Dismal Backwater

Land

Dismal Backwater enters the battlefield tapped.

When Dismal Backwater enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.

: Gain or .

Discussion (51)

multimedia on Subjective Reality Upgrade

2 weeks ago

Hey, you're welcome.

40 lands is a lot of lands and you also have ramp sources to help to make mana. You would be fine cutting 2-4 lands and filling those spots with low CMC budget cards that draw such as Omen of the Sea , Wall of Omens and Brainstorm . The idea is more draw that also has interaction with Aminatou could replace some lands because overall these cards are better for gameplay and the draw can potentially help to draw lands. You have a good number of basic lands for budget and the ratio is also on point. With 16 basic lands then budget dual lands that have interaction with basic lands help for them to ETB untapped.

• Exotic Orchard : staple budget land for three or more colored decks in multiplayer Commander.
• Path of Ancestry : can make one color of the three Esper colors.
• Caves of Koilos
• Prairie Stream : is an Island.
• Sunken Hollow : is an Island.
• Shineshadow Snarl
• Ash Barrens : nice as a potential turn one play to landcycle to get a basic land of your choice for your second turn land for color fixing that you need to cast Aminatou.
• Temple of Enlightenment
• Temple of Deceit
• Mystic Sanctuary
• Bojuka Bog

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Ideally, you want most if not all the lands in the manabase to ETB untapped to help gameplay. Since then you can tap the land for mana the turn you play it, but that's impossible when on such a low budget unless playing 30+ basic lands which is not recommended with three colors. The lands that you play that will always ETB tapped should have other uses or be able to make one of any three colors you need. An example is Arcane Sanctum is good, Dimir Guildgate isn't good. If you have to play many lands that always ETB tapped then might as well play the ones that also have bonus interaction with your Commander.

The Scry lands ( Temple of Silence ) and Halimar Depths ETB tapped, but they have interaction with the Aminatou + Guardian + Oath combo. Aminatou can blink a Scry land as the first permanent which lets you scry through the rest of your library to find Strix or another permanent draw source to cast to then draw a win condition to cast. The Gain lands ( Tranquil Cove ) also can be blinked and blinking one of them with the combo gives you infinite life. Consider three of each of Scry lands and Gain lands?

Utility lands such as Mystic Sanctuary give you something when it ETB, can be blinked by Aminatou and be part of the combo. Sanctuary when blinked if you control three other Islands can be a repeatable way to recur an instant or sorcery. It can setup a card with miracle since you recur the card to the top of your library to draw on your next turn or even on an opponent's turn if card with miracle is the first card you draw on opponent's turn.

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Example of an upgraded budget manabase:

• 6x Plains, 6x Island, 4x Swamp
• Command Tower , Exotic Orchard , Path of Ancestry , Arcane Sanctum
• Esper Panorama , Ash Barrens , Evolving Wilds
• Halimar Depths , Temple of Enlightenment , Temple of Silence , Temple of Deceit
• Caves of Koilos , Shineshadow Snarl
• Prairie Stream , Sunken Hollow
• Mystic Sanctuary , Bojuka Bog
• Tranquil Cove , Dismal Backwater , Scoured Barrens

mccabej140 on Snow Dual Lands

6 months ago

Do you think the new Snow Dual Lands in Kaldheim will see play? If so, in what decks?

For myself, I can see Ice Tunnel possibly replacing Dismal Backwater in Dimir decks that run Snuff Out to turn on the alternate casting cost more consistently.

Let me know what you think.

Spell_Slam on UB Phantasm Control Mill Variant

6 months ago

You are definitely focusing too much on mill to enable only 6 cards in your deck. You could be doing it much more organically, as you mentioned, with removal/discard/counters.

If there is a mill card you could look at, it might be Paranoid Delusions, since you can mill an opponent 6 cards in one turn with it easily and potentially get to 9 the following turn, which can enable your plan consistently throughout the game.

I would definitely cut Mind Sculpt and Memory Sluice in favor of more control cards. Chainer's Edict, another copy of Cast Down and Disfigure are classics. Artful Dodge is another one that confuses me and could probably be cut.

