Tropical StormHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Tropical Storm deals damage to two overlapping categories of creatures based on the value of X chosen when casting the spell. It primarily targets creatures with flying, but it also has a specific kicker for blue creatures, regardless of whether they can fly or not.

How It Resolves

When Tropical Storm resolves, it identifies all creatures on the battlefield with the flying keyword and all creatures that have the color blue. It first deals X damage to every creature with flying. Then, it checks for blue creatures and deals exactly 1 damage to each of them. If a creature is both blue and has flying, it will be dealt damage twice: once for X and once for the bonus 1 damage.

Common Mistakes

A common point of confusion involves blue creatures that do not have flying. Tropical Storm will still deal 1 damage to these grounded blue creatures even if X is 0. Additionally, remember that protection from green or damage prevention effects can still stop this damage, as Tropical Storm does not state the damage cannot be prevented.

When to Play It

This card is most effective when your opponent is utilizing blue flyers or spirits. Because it is a sorcery, you must use it during your main phase to sweep the board before your own attack. It is an excellent way to use excess mana in the late game to ensure no blockers remain in the air.

Interaction examples

Cleaning the Skies

If your opponent has three 2/2 Birds with flying and you cast Tropical Storm with X=2, the spell deals 2 damage to each Bird. State-based actions then see they have damage equal to their toughness, and they are destroyed.

Punishing Blue Ground Units

If there is a 1/1 blue Merfolk without flying on the battlefield and you cast Tropical Storm with X=0, the Merfolk still takes 1 damage because it is blue, effectively removing it from the board for just one green mana.

Double Damage on Blue Flyers

If an opponent controls a 4/4 blue Sphinx with flying and you cast Tropical Storm with X=3, the Sphinx takes 3 damage for having flying and then 1 additional damage for being blue. This total of 4 damage is enough to destroy the Sphinx.

Mana Ramp Preparation

FarseekNature's Lore

Early in the game, you can use Nature's Lore or Farseek to put additional lands onto the battlefield. This increases your total available mana, allowing you to cast a much larger Tropical Storm later to deal with high-toughness flyers.