Pointed Discussion

Another confusing old card that you slowly realize isn't that good. The flavour's a bit inexplicable too; why do my creatures gain first strike?

I think flavourwise your creatures gain first strike, because your mighty water magic allowed you to influence the tides and have the water recede, giving your army a tactical advantage and set up a trap or something for the attacks. Thus, your non-flying units get firsts trike. Unless an opponent invests some mana to prevent that, I guess.

Weird card. I mean, giving blockers first strike is powerful. If you have maybe ten 1/1 camarid tokens from homarid spawning bed, and give them all first strike, they can easily take apart any attacker without dying. And preventing your dudes from gaining first strike would cost your opponent up to 10 mana. And even if your opponent does pay it, you can just activate the flats again to give your units first strike anyway.

So, I don't think it's that bad... still bad, but not unplayably bad.

As long as you don't gang-block something, it can be used to drain your opponent of mana. With the majority of players casting stuff in the second main phase, it can screw up their timing. If you could manage to give this flash (Vernal Equinox), you can surprise your foe with this.

In flavor for blue, since at the time mana reduction and adding prices to effects was one of blue's tricks. Not a bad card, though rather weak.

What other nonflyer-hosing enchantment from the previous expansion cost to cast and to activate? That's right, it's Flood!

Simple ways this could've been better:
-Activation cost of or
-Make it usable before assigning blockers
-Make the opponent pay per blocker, not per attacker
-Remove the non-flying restriction