Finally, comparing Riptide Laboratory to a land like Volrath’s Stronghold, which offers creature recursion in a more general sense, we notice that Riptide Laboratory’s specificity and instant speed interaction provide an invaluable tactical advantage for wizard-centric strategies. Its capacity to repeatedly secure and reuse wizard abilities gives it a solid standing among specialized land cards.
Cards similar to Riptide Laboratory by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Riptide Laboratory MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught and Jumpstart, 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 Riptide Laboratory 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 MTG Products
Printings
The Riptide Laboratory Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2002-10-07 and 2021-06-18. Illustrated by John Avon.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002-10-07 | Onslaught | ONS | 322 | 1997 | Normal | Black | John Avon | |
| 2 | 2020-07-17 | Jumpstart | JMP | 494 | 2015 | Normal | Black | John Avon | |
| 3 | The List | PLST | ONS-322 | 1997 | Normal | Black | John Avon | ||
| 4 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 2 | MH2 | 303 | 2015 | Normal | Black | John Avon |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Riptide Laboratory has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
