Tidal Influence
Enchantment
Cast this spell only if no permanents named Tidal Influence are on the battlefield.
This enchantment enters with a tide counter on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a tide counter on this enchantment.
As long as there is exactly one tide counter on this enchantment, all blue creatures get -2/-0.
As long as there are exactly three tide counters on this enchantment, all blue creatures get +2/+0.
Whenever there are four or more tide counters on this enchantment, remove all tide counters from it.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Fallen Empires
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #29583
Tidal Influence locks all blue creatures into a forced tap-untap cycle, handing you a repeatable pseudo-Fog against any blue-heavy board while potentially turning your own blue attackers into an unstoppable wave. The catch is real: you're at the mercy of the phase counter, and if your deck isn't built around blue creatures, this does more for your opponents than you.
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 |
In Commander, Tidal Influence is a fringe political tool in mono-blue or Simic creature builds — it punishes blue-heavy metas but sits dead against white, black, red, or green decks, which is most of the table most of the time. Legacy and Vintage are the only other formats where it's legal, and it sees zero play in either; the formats move too fast for a four-mana enchantment that doesn't immediately affect the board state. Tidal Influence is strictly a Commander card, and even there it demands a very specific context — a creature-heavy blue deck in a pod where at least one opponent is also running blue threats worth locking down.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Tidal Influence is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not power. It holds no meaningful financial value and is unlikely to move without an unexpected reprint or sudden Commander spike, so pick it up purely because the effect fits your deck, not as any kind of hold.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.