Tidal Terror
Creature — Octopus
Whenever this creature attacks, you may tap two other untapped creatures you control. If you do, this creature can't be blocked this turn.
Islandcycling 
(, Discard this card: Search your library for an Island card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #13678
Tidal Terror is a 6/6 with islandwalk that costs six mana — reasonable stats for a creature that can be unblockable in most blue-heavy metas, but nothing that demands a deck be built around it. Outside of Runo Stromkirk, where its creature type earns it a slot, it's a role-player at best.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Runo Stromkirk
Runo Stromkirk flips when a creature with power 6 or greater enters the battlefield, and Tidal Terror clocks in at exactly 6 — it's one of the most reliable flip triggers in the archetype while also being a Kraken-type payoff once Runo transforms.
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 |
In Commander, Tidal Terror earns its slot almost exclusively in Runo Stromkirk decks, where hitting the 6-power threshold on ETB is the whole game. In Pauper, islandwalk has genuine teeth in a format where blue creature-based control shells are common, but six mana is steep for a format defined by efficiency. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer all have better six-mana options by a wide margin, so Tidal Terror doesn't register competitively in any of them. It's a Commander-only card in practice — the power level simply doesn't clear the bar anywhere a sideboard or competitive metagame matters.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Tidal Terror is deep bulk — grab a copy without thinking twice if you're sleeving up Runo Stromkirk. Bulk commons and commons-adjacent rares at this price point don't move unless a format shift creates sudden demand, and nothing on the horizon points there for Tidal Terror.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Runo Stromkirk
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.