Broken Dam MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 1999-05-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Portal Three Kingdoms |
| Set code | PTK |
| Number | 37 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | White |
| Illustred by | Jiang Zhuqing |
Key Takeaways
- Broken Dam provides card advantage and strategic board disruption at instant speed, potentially shifting game momentum.
- The card requires discarding and is color-restricted, limiting its versatility in diverse deck builds.
- Despite its heavier mana cost, Broken Dam’s utility in specific meta environments can justify its inclusion in control decks.
Text of card
Tap any one or two creatures without horsemanship. (Tapped creatures can't block.)
Using nature to their advantage, wise Three Kingdoms generals often let dammed rivers loose to destroy their enemies.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With Broken Dam, getting ahead in card economy can be pivotal. By returning a nonland permanent to an opponent’s hand, you disrupt their board while awaiting the ideal time to draw and play your essential cards.
Resource Acceleration: Broken Dam assists in managing your resources efficiently. By clearing the path, it accelerates your game plan, allowing you to deploy other strategies without the pressure of facing an opposing threat immediately.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed plays a significant role in competitive play. Broken Dam provides the option to react during your opponent’s end step or after they’ve committed to a crucial spell or attack, enhancing your strategic choices and keeping them guessing.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Often a hindrance, the Broken Dam card necessitates discarding another card, which might deplete your hand and lessen your strategic options.
Specific Mana Cost: Its blue mana cost could restrict its utility to decks specifically tailored around that color, potentially excluding it from more versatile or different color scheme builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost competing with more impactful cards, Broken Dam may not provide enough value, especially when there are lower-cost alternatives that may fit more efficiently into your game plan.
Reasons to Include Broken Dam in Your Collection
Versatility: Broken Dam offers a flexible option for deckbuilders, aligning well with strategies that seek to control the pace of a game. Its ability to return target attacking or blocking creature to its owner’s hand makes it a useful card across multiple phases of gameplay.
Combo Potential: In particular, if paired with cards that tap creatures or impose summoning sickness, Broken Dam can become a key component in a control deck that consistently denies opponents their most aggressive plays.
Meta-Relevance: With a meta that frequently showcases creature-heavy decks or relies on crucial combat phases, Broken Dam stands out as a reliable tool to swing the momentum in your favor while remaining a low-cost investment for such an effect.
How to beat
Broken Dam presents itself as an intriguing card with the ability to counter noncreature spells. When faced with this card, an effective strategy is to prioritize playing creatures or to bait out the counter with less critical spells. By playing spells that can’t be targeted by Broken Dam or by strategically choosing the timing of your spell casting, you can mitigate its impact.
Furthermore, one should consider employing redundancy in spell types to overwhelm the counter capacity of Broken Dam. With multiple spells of the same nature, the likelihood of a pivotal spell resolving increases significantly. Resource management becomes key, forcing the Broken Dam user to choose their counters judiciously or else be overpowered by the sheer volume of spells in play.
By understanding Broken Dam’s limitations and planning around its conditional counter ability, you can craft a game plan that either sidesteps its utility or forces your opponent into tough decisions. This focus on strategy and knowing when to deploy your resources will help navigate the challenges posed by Broken Dam and keep your game plan flowing smoothly.
Cards like Broken Dam
The Broken Dam card introduces a compelling dynamic in control strategies for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts. Its function resonates with those of other blue cards that focus on negating opponent’s moves, akin to the well-regarded Counterspell. While Counterspell outright denies any single spell, Broken Dam is nuanced—it allows players to turn enemy creatures into defensive walls, a shift that can be a major tide turner during combat scenarios.
Another comparable staple is the card Turn to Frog, which is notorious for its ability to diminish a creature’s abilities, leaving it as a simple 1/1. Broken Dam similarly strips creatures of their offensive potential, albeit in a way that could paradoxically bolster your opponent’s defenses. This transition from offense to defense echoes the concept observed in the card Blinding Fog, which is focused on giving defensive capabilities, though it provides mass hexproof and indestructibility rather than converting combat roles.
Subsequently, for players looking to incorporate tactical hindrances into their deck, Broken Dam offers a unique avenue. It doesn’t just prevent actions; it molds the battlefield to a player’s advantage, potentially transforming an adversary’s threat into an unexpected ally. This ability to manipulate the flow of a match places it as an intriguing choice amongst blue control options within MTG.
Cards similar to Broken Dam by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Broken Dam MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms, 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 Broken Dam 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Broken Dam has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
