I managed to make a Merfolk Combo deck much like the Elf Combo Deck, except that it used this + permanent untappers and fallowsages to play my deck out consistently by turn 5, then win with a) infinite merfolk tokens, b)decking the opponent, or c) brainfreeze.
lectrician
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(4 votes)
meditate and brainfreeze for the win ftw... well, before mindbreak trap was printed that is...
GradiustheFox
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(20 votes)
An investment banker would jump through a ring made of his own kidneys for a deal this good that paid off this quickly. One mana to effectively double your current? Tasty.
ArtBell
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Why do I always forget that this card exists?
Not every monoblue deck needs it, but those that run it can pull some shenanigans. And it's an instant! This thing is gold, 5 stars.
Ajani_is_da_man
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
waaaaaayyyyy too underrated. Yay!
Laguz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
You're leaving a whole lot of Fallen Empires cards out, especially the two orders. That set was fairly good despite it's reputation.
high_tide_niv
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
my favorite card, for the best color
zeyette
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I enjoy this card. I don't necessarily have the money for better blue acceleration like Tolarian Academy and Mox Sapphire, so this card is a great alternative. It gets you blue mana when you need it, and its only 25 cents at the most.
achilleselbow
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Yea there were a few more decent Fallen Empires cards. The cleric orders, definitely, but also Breeding Pit, especially when used with Ebon Praetor or Soul Exchange. Icatian Javeliners is still one of the best white one-drops. Orgg was usable in the right deck. Thelonite Druid was very playable. The thallids/other spore cards and the sac lands (Havenwood Battleground, etc.) weren't bad either.
GoblinNaysayer93
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is pretty much the only blue mana accel I can think of. Also, it's always good to see a card that encourages playing basic lands.
VoidedNote
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is great, its an instant so people won't expect, especially since it doesn't quite get the hype it deserves.
longwinded
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rules updates have actually nerfed this card a little. While they've made this a delayed triggered ability (an island is tapped, therefore High Tide adds {U} to mana pool), the original wording was that the island always produces {U}{U} as a replacement effect (or {B}{U}, {G}{U} and so on for dual lands). This isn't even a matter of different text templates in different ages, as the more recent Mana Reflection has similar card text and specific rulings noting the difference.
The difference matters for certain effects that care about where the mana came from, such as when using snow mana. For example, with this oracle text, the extra mana created when tapping a Snow-covered Island with High Tide in play could not be used as snow mana; with the original wording it could.
High Tide plays weird. You need all islands to go anywhere with it, and having two is hardly ever beneficial. With one island it gets you nothing, with two it gets you nothing. With three it gets you four blue mana, with four it gets you six, with five it gives eight, with six it gives ten. And it doesn't let you leave mana on the table; with four islands, you can't spend five blue mana for a critter and then save one for a Turn Aside. Most non-green mana accelerators are ideally played on turn two for four mana on turn three or on turn three for five mana on four; High Tide is behind until you have four islands, hopefully on turn four, and then you really need something that costs six mana to take advantage of it. On five you can get eight mana, but that's tapping yourself out; you are still stuck at 6 if you want to leave even one land untapped for protection purposes. It's difficult to build a deck that ramps so late.
Best to pay for it with something like Jwar Isle Refuge so as to maximize the amount of mana you get.
This + Parapet watchers + gorgon flail = Profit!
--Nate--
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Considering that you have to pay a blue mana for this, below is the number of islands you have vs. how much blue mana you would get out of them after High Tide:
1 -- 0 2 -- 2 3 -- 4 4 -- 6 5 -- 8 6 -- 10
And so on. Basically, the number of blue mana you can get, using X as the number of islands you have, is 2(X-1).
Actually, it only produces infinite mana with Palinchron if you can produce 12 mana, which means six islands on the board on the High Tide turn (assuming they're all untapped from an effect like Time Spiral).
Unless, of course, you play another High Tide, which is of course possible with a Time Spiral or two. But now we've assumed alot.
I realize that high Tide has come back as a combo deck, but really as far as Legacy combo decks go, it's a bit slow, and it is basically incapable of a backup plan. Still, the card deserves its fair credit.
blindthrall
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
One of three playable cards from Fallen Empires, the others being Goblin Grenade and the unholy hymn to Tourach. I guess Basal Thrull is okay as a slow dark ritual that can block. Of course they reprinted this card...in black, because black needed the acceleration. Now the only slow color is red, which somehow doesn't seem right.
