Waterfront Bouncer MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Merfolk Spellshaper
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

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Text of card

o U, oc T, Discard a card from your hand: Return target creature to its owner's hand.

Closing time comes earlier to some than to others.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Waterfront Bouncer enables strategic hand manipulation by returning creatures to the owner’s hand. This can disrupt your opponent’s strategy or reuse your own creature’s enter-the-battlefield effects, offering a steady advantage throughout the game.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly producing additional mana, the Waterfront Bouncer can effectively save mana by bypassing the need to cast expensive removal spells. This preserves resources for more impactful plays and keeps your game plan progressing smoothly.

Instant Speed: The ability to activate Waterfront Bouncer’s ability at instant speed offers incredible flexibility. Control the board state on your opponent’s turn, protect your creatures from removal, or cleverly reutilize your own creature abilities without giving advance warning to your opponent.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Waterfront Bouncer requires a card from your hand to be discarded to activate its ability. This makes it less ideal when you’re in a situation where card advantage is key and can’t afford to lose any more resources.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature includes a blue mana requirement in its activation cost, which may not fit into decks that either run multiple colors with scarce blue sources or mono-colored decks that don’t include blue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a two-mana cost for its bouncing ability, Waterfront Bouncer’s effect might seem costly especially when you consider that the creature itself only has a power of 1. This can be seen as a disadvantage when there are alternative bounce effects in the game that cost less mana and don’t require an additional card to be discarded.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Waterfront Bouncer works well in a diverse array of blue-based decks, excelling in its ability to disrupt opponents by bouncing creatures back to their owner’s hand. Its mere presence can deter attacks and shape the pace of the game.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with numerous strategies that benefit from creatures entering or leaving the battlefield. It also pairs well with effects that take advantage of discarded cards, setting the stage for powerful combinations.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where creature-based tactics dominate, Waterfront Bouncer proves to be a tactical asset. Its capacity to temporarily remove key creatures can be critical in swinging the game to your advantage.


How to beat

Confronting Waterfront Bouncer in a game of Magic the Gathering requires a sharp strategy. This card’s ability to return creatures to their owner’s hand can disrupt your board presence. To effectively navigate this challenge, focus on instant-speed removal or spells that prevent the activation of abilities, like Pithing Needle or Phyrexian Revoker. Bouncer relies on being untapped, so keeping it tapped with cards like Tangle Wire or Pacification Array can neutralize its threat.

Another approach is to prioritize untargetable creatures or those with hexproof, ensuring Waterfront Bouncer’s ability can’t be applied to your key creatures. Alternatively, you can play aggressively with low-cost creatures to pressure your opponent before they can establish the mana to use Bouncer’s ability. Lastly, graveyard strategies also work, as returning a creature to your hand is less devastating if you can easily recur it from the graveyard or benefit from the action.

Waterfront Bouncer’s flexibility makes it a nuanced card to play against. However, with the right preparations and understanding of its strengths and weaknesses, you can formulate a plan to circumvent this potentially destabilizing force on the battlefield.


Cards like Waterfront Bouncer

Waterfront Bouncer makes a splash among MTG’s array of creature-based control cards. Like Man-o’-War, this card also offers a way to return creatures to their owner’s hand, but Waterfront Bouncer brings flexibility to the table. Unlike Man-o’-War’s one-time use triggered ability upon entering the battlefield, Waterfront Bouncer can be used repeatedly with its activated ability, giving you control over the timing and making it highly useful in keeping opponents’ creatures at bay.

Another kin in strategy is Venser, Shaper Savant, which allows you to return a spell or creature to its owner’s hand when it enters the battlefield. Venser combines the utility of creature and spell bounce, but it’s a one-off effect with a higher mana cost. Echoing Truth also shares the theme of bouncing but differs in that it can target multiple copies of a card, making it potent against tokens or duplicates.

Evaluating these comparisons highlights how Waterfront Bouncer holds a valuable position among its peers, offering strategic depth and board control in a repeatable fashion, essential for blue-centric control decks in the game of MTG.

Man-o'-War - MTG Card versions
Venser, Shaper Savant - MTG Card versions
Echoing Truth - MTG Card versions
Man-o'-War - Visions (VIS)
Venser, Shaper Savant - Future Sight (FUT)
Echoing Truth - Darksteel (DST)

Cards similar to Waterfront Bouncer by color, type and mana cost

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Vodalian Soldiers - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Zephyr Falcon - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Lord of Atlantis - Wizards Play Network 2024 (PW24)
Giant Albatross - Homelands (HML)
Phantasmal Sphere - Alliances (ALL)
Skyshroud Condor - Tempest (TMP)
School of Piranha - Exodus (EXO)
Coral Merfolk - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Wu Light Cavalry - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Sea Eagle - Starter 1999 (S99)
Overtaker - Mercadian Masques Promos (PMMQ)
Hazy Homunculus - Prophecy (PCY)
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Thought Eater - Odyssey (ODY)
Spellstutter Sprite - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Sneaky Homunculus - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Coral Eel - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Storm Crow - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Aquamoeba - World Championship Decks 2003 (WC03)
Soratami Cloudskater - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Waterfront Bouncer MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and World Championship Decks 2001, 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 Waterfront Bouncer and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Waterfront Bouncer Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2014-06-16. Illustrated by Paolo Parente.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 1141997normalblackPaolo Parente
22001-08-08World Championship Decks 2001WC01 ab1141997normalgoldPaolo Parente
32014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1022015normalblackPaolo Parente

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Waterfront Bouncer has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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