<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spectral Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Spectral Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.kieranyanner.com">Kieran Yanner</a>)</h6>
<h1>Pore Over the Pages</h1>
<p>This week, we're doing something a little different on <em>Challenge the Stats</em>! We're going to go back to the roots of the fantastic <a href="https://edhrecast.libsyn.com/">EDHRECast</a> segment this series is based on. We're picking out one card to challenge as overplayed or underplayed, and doing a deep dive into which decks and commanders might want to play it. Today, we have an underplayed card from the <em>Kaldheim Commander</em> preconstructed deck, <em>Phantom Premonition</em>:<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spectral Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Spectral Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spectral Deluge"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spectral Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Spectral Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a one-sided board wipe, bouncing only opponents' creatures with toughness less than or equal to the number of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Island" href="#" target="_blank">Island</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s you control. It's currently in just shy of 1,500 decks on EDHREC, and I think that is too few! Spectral Deluge has the exact same text as another card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scourge of Fleets" href="#" target="_blank">Scourge of Fleets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which is in 6,600 decks, but is very clunky at seven mana, and it's on a big durdly creature. Unless we're playing a Sea Creature deck, blue decks can typically take advantage or benefit from a spell rather than a creature. Point for Spectral Deluge! Another similar card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Engulf the Shore" href="#" target="_blank">Engulf the Shore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, is in over 5,000 decks and, importantly, is symmetrical, which is a big difference.</p>
<p>Blue has so many options for symmetrical bounce board wipes, such as the iconic <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evacuation" href="#" target="_blank">Evacuation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but we have to get creative if we want to break symmetry like Spectral Deluge does. Let's check out our options.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inundate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wash out"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whelming Wave"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inundate" href="#" target="_blank">Inundate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hits all non-blue creatures, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wash Out" href="#" target="_blank">Wash Out</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hits all creatures of a color of our choice, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whelming Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Whelming Wave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep" href="#" target="_blank">Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> let us keep our Sea Creatures if we build around them, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crush of Tentacles" href="#" target="_blank">Crush of Tentacles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flood of Tears" href="#" target="_blank">Flood of Tears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> let us get one big thing on the board, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherize" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherspouts" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherspouts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are effective bounce if the creatures of concern are attacking. These are all solid options, and can be really good if we build around them.</p>
<p>However, Spectral Deluge doesn't ask us to build around it, and the only condition is that we have a lot of Islands, making it a great choice for mono-blue and two-color decks that include blue. Two more points for Deluge! However, looking at commanders that currently love it, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ranar, the Ever-Watchful" href="#" target="_blank">Ranar, the Ever-Watchful</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alrund, God of the Cosmos" href="#" target="_blank">Alrund, God of the Cosmos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vega, the Watcher" href="#" target="_blank">Vega, the Watcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the <em>Foretell</em> might be a bit of a distraction, since those commanders care about <em>Foretell</em>, and we're seeing minimal inclusion elsewhere. Let's view the <em>Foretell</em> cost as a perk, rather than a clue to which decks want to play Spectral Deluge.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crush of Tentacles"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherspouts"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep"></div></div>
<p>The <em>Foretell</em> cost is a huge boon to Spectral Deluge. We can tuck it away on turn 2 and then play it later for only three mana when we need it! Premium board wipes typically come at four mana, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of God" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and are fantastic because that efficiency lets us play something else on our turn after them to have something before our opponents. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toxic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Toxic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at three mana is even better for this reason (ohhhh, I just noticed the Deluge parallel!). If we draw Spectral Deluge and need it immediately, we can hard-cast it for six mana; otherwise, a three-mana board wipe that only hits our opponents 100% blows my mind.</p>
<p>We need to address the elephant in the room. The big comparison to make is with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which I don't need to tell you is one of the most popular blue board wipes, showing in over 113,000 decks on EDHREC and commanding a hefty $30 price tag.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cyclonic Rift"></div></div>
<p>Cyc Rift is instant-speed, asymmetrical, and hits all nonland permanents, which means it can be a lot more powerful, but it's also <em>always</em> seven mana to do that, which is a big price to pay and a lot of mana to hold open and telegraph to your opponents. It also has the potential for some feel-bads, and I think Spectral Deluge has a lot less of those, being at sorcery-speed. Also, Spectral Deluge is only 34 cents at the time of writing! Due to the limited printing, I'd pick up a few now to make sure you get that price. Check out Jaelyn's <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/staple-remover-cyclonic-rift/">Staple Remover article on Cyclonic Rift</a> to read more about budget alternatives!</p>
<p>Spectral Deluge definitely takes the power level down a notch from Cyc Rift due to the sorcery speed and only hitting creatures, but the asymmetry remains. That means it can be used to set your opponents back while maintaining your board, and maybe folks won't be upset about it if we use some politics and take out 5,024 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scute Swarm" href="#" target="_blank">Scute Swarm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s but gets to keep our stuff. My favorite reason for using asymmetrical board wipes is that they can be used to clear the battlefield of blockers while you swing in for an alpha-strike, effectively making them another win-condition in your deck and potentially freeing up a card slot.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Braids, Conjurer Adept"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atemsis, All-Seeing"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle"></div></div>
<p>Looking at the EDHREC page of <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/u">mono-blue commanders</a>, I'm hard-pressed to find a commander that <em>wouldn't</em> at least consider Spectral Deluge as a board wipe in their deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Talrand, Sky Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Talrand, Sky Summoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes another Drake and alpha-strikes with a ton of other Drakes. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Conjurer Adept" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Conjurer Adept</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> resets opponents and smashes face with whatever beater she cheated into play. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atemsis, All-Seeing" href="#" target="_blank">Atemsis, All-Seeing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gets a free shot on a player to ice them out of the game. Expanding, we can look at the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/wu">Azorious</a>, <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/ub">Dimir</a>, <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/ur">Izzet</a>, and <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/gu">Simic</a> commanders and see a lot of places where a Deluge alpha-strike fits in well!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inniaz, the Gale Force" href="#" target="_blank">Inniaz, the Gale Force</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – Flying stuff smash!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Scarab God" href="#" target="_blank">The Scarab God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – Big Zombie smash!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – Unblockable Ninja smash!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zaffai, Thunder Conductor" href="#" target="_blank">Zaffai, Thunder Conductor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – Big spell and Elemental smash!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait" href="#" target="_blank">Aesi</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatyova, Benthic Druid" href="#" target="_blank">yova</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – Lands lands lands rampy smash!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle" href="#" target="_blank">Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – See above + commander damage smash!</p>
<hr />
<p>What commander do you think would be good with Spectral Deluge?</p>
<p>I'm partial to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Conjurer Adept" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Conjurer Adept</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so I'll post my current Braids list here.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Braids Clones" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Braids, Conjurer Adept
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Amphin Mutineer
*1 Ancient Stone Idol
*1 Atemsis, All-Seeing
*1 Bladegriff Prototype
*1 Clever Impersonator
*1 Colossus of Akros
*1 Crashing Drawbridge
*1 Darksteel Colossus
*1 Faerie Artisans
*1 Glasspool Mimic
*1 Inspired Sphinx
*1 Meteor Golem
*1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Phyrexian Triniform
*1 Sandstone Oracle
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
*1 Stunt Double
*1 Thieving Skydiver
*1 Thought Sponge
*1 Triplicate Titan
*1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
*1 Vizier of Many Faces
*1 Wurmcoil Engine
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Aetherspouts
*1 Archmage&#039;s Charm
*1 Beyeen Veil // Beyeen Coast
*1 Commit // Memory
*1 Engulf the Shore
*1 Fact or Fiction
*1 High Tide
*1 Insidious Will
*1 Intellectual Offering
*1 Mystic Confluence
*1 Narset&#039;s Reversal
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Reins of Power
*1 Resculpt
*1 Theoretical Duplication
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Clone Legion
*1 Mitotic Manipulation
*1 Rite of Replication
*1 Spectral Deluge
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Bloodthirsty Blade
*1 Crystal Shard
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Glaring Spotlight
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Helm of Possession
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Manascape Refractor
*1 Midnight Clock
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Neurok Stealthsuit
*1 Pendant of Prosperity
*1 Sculpting Steel
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Arcane Lighthouse
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Emergence Zone
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Guildless Commons
*20 Island
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Riptide Laboratory
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Sanctum of Eternity
