Tidal Wave
Instant
Create a 5/5 blue Wall creature token with defender. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Eternal Masters
- Price
- $0.03
- EDHREC rank
- #26258
Tidal Wave puts a 5/5 blue Wall with defender onto the battlefield at instant speed for three mana — a reasonable blocker stapled to a threat of sorts, but sorcery-speed removal and combat tricks both answer it cleanly. It's a fringe role-player at best, outclassed by nearly every other blue three-drop.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Tidal Wave is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but that breadth doesn't translate to relevance. In Commander, a 5/5 defender for three mana doesn't advance a board state against three opponents and blocks only one attacker at a time. Legacy and Vintage have interaction so efficient that Tidal Wave never gets the chance to matter. Pauper is the only format where a fat cheap wall occasionally sees fringe play in defensive strategies, but even there better options exist.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.03 bulk tier
At $0.03, Tidal Wave is deep bulk — you'll find it in a dollar box or a bulk lot, never as a deliberate purchase. At that price it holds no meaningful monetary value, and demand isn't going to change that.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.