I used to dislike cards that I thought were
"sideboard cards." At that point in my life, I
tended to put things like Tidebinder Mage in the
same category as cards that targeted "uncommon"
permanent types (Disenchant et al). Then I
played more Magic and more kinds of Magic, and I
realized that "uncommon" permanent types are a
lot less common than you think, and there's
always one joker in your group (FNM, PTQ,
whatever) who has to make a deck based around
something obscure. And whatever lingering
concerns about such cards disappears when you
come across one that came out only a year after
Master of the Pearl Trident.
Today's card of the day is Tidebinder Mage
which is a two Blue mana 2/2 that taps a target
Red or Green creature an opponent controls for
as long as you control Tidebinder Mage. As a
merfolk this will most often see play in tribal
decks or in sideboards of other primarily Blue
builds for added creature control while
maintaining an aggressive creature tempo.
Overall this is a decent card with somewhat
limited applications that should still see play
in several formats, particularly where merfolk
is a viable strategy.
In Limited the double Blue with a specific
and vulnerable control effect is not the
strongest of rares and makes for a fairly weak
option in most packs. It can lock down a major
threat if kept in hand until needed, though
attacking or blocking requires careful
consideration of any possible plays an opponent
can make. In Sealed the deck needs enough Blue
to cast this reliably where it can be fit in, or
sidedecked, as slivers help make Red and Green
particularly tempting in the format.
For Booster this can be a first pick for certain
styles of play or a weaker pack, though even in
Blue there are more aggressive or controlling
options.
Against anything but Red and Green its just a
2/2 Merfolk Wizard for UU, which isn't anything
to right home about.
If you play it and there's a red or green
creature on the field you can keep it tapped
until TM leaves the field. Now in a way this is
like a weaker and more conditional Banisher
Priest. The creature is tapped so it can't
attack or block, however it can still use mana
abilities that don't require tapping or it can
be sacrificed for other abilities, or it can
still have a field presence and pump up other
creatures etc.
Now against red, Tidebinder Mage won't last long
because a 2/2 that annoyed a red player is
knocking for a shocking.
Green doesn't have as much targeted creature
removal as red, but it excels at mana generation
so odds are a green opponent will have more than
one creature out to take the place of the tapped
creature.
Tidebinder Mage offers a new look for the
Merfolk family. For two blue mana it also offers
a way to delay some of the deadly G/R creatures
that we fear the most. Tidebinder Mage can also
pull removal cards from your opponents. I look
at this card in Standard and see much potential,
but for now it remains in the side-board. Casual
players will find more ways to use Tidebinder
Mage. Old school Opposition decks are a perfect
home for Tidebinder Mage. She fits right in and
can pull double duty! (LoL dootie) PROS: A 2/2
Merfolk for UU and Completely HOSES mono-green.
CONS: Useless against B,W, U and Artifact
creatures.
