Time and Tide MTG Card


Time and Tide - Visions
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Released1997-02-03
Set symbol
Set nameVisions
Set codeVIS
Number46
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byGeorge Pratt

Key Takeaways

  1. Time and Tide allows a swift response to threats by refreshing all your creatures, crucial during combat.
  2. Instant-speed offers tactical flexibility, providing surprise counters and phased creature advantages.
  3. While powerful, its effectiveness hinges on battlefield conditions and mana availability, affecting strategic deployment.

Text of card

All creatures that are phased out phase in and all creatures with phasing phase out.

"Time may heal all wounds, but what heals time?" —Teferi


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Time and Tide stands out as a pivotal card in controlling the battlefield by allowing you to untap all creatures and phased-out creatures you control. This action can swiftly change the tide of the game, allowing you to respond to threats with a full board or reset after an aggressive turn.

Resource Acceleration: Using Time and Tide can lead to significant resource acceleration. By refreshing your creatures, you effectively double their utility within a single turn cycle, maximizing your available resources and outpacing your opponent’s board development.

Instant Speed: The strength of Time and Tide is amplified by its instant speed, providing the flexibility to react in the midst of battle. This capability means you can adapt to an evolving game state, potentially untapping your creatures to surprise blockers or strategically timing the phasing in of key creatures for optimal impact.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other spells that provide an immediate benefit once cast, Time and Tide require you to plan ahead due to its phasing mechanic. This can lead to unfavorable situations where the card’s effect does not align with the current board state, reducing its immediate impact on the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Time and Tide’s casting cost needs both blue and generic mana, which can limit its inclusion to decks running adequate blue sources. This could deter its play in decks with a restrictive or tight mana base that cannot consistently meet the blue mana requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost sitting at two blue and two generic mana, Time and Tide may seem steep for its effect compared to lower-cost alternatives that provide more direct board control or card advantage. In a game where tempo is crucial, the investment might not always correlate with substantial advantage.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Time and Tide slots into decks that heavily rely on phasing mechanics or require untapping creatures for maximum efficiency. Its ability to manipulate the state of the board can be pivotal in both offensive and defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: With the proper setup, this card can enable surprising combo plays, synergizing with permanents that have tap abilities or benefit from being phased out and in effectively. It acts as a cog in a well-oiled combo machine, offering new angles to traditional play patterns.

Meta-Relevance: Time and Tide maintain relevance in environments where tempo plays and surprise shifts in board state can outmaneuver opponents. In metas where phasing is not a common mechanic, it can catch many unprepared, turning the tides in your favor quite literally.


How to beat

Time and Tide is a card that can be a game-changer in any MTG match, particularly when it grants many phases of untapping for creatures and islands in just one turn. As a blue instant, it fits snugly into decks that enjoy manipulating the state of play during an opponent’s turn. However, formidable as it may appear, Time and Tide is not unbeatable.

The key to outmaneuvering this card lies in anticipating the untap phase this card brings. Tactical use of instant-speed removal spells when your opponent is low on mana can disrupt their plans. Furthermore, running counter spells to prevent Time and Tide from ever hitting the board is a classic blue-on-blue tactic. Cards like Negate or Counterspell can effectively nullify this threat. Alternatively, leveraging abilities or cards that tap your opponent’s creatures during their upkeep can mitigate the advantage they gain from Time and Tide, ensuring they cannot capitalize on their freshly untapped creatures. By staying one step ahead and keeping their board under control, you can neutralize the strategic edge this card offers.


Cards like Time and Tide

Time and Tide continues the tradition of phase manipulation within the realm of MTG. In its company, we see cards like Teferi’s Realm, which is another card that plays with phasing. Unlike Time and Tide, Teferi’s Realm gives players the ability to choose a permanent type that phases out every turn but does so at the start of each player’s upkeep, presenting a continuous yet controlled alteration of the battlefield.

Another relative in this unique family is Reality Ripple, an instant that targets a single creature or land. Reality Ripple temporarily phases out its target, similar to Time and Tide’s conditional mass phasing. However, the latter can affect multiple creatures and returns them immediately if it’s used during the untap step—features that can create unexpected plays and advantages.

Time and Tide sets itself apart with its instant speed and potential to manipulate multiple permanents simultaneously. This capacity for widespread impact can be a game-changer during the untap step, contrasting the focused approach of Reality Ripple or the predictable rhythm of Teferi’s Realm.

Teferi's Realm - MTG Card versions
Reality Ripple - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Realm - Visions (VIS)
Reality Ripple - Mirage (MIR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Time and Tide MTG card by a specific set like Visions, 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 Time and Tide and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Time and Tide has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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