@Laguz: Despite not liking the orders at first, I've come to respect them through a couple of nasty beatings. That set frustrates me because a) No playable bombs, b) The power level felt generally neutered, especially in red, which I can't remember getting a single burn spell other than Dwarven Catapult, c)Those cards that weren't neutered were devastating. There was a middle ground, but it was a minority in that set, not the majority it should be.
It's not the worst set by far. Homelands probably was, but I've heard some terrible things about the entire Kamigawa block. Thankfully I wasn't playing then.
@achilleselbow: Ebon Praetor was very situational, and while I ran at least one Breeding Pit as a necessity in my sac deck, it has since been outclassed by Reassembling Skeletons and Myr Propagator. Soul Exchange is a bit of a sore point because I have no idea where my copies went, but I loved that card. Orgg and the sac lands just let me down more times than they helped, believe me, I tried to make those cards work. I still use my Javelineers in my soldier deck. And one my friends has a thallid deck that is surprisingly good.
Why are two of the best mana acceleration cards in the game (High Tide and Dark Ritual) not in {G} I understand the flavour behind Dark Ritual but still, isn't flooding with mana etc. more of a {G} thing?
Regardless a fantastic card..
Ava_Adore
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
get yo hands on the ravnica dual lands, play Breeding Pool, with multiple amulet of vigor then you get multiple double ups of mana, at least for that land!
It's just a handy card to have in most any mono blue deck. It might not be as useful most of the time as a Dark Ritual, but it'll always get you something on the board a round or two earlier than you would have without it. And in a lot of games, that can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hey, you got my green in your blue!
shaolin_guard
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
sorry a quick question. if i cast two of these in a turn will i produce triple mana. so the normal lands mana then the high tides before mana, then the one after?
garganeraboy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
and may the gods be always in your favor -Hunger Games
This is one of the dirtiest cards I've seen. And its only a dollar. Why yes, I would like a set of blue ramp.
DeaTh-ShiNoBi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@BegleOne You're failing to consider Candelabra of Tawnos. You don't need to wait for 4 islands to have an effective High Tide with Candelabra of Tawnos. Example game:
Earliest possible: Turn 1: Island, Candelabra of Tawnos Turn 2: Island, High Tide, tap island for Candelabra --> untap both islands; you now have 4 mana on turn 2.
Alternatively, let's say we would rather wait for Turn 3: Turn 3: Island, High Tide, tap two Islands, spend 3 on Candelabra (one {U} left over) --> untap 3 islands; you now have 7 mana on turn 3.
It doesn't curve late. Now consider other cards that untap lands as well (like, say, Frantic Search and Time Spiral). High Tide does play strangely, as you say, but it is not underpowered.
Oh btw, to give you an idea of how strong High Tide can be with a deck built around it, it only needs to be said that those deck's win condition is Stroke of Genius or Blue Sun's Zenith via milling. That's how much mana you can get in one turn.
MasterBlaster74
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this card is good just on its own merits, but with a bit of help this card is so powerful. I like to use it with Cloud of Faeries on my 2nd turn for 4 open mana, or do the same on 3rd turn for 6 open mana.
5/5
Jitteryowl
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
*See this card.
OMFG DOUBLE YOUR MANA
oh...must be banned in everything. Darn.
*Check bannings OMFG DOUBLE YOUR MANA LEGALLY
BagOfBags
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a blue aggro deck built around this, Cloud of Fairies and blue flyers.
The deck has very few Islands to make sure I can always draw plenty of creatures(the sideboard has 3 Islands). The Hidden Strings helps me empty my hand faster, especially with high tide.
An optimal play for this deck would be: Turn one: Island, Judge's Familiar 6 cards in hand opponent at 20 life
Fallen Empires: The dorky girl next door who got sexy with age.
Aquillion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Amusingly, this card was considered somewhat underpowered when it was first released, since at the time there were few ways to untap lands -- Candelabra of Tawnos was hard to get, and even if you had it the combo was often not worth it on its own. It also got unfavorably compared to Dark Ritual, which was better for early acceleration.
Of course, then Urza's Saga came along with a bunch of cards that untapped lands as a side-effect when you cast them, and this became broken to hell and back. The lesson here: Cards have to be judged in their environment, not just in a vacuum.
Comments (47)
d^-^b
Not every monoblue deck needs it, but those that run it can pull some shenanigans. And it's an instant! This thing is gold, 5 stars.
The difference matters for certain effects that care about where the mana came from, such as when using snow mana. For example, with this oracle text, the extra mana created when tapping a Snow-covered Island with High Tide in play could not be used as snow mana; with the original wording it could.
Gauntlet of Might, Bubbling Muck, Chaos Moon, and Snowfall all suffer the same problem as High Tide.
