Swiftwater Cliffs
Land
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, you gain 1 life.
: Add 
or 
.
- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Tarkir: Dragonstorm
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #997
Swiftwater Cliffs enters tapped and replaces itself with a single life point — the entire cost is one tempo hit on turn one or two. In Izzet builds running Abaddon the Despoiler or any spell-count payoff, that trade is acceptable; in anything faster, it isn't.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Abaddon the Despoiler
Abaddon the Despoiler cares about casting spells with mana value equal to or greater than the number of wound counters, and Swiftwater Cliffs simply ensures the blue and red pips are online when those spells need to resolve. At a 24% inclusion rate across 6,000-plus decks, it's the most common home for the land.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Niv-Mizzet, Parun demands triple blue and triple red in its casting cost, so Swiftwater Cliffs earns its slot by fixing both colors reliably without requiring fetch or dual support. One in three Niv-Mizzet decks runs it for exactly that reason.
The Archimandrite
The Archimandrite runs a wide color identity that still needs to hit blue and red early, and Swiftwater Cliffs covers both in a single land slot. At 22% inclusion it's a staple fixer in that shell.
Bria, Riptide Rogue
Bria, Riptide Rogue is a tempo-forward Dimir commander that occasionally splashes blue-heavy spells, and Swiftwater Cliffs shows up in roughly 29% of builds as cheap, accessible fixing when dual lands aren't in the budget.
Balmor, Battlemage Captain
Balmor, Battlemage Captain rewards casting instants and sorceries and runs a heavy Izzet spell package that needs consistent access to both colors; Swiftwater Cliffs is the no-cost budget answer to that fixing requirement.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Swiftwater Cliffs is a filler land in every format it's legal in — the tapped drawback is simply too steep for Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, or Pauper, where better dual options exist at every price point. In Vintage the tempo loss is a non-starter. Commander is the only format where Swiftwater Cliffs sees real play, and even there it belongs strictly in budget builds where Volcanic Island, Steam Vents, and Riverglacier are off the table. If the mana base is already strong, Swiftwater Cliffs is the first land to cut.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Swiftwater Cliffs is deep bulk — you'll find copies in bulk bins faster than you'll order them online. There is no value argument here; you run it because it's free to acquire and it taps for blue or red, full stop.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.