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Thespian&#039;s Stage
[/Lands]
[Enchantments]
*1 Mirrormade
[/Enchantments]"></span></div>
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<h2>Careful Study</h2>
<p>Are there any other cards you would challenge? Let me know in the comments below! As always, you can find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jevin_mtg">@jevin_mtg</a>, or <a href="https://discord.gg/GwQWjSZjvg">join my <em>Challenge the Stats</em> discord here. </a></p>


Challenge the Stats – Spectral Deluge

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://twitter.com/LightPusher?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Chuck Lukacs</a>)</h6>
<h1>A Rift in Time...</h1>
<p>In this timeline, there's a list of cards which just make Commander players groan. Some want them banned, often making loud declarations in the <a href="https://discord.gg/x5Q5PVg">RC Discord</a>. Others house-ban them so that they will never have to see them again. Others, perhaps the most valiant among us, carry with them a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voidslime" href="#" target="_blank">Voidslime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> so that the spell is interrupted by a <em>"fplfmplfmlfblthpfmnsnffl!"</em></p>
<p>But in another timeline, these cards never existed in the first place. Nobody shouts their names from the rooftops, nobody curses them with their dying breath, and the most valiant among us can save their <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voidslime" href="#" target="_blank">Voidslime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a more worthy spell. But there's one common curiosity about this timeline: what do they play there, instead?</p>
<hr />
<h2>Unnatural Disaster</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cyclonic Rift"></div></div>
<p>Among the most common and groan-inducing cards in the entirety of the Commander format is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. At first glance, it's an innocuous card: a rare from <em>Return to Ravnica</em>, it functions ordinarily as a single-target bounce spell for two mana. But if you continue reading, you'll find it has an <em>Overload</em> cost of seven mana, allowing you to instead return <strong>each</strong> nonland permanent you don't control to their owner's hands.</p>
<p>At a mere seven mana for an instant-speed board wipe that doesn't even touch the controller, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is undeniably a powerful card - arguably the best board wipe in the format; it's <em>such</em> a powerful card that it counts, in a way, as a win condition. When you're locked in a boardstall, with enough power on board to kill multiple or all of your opponents but you just can't find an attack, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the perfect card to cast at your opponent's end step to make sure you can swing in for the win. It also works defensively, allowing you to put an immediate stop to lethal damage by sucking up their army in a sudden storm.</p>
<p>But it's also an incredibly frustrating card, as it effectively resets the game for your opponents, and if you don't manage to eke out a win after casting one, then you just added an hour to your current game. It's such a powerful and potentially egregious card that it is actually <a href="https://www.mtgnexus.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=26052">the number one card most often requested to be added to the banlist</a>, according to polling data.</p>
<p>In an alternate timeline where Cyclonic Rift <em>is</em> banned, or perhaps never existed in the first place, what cards would blue players run instead? Well this timeline certainly seems better than the last rift in time created by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nexus of Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Nexus of Fate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as there are some pretty sweet cards on the list to learn from, should we ever cut Cyclonic Rift from our decks for the sake of our wallets and our friends.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whelming Wave"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flood of Tears"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aether Gale"></div></div>
<p>To kick off our list of replacements for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whelming Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Whelming Wave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this card has the potential to be one-sided, as it leaves in its wake all sorts of sea monsters and leviathans. Although this potential for asymmetry is narrow, the card still holds up without it: at four mana with two blue pips, it's blue's closest approximation to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of God" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a board wipe so iconic that it's the nicknamesake of the card type ("wrath"). Even if your deck only has a handful of cards that will dodge a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whelming Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Whelming Wave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it'll still save your skin for a fraction of the cost of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>On occasion, you'll see a deck that doesn't even want their board wipes to be one-sided, and for this, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flood of Tears" href="#" target="_blank">Flood of Tears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great. The newly released <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barrin, Tolarian Archmage" href="#" target="_blank">Barrin, Tolarian Archmage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> appreciates having a board wipe that bounces your own permanents, and even in the decks that still enjoy breaking symmetry, the card pulls a lot of weight. If you had a reasonable number of permanents returned to your hand with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flood of Tears" href="#" target="_blank">Flood of Tears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, then you get an additional permanent out of it to boot! Sure, this could be used to get ahead when rebuilding your board, but from what I hear, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightsteel Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Blightsteel Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <em>adores</em> staring down at an empty battlefield between you and your opponents. As a honorable mention, we'll also include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="River&#039;s Rebuke" href="#" target="_blank">River&#039;s Rebuke</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> alongside this card; although it is seldom more powerful than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it works just as well when one of your opponents in particular needs to be taken down a peg.</p>
<p>One of my personal favorite replacements for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a very underrated card: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aether Gale" href="#" target="_blank">Aether Gale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. When you're feeling threatened by another player's board, or if you want to break a board stall to swing in for the win, taking care of six permanents will usually do the deal. In the situations where it would, sure, you could use Cyclonic Rift, but that's akin to dropping a nuke to take care of a single creature - it's a little overkill. Sometimes you can't afford the two mana extra it'll cost to use the nuke, and unlike <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aether Gale" href="#" target="_blank">Aether Gale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a nuke can't be used to bounce and protect your own permanents if you need it to. It's also fun tech if you're like me and you're trying to recreate that old Jeskai <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feather, the Redeemed" href="#" target="_blank">Feather, the Redeemed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck from Standard and make it EDH-playable. (Confession: I have not managed to do that)</p>
<hr />
<h2>Tidal Titans</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cliff-childs-zzzzz121212.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-57924 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cliff-childs-zzzzz121212.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="731" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cliff-childs-zzzzz121212.jpg 1000w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cliff-childs-zzzzz121212-300x219.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cliff-childs-zzzzz121212-768x561.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a></p>
<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Engulf the Shore" href="#" target="_blank">Engulf the Shore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/cliffy">Cliff Childs</a>)</h6>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Engulf the Shore"></div></div>
<p>But out of all the potential replacements I've tested for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, none of them have <em>quite</em> as much potential as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Engulf the Shore" href="#" target="_blank">Engulf the Shore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Granted, the card is narrow: it's dependent on the number of Islands that you have and on the toughness of your creatures overall. That means that its true home is in a deck with a lot of high-toughness creatures that'll still have enough Islands for it to make a difference when you need it to, so at least 5 Islands by turn 10. This means that it can only fit in mono-blue and two-color decks, and maybe three-color decks that have a heavy imbalance towards blue.</p>
<p>But when you do find a deck where it shines, it'll be blinding. At instant speed, you can clear a board of your opponents' creatures all while leaving yours untouched - sound familiar? And unlike <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the effect costs a mere four mana. There's no feeling quite like engulfing a board of mana dorks and utility creatures to pave the way for the several Eldrazi Titans that you cheated into play using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Conjurer Adept" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Conjurer Adept</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>And as it turns out, there was recently a brand-new card printed with a high toughness who cares about Islands... ooh, and it's a Leviathan, to boot! Everybody make way for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Charix, the Raging Isle" href="#" target="_blank">Charix, the Raging Isle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Rising Tide" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Charix, the Raging Isle
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Brass Squire
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Dreamscape Artist
*1 Hedron Crab
*1 Merfolk Thaumaturgist
*1 Ruin Crab
*1 Scourge of Fleets
*1 Serpent of Yawning Depths
*1 Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Tempest Djinn
*1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
*1 Thassa&#039;s Emissary
*1 Thassa, God of the Sea
*1 Tribute Mage
*1 Trophy Mage
*1 Walking Atlas
*1 Wonder
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Tale&#039;s End
*1 Counterspell
*1 Engulf the Shore
*1 Fact or Fiction
*1 Delay
*1 High Tide
*1 Narset&#039;s Reversal
*1 Negate
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Swan Song
*1 Twisted Image
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Aether Gale
*1 Curse of the Swine
*1 Fabricate
*1 Flow of Ideas
*1 Ponder
*1 Whelming Wave
*1 Windfall
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Quicksilver Fountain
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Blackblade Reforged
*1 Explorer&#039;s Scope
*1 Fireshrieker
*1 Hammer of Nazahn
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Shadowspear
*1 Skeleton Key
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Strata Scythe
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Sky Diamond
*1 Sword of the Animist
*1 Trailblazer&#039;s Boots
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Aqueous Form
*1 Imprisoned in the Moon
*1 Leyline of Anticipation
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Retreat to Coralhelm
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Training Grounds
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Castle Vantress
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Mystic Sanctuary
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Terrain Generator
*28 Island
[/Lands]"></span></div>



engulf the shore

Challenge the Stats – Spectral Deluge

Staple Remover - Cyclonic Rift

Too-Specific Top 10 - The Islands