Nimana Skydancer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Rogue
Abilities	Flying,Mill, Flash
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	117
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Bryan Sola

Key Takeaways

Nimana Skydancer offers both psychological and gameplay advantages with its hand-revealing entry effect.
Its flash ability enhances tactical plays, serving as a surprise blocker or disrupting opponent strategies.
A moderate mana cost enables Nimana Skydancer’s seamless integration into efficient deck strategies.

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash Flying When Nimana Skydancer enters the battlefield, target opponent mills two cards. (They put the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.)

The Free City of Nimana is a great place to recruit adventurers with shady skill sets.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nimana Skydancer ensures that when it enters the battlefield, you glean valuable information by making an opponent reveal a card from their hand. This peek not only provides insight into their strategies but could potentially upset their plans, giving you a psychological edge.

Resource Acceleration: While Nimana Skydancer itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its moderate casting cost allows for a seamless inclusion in decks that prize efficiency. Slotting it into your curve ensures that you’re developing your board while still interacting with your opponent’s hand, keeping the resource balance in your favor.

Instant Speed: The flash ability of Nimana Skydancer is a clear merit, granting you the flexibility to cast it at the end of your opponent’s turn or when it’s most tactically advantageous. It can serve as a surprise blocker or as a way to disrupt their best-laid plans at a moment’s notice, which can be pivotal in tight matches.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nimana Skydancer asks you to forfeit a potential resource upon casting. Having to discard another card can set you back in hand advantage, potentially stripping you of key components required for future plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both black and generic mana means the Skydancer fits only in decks that can produce these mana types. Therefore, it’s not as versatile as cards with generic mana costs, limiting its inclusion in multicolored or colorless focused decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two specific to black, this card might be considered costly when compared against other creatures or spells that provide similar or better advantages for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Nimana Skydancer in Your Collection

Versatility: Nimana Skydancer is adaptable in various deck builds, particularly those needing a creature that can disrupt the opponent’s hand while providing an evasive body on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: As a creature with an enters-the-battlefield effect, it pairs well with bounce and flicker effects to repeatedly exploit its ability, making for sneaky combos that can tilt the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a landscape where opponents rely on carefully curated hands, the Nimana Skydancer’s ability to force a discard upon entry can be a strategic move to destabilize your opponent’s plan.

How to beat

Nimana Skydancer, a creature card from the expansive universe of Magic: The Gathering, brings an intriguing mix of abilities to the battlefield. Notably, it introduces an element of surprise with its flash ability, allowing players to cast it at almost any time which can disrupt opponent strategies by blocking an unexpected attack. This dexterity is further enhanced by its ability to reduce an opponent’s life total by one when it enters the battlefield, thanks to its life-draining feature.

To successfully navigate against this evasive adversary, consider incorporating cards that neutralize abilities or provide removal options that don’t target, bypassing the flash mechanic. Board wipes or spells that don’t require targeting individual creatures, such as “Wrath of God” or “Damnation,” can be effective. Alternatively, leveraging instant-speed removal spells in your arsenal can counteract the Skydancer’s entry at the most opportune moment. Ensuring you have a varied toolkit to address such flexible threats will keep you one step ahead in the game.

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of Nimana Skydancer is crucial. Preparing your deck to handle creatures with flash and life-draining effects will give you an edge in maintaining control over the game and eventually overcoming the obstacles posed by such cards.

Cards like Nimana Skydancer

Nimana Skydancer is an intriguing creature in the creatures with an enter-the-battlefield effect space within MTG. Its ability to tap a creature upon entry is akin to the function of cards like Frost Lynx, which also taps a target creature and ensures it doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step. Nimana Skydancer, though, offers an additional benefit of drawing a card when it enters the battlefield, making it both a tactical play and a way to maintain card advantage.

Another close comparison can be drawn with Thieving Sprite, which also interacts with the opponent’s hand, albeit differently. While Thieving Sprite requires its controller to reveal a number of cards from their hand and discards one of them, Nimana Skydancer bypasses the hand entirely, impacting the battlefield directly. This direct interaction can be crucial in hindering an opponent’s plans.

Analyzing these similar creatures highlights Nimana Skydancer’s versatility in providing an aerial blocker with a subtle form of control. This can significantly disrupt the tempo of a game, making it a valuable addition to decks that require such strategic components.

Cards similar to Nimana Skydancer by color, type and mana cost

Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nimana Skydancer MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Nimana Skydancer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Nimana Skydancer has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal