Floodgate
Creature — Wall
Defender
When this creature has flying, sacrifice it.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, it deals damage to each nonblue creature without flying equal to half the number of Islands you control, rounded down.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Mirage
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #17513
Floodgate ends combat — at instant speed, it bounces every creature with flying back to hands, which can wipe out an alpha strike or reset a sky-dominant board entirely. Four mana for a conditional Cyclonic Rift effect is a real cost, but in the right shell it earns every cent.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Floodgate actually lives — multiplayer tables stack up flying threats fast, and an instant-speed reset that hits every opponent's board simultaneously is exactly the kind of tempo swing the format rewards. Legacy and Vintage are both legal homes on paper, but neither format gives Floodgate a realistic slot; the effect is too narrow and too slow against the threats those formats deploy. Oathbreaker shares Commander's multiplayer DNA and is the only other format where the card has a plausible niche, particularly in blue shells that want to stall and recur value pieces.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Floodgate is deep bulk — pick it out of a box or grab a playset for under a dollar without thinking twice. Bulk status is stable here; the card has a narrow enough use case that it won't spike, but it also won't vanish from availability.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.