Sea Gate Wreckage - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

by Phoenix Desertsong, Old School Duelist

Is Sea Gate Wreckage a Currently Undervalued Competitive Staple in Modern and EDH / Commander?

Sea Gate Wreckage from Oath of the Gatewatch is a colorless land with an ability that quickly proved itself useful in Standard.   Eldrazi decks in Standard would play a copy (or even two) of Sea Gate Wreckage on occasion. As it was only a one-of in most decks, there wasn’t massive demand for this card. Would Sea Gate Wreckage find play in other formats, such as Modern and EDH?

Sea Gate Wreckage in Modern Affinity

Some Affinity and many Eldrazi decks in Modern (especially Eldrazi Tron) have included a single copy of Sea Gate Wreckage. Those decks have plenty of sources of pure colorless mana to activate the 2C “draw a card” ability.

Because you have to have an empty hand to use Sea Gate Wreckage’s ability, it doesn’t seem so good. But Affinity, in particular, likes to play out its hand quickly. Eldrazi decks like to cast as much as they can quickly as possible, as well. It’s possible that Wreckage remains a staple one-of in these decks going forward. Having more than one copy can become inconvenient, as it can be a do-nothing card in some games. But pretty much any deck that has the ability to produce considerable amounts of colorless mana can use it. The value of drawing a card with an empty hand is pretty high.

Sea Gate Wreckage in EDH

In EDH / Commander, most decks don’t like to operate with an empty hand. Still, many decks have taken a look at Sea Gate Wreckage. In particular, Kozilek, the Great Distortion is the Commander that plays Wreckage with the most regularity. Other colorless Commanders like Karn, Silver Golem have also tried this card. There’s so much colorless mana flying around EDH that Sea Gate Wreckage will eventually find itself fitting into a lot more decks.

This card has shown up in many Top 8 lists already in both Standard and Modern. There’s a strong possibility that Sea Gate Wreckage will actually become a staple in the long-run. Top-deck wars are a real thing. 3 mana for an effect that could be the difference between playing something and nothing in a turn is well worth it.

Sea Gate Wreckage has never had a high price, especially in nonfoil. It has long been found in  bulk rare bins. Still, Sea Gate Wreckage in foil have reached $4 before. This is definitely a card to keep around in your collection. It has an effect that's definitely useful  and been proven to be effective at a high level.

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