Red Cliffs Armada MTG Card


Deck manipulation and card draw from Red Cliffs Armada provide significant in-game advantages. Red Cliffs Armada accelerates resources, enabling the casting of impactful spells earlier. Its instant speed allows for flexible responses, maintaining pressure on the opponent.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Soldier
Power 5
Toughness 4

Text of card

Red Cliffs Armada can't attack unless the defending player has an island in play.

By the battle of Red Cliffs in the year 208, the Wu kingdom controlled more than 7,000 warships on the Yangtze.


Cards like Red Cliffs Armada

Red Cliffs Armada holds a distinctive position among creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It’s akin to other nautical-themed cards, such as the distinguished Serpent of the Yawning Depths. Red Cliffs Armada offers a defensive advantage, fortifying your battlefield position with sizable toughness. Meanwhile, Serpent of the Yawning Depths, focuses on an aggressive strategy, rendering your sea monsters unblockable, thereby contrasting the defensive posture of Red Cliffs Armada.

In the same realm, we encounter Coastline Marauders, which shares the maritime theme but banks on a different combat mechanic. While Red Cliffs Armada becomes more formidable with each turn it’s fortified, Coastline Marauders rely on a treasure tally to boost its power for each attack. The dynamics of play differ here; Red Cliffs Armada plays a more prolonged, strategic game, whereas Coastline Marauders aims for immediate impact.

Taking everything into account, Red Cliffs Armada fits well within the spectrum of thematic creature cards, offering a unique blend of durability and long-game advantages that can be essential in matches where a stalwart defense trumps a swift offense.

Coastline Marauders - MTG Card versions
Coastline Marauders - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Red Cliffs Armada by color, type and mana cost

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Water Elemental - MTG Card versions
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Infiltrator il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Mulldrifter - MTG Card versions
Chasm Drake - MTG Card versions
Mirror-Mad Phantasm - MTG Card versions
Vesuvan Doppelganger - MTG Card versions
Water Elemental - MTG Card versions
Air Elemental - MTG Card versions
Sandbar Crocodile - MTG Card versions
Pirate Ship - MTG Card versions
Segovian Leviathan - MTG Card versions
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer - MTG Card versions
Mawcor - MTG Card versions
Timin, Youthful Geist - MTG Card versions
Geology Enthusiast - MTG Card versions
Coastal Hornclaw - MTG Card versions
Meloku the Clouded Mirror - MTG Card versions
Azami, Lady of Scrolls - MTG Card versions
Cloudhoof Kirin - MTG Card versions
Drelnoch - MTG Card versions
Adarkar Windform - MTG Card versions
Infiltrator il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Mulldrifter - MTG Card versions
Chasm Drake - MTG Card versions
Mirror-Mad Phantasm - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Red Cliffs Armada, you gain more than just a single card’s worth of advantage. It allows you to manipulate your deck and draw cards strategically, sculpting your hand to ensure you have the answers or threats you need when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: The power of Red Cliffs Armada goes beyond the battlefield. It grants you additional resources in the form of tokens or extra mana, giving you that extra push to play high-impact spells sooner and turning the tide of the game in your favor.

Instant Speed: The flexible timing of Red Cliffs Armada means you can adapt to the flow of the game without skipping a beat. Cast it when the moment is right, keeping your opponents guessing and ready to counter their moves when they least expect it.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Red Cliffs Armada requires you to discard a card, which could be a setback when your hand is already depleted or when discarding would force you to lose an essential card.

Specific Mana Cost: Red Cliffs Armada’s mana cost includes red mana, which necessitates a deck built around red mana sources and may not fit into multi-color deck strategies that are short on red.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card carries a higher mana cost relative to its effect when compared to other cards within the same mana range, potentially slowing down your game tempo or making it less impactful when you finally get to cast it.


Reasons to Include Red Cliffs Armada in Your Collection

Versatility: Red Cliffs Armada offers a strategic edge to decks that thrive on aggressive plays and those that harness the power of +1/+1 counters. It can seamlessly fit into various themes, bolstering your naval forces while potentially powering up each time it deals combat damage to a player.

Combo Potential: Its synergy with proliferation mechanics or any strategy that increases the number of counters makes it a potent card for combo-centric players. Building a deck around this card could unlock some powerful interactions on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: Given the card’s capacity to grow stronger over time, it fits well in a meta where games may extend beyond the early turns. Its capability to become a persistent threat makes it a valuable asset in a collection, especially when facing off against decks that lack an immediate answer to growing creatures.


How to beat

When facing Red Cliffs Armada in your MTG encounter, your strategy will need to account for this card’s potential for rapid fleet deployment. Red Cliffs Armada has a knack for swarming the battlefield with Ship creature tokens, boosting the tempo advantage in your opponent’s favor. The card’s strength is its ability to escalate a navy of tokens, which could overwhelm unprepared adversaries.

To effectively counter this maneuver, include cards in your deck that excel at mass removal or board wipes. Cards like Wrath of God or Blasphemous Act come into play here, as they can clear the multitude of tokens generated by Red Cliffs Armada before they become too large of a threat. Also consider incorporating spot removal for handling potent commanders or utilizing counter spells to prevent the Armada from hitting the field in the first place.

Being proactive is your best course of action, ensure you have the right answers in your deck to navigate around this potent engine of token generation. Stymieing Red Cliffs Armada early on could be the deciding factor in steering the match to your victory.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Red Cliffs Armada MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms and Masters Edition II, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Red Cliffs Armada and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Red Cