Crashing Tide
Sorcery
This spell has flash as long as you control a Merfolk.
Return target creature to its owner's hand.
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Rivals of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #19611
Crashing Tide bounces a nonland permanent and replaces itself — a clean two-for-one at three mana whenever you have a Merfolk on the battlefield. Outside Merfolk tribal, the conditional draw makes it a strict downgrade from Unsummon and Vapor Snag, so it earns a slot only in decks that can reliably trigger it.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Crashing Tide is a Pauper and Commander card first. In Pauper Merfolk, the free draw is easy to trigger and the tempo swing can close games; it's a genuine role-player there. In Commander, it fits narrowly into Merfolk tribal builds — Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca and Realmwalker-style tribal lists that flood the board with Fish early enough to make the draw consistent. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer, the three-mana cost is simply too slow for what bounce spells are asked to do, and non-conditional options exist at one or two mana. Stick to formats and archetypes where Crashing Tide's draw clause is nearly guaranteed.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Crashing Tide is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a common box, not buying it. That price is stable by definition; there's no demand spike plausible for a narrow tribal instant, so grab it cheap and don't think twice.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.