It is very powerful, but it takes skill to utilize it so it does more better than just a Sky Diamond, Apprentice Wizard or Silver Myr.
High tide + Palinchron = infinite mana...
Just sayin'...
This + Parapet watchers + gorgon flail = Profit!
1 -- 0
2 -- 2
3 -- 4
4 -- 6
5 -- 8
6 -- 10
And so on. Basically, the number of blue mana you can get, using X as the number of islands you have, is 2(X-1).
"I came up with a cool new effect!"
"Put it in blue".
Actually, it only produces infinite mana with Palinchron if you can produce 12 mana, which means six islands on the board on the High Tide turn (assuming they're all untapped from an effect like Time Spiral).
Unless, of course, you play another High Tide, which is of course possible with a Time Spiral or two. But now we've assumed alot.
I realize that high Tide has come back as a combo deck, but really as far as Legacy combo decks go, it's a bit slow, and it is basically incapable of a backup plan. Still, the card deserves its fair credit.
@Laguz: Despite not liking the orders at first, I've come to respect them through a couple of nasty beatings. That set frustrates me because a) No playable bombs, b) The power level felt generally neutered, especially in red, which I can't remember getting a single burn spell other than Dwarven Catapult, c)Those cards that weren't neutered were devastating. There was a middle ground, but it was a minority in that set, not the majority it should be.
It's not the worst set by far. Homelands probably was, but I've heard some terrible things about the entire Kamigawa block. Thankfully I wasn't playing then.
@achilleselbow: Ebon Praetor was very situational, and while I ran at least one Breeding Pit as a necessity in my sac deck, it has since been outclassed by Reassembling Skeletons and Myr Propagator. Soul Exchange is a bit of a sore point because I have no idea where my copies went, but I loved that card. Orgg and the sac lands just let me down more times than they helped, believe me, I tried to make those cards work. I still use my Javelineers in my soldier deck. And one my friends has a thallid deck that is surprisingly good.
Sadly, Frantic Search is banned.
Regardless a fantastic card..
-Hunger Games
Why yes, I would like a set of blue ramp.
You're failing to consider Candelabra of Tawnos. You don't need to wait for 4 islands to have an effective High Tide with Candelabra of Tawnos. Example game:
Earliest possible:
Turn 1: Island, Candelabra of Tawnos
Turn 2: Island, High Tide, tap island for Candelabra --> untap both islands; you now have 4 mana on turn 2.
Alternatively, let's say we would rather wait for Turn 3:
Turn 3: Island, High Tide, tap two Islands, spend 3 on Candelabra (one {U} left over) --> untap 3 islands; you now have 7 mana on turn 3.
It doesn't curve late. Now consider other cards that untap lands as well (like, say, Frantic Search and Time Spiral). High Tide does play strangely, as you say, but it is not underpowered.
Oh btw, to give you an idea of how strong High Tide can be with a deck built around it, it only needs to be said that those deck's win condition is Stroke of Genius or Blue Sun's Zenith via milling. That's how much mana you can get in one turn.
5/5
OMFG DOUBLE YOUR MANA
oh...must be banned in everything. Darn.
*Check bannings
OMFG DOUBLE YOUR MANA LEGALLY
Here's the decklist:
4x High Tide
4x Cloud of Fairies
3x Hidden Strings
4x Warden of Evos Isle
4x Serendib Efreet
4x Illusory Angel
4x Welkin Tern
4x Favorable Winds
3x Judge's Familiar
3x Coastal Piracy
2x Narcolepsy
1x Bident of Thassa
16x Island
The deck has very few Islands to make sure I can always draw plenty of creatures(the sideboard has 3 Islands). The Hidden Strings helps me empty my hand faster, especially with high tide.
An optimal play for this deck would be:
Turn one: Island, Judge's Familiar 6 cards in hand
opponent at 20 life
Turn two: Island, High Tide, Cloud of Faires, Hidden Strings on Judge's Familiar,
2x Illusory Angel, swing with Judge's Familiar, untap lands with Hidden Strings, cast Bident of Thassa.0 cards in hand
opponent at 19 life
Turn three: Welkin Tern, swing for 10, draw four cards from Bident of Thassa, untap two islands from Hidden Strings, High Tide, Cloud of Fairies, 2x Narcolepsy on opponent's creatures. 0 cards in hand, opponent at 9 life
Turn four: Favorable Winds, Swing for 16.
Of course, then Urza's Saga came along with a bunch of cards that untapped lands as a side-effect when you cast them, and this became broken to hell and back. The lesson here: Cards have to be judged in their environment, not just in a vacuum.