Flood (Original Art)

Flood is a one-mana blue enchantment that can tap target creature without flying for (U)(U), originally printed in The Dark (1994). It’s a tempo / lock piece: a cheap enchantment that can repeatedly tap troublesome ground creatures (as long as you can pay the activations). It’s a subtle form of creature removal that doesn’t destroy – it simply immobilizes non-fliers and can be used both as defensive insurance and as a way to set up an unblockable attack. The card evokes the idea of a flooding that pins foot soldiers in place – “a dash of cool water”. Artist Dennis Detwiller’s art gives it that watery control vibe. It functions as cheap and repeatable disruption. This card is played in Pauper (commons only) as a meta card or sideboard tech in decks like Mono Blue Aggro / Faeries, Dimir Delver, and UR Skred. It’s also seen in the Premodern format, as a sideboard card in Stasis decks. This control/prison style deck uses cards like Stasis, Black Vise, Gush, Daze and Chain of Vapor to try and lock down the opponent. Flood is not on the Reserved List.