Wight of Precinct Six doesn't seem like a great card, since it only counts creatures. In the very late game it will be big, but it seems like most of the time it will be a weaker and more expensive Gurmag Angler (not to mention getting weaker with graveyard hate).

Esper Panorama is not a very common piece of fixing and I'm curious why you chose it over Dismal Backwater or Dimir Aqueduct.

You could also definitely use more card draw (those slots get sucked up by mill right now). Preordain and Augur of Bolas are classics for Dimir Control.

bdobinski on Brad's Commander Cube (v2): Non Basic Mana List

7 months ago

Update 12/28/2020

Bountiful Promenade replacing Blossoming Sands
Luxury Suite replacing Bloodfell Caves
Morphic Pool replacing Dismal Backwater
Rejuvenating Springs replacing Thornwood Falls
Sea of Clouds replacing Tranquil Cove
Spectator Seating replacing Wind-Scarred Crag
Spire Garden replacing Rugged Highlands
Training Center replacing Swiftwater Cliffs
Undergrowth Stadium replacing Jungle Hollow
Vault of Champions replacing Scoured Barrens

bdobinski on Brad's Commander Cube (v2): Full List

7 months ago

Update 12/28/2020

Animar, Soul of Elements replacing Yasova Dragonclaw
Geist of Saint Traft replacing Daxos of Meletis
Halana, Kessig Ranger replacing Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip replacing Regrowth
Kazuul's Fury  ^Flip replacing Fling
Keeper of the Accord replacing Glorious Anthem
Bountiful Promenade replacing Blossoming Sands
Luxury Suite replacing Bloodfell Caves
Morphic Pool replacing Dismal Backwater
Rejuvenating Springs replacing Thornwood Falls
Sea of Clouds replacing Tranquil Cove
Spectator Seating replacing Wind-Scarred Crag
Spire Garden replacing Rugged Highlands
Training Center replacing Swiftwater Cliffs
Undergrowth Stadium replacing Jungle Hollow
Vault of Champions replacing Scoured Barrens

multimedia on "He's a Pirate"

7 months ago

Hey, well done, very creative on a budget :)

Arcane Signet, Rainbow mana rock is an upgrade for Charcoal Diamond for the "The nine pieces of eight". Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator is a flying Pirate which helps to trigger Brass and is very good with the treasure strategy since he can be repeatable treasures. Malcolm could replace Trophy Mage since Mage is not a character and only has one 3 CMC artifact that's worth tutoring for and Deadeye Quartermaster can tutor for it.

Departed Deckhand is a Pirate who's consistently unblockable/make other Pirates unblockable is an upgrade for Captain Vargus Wrath since Wrath is not a character. Spectral Sailor flying one drop Pirate/repeatable draw source is an upgrade for Rowdy Crew since Crew is also not a character.

Exotic Orchard, Unclaimed Territory, Path of Ancestry are three budget Rainbow land upgrades which could replace Bloodfell Caves, Dismal Backwater and Swiftwater Cliffs.

Good luck with your deck.

Cotter11 on Zombies

10 months ago

Door of Destinies

Hero's Downfall

Dimir Guildgate

Dismal Backwater

Temple of Deceit

Fetid Pools

Submerged Boneyard

Gidgetimer on Lithoform Enginge: Not Broken, Definitely …

10 months ago

Back on topic, I feel that you may be missing an opportunity with saying it doesn't go into Chainer, Nightmare Adept. Without knowing how your decks are built I'd say it would want one more than Roon for sure.

I'm still a bit taken aback by what I see as "average farting around level" is an 8 on these power scales. Now that I look at it more it isn't even that what I play fits neatly into an 8. It is more building philosophy of 8, card choices of 6, seriousness of 4. This is why I don't like these scales. They leave no room for the guy Diabolic Tutoring for a Dismal Backwater to set off Blood/Bond. Whatever level people consider that to be, I still don't think that Lithoform Engine will see much play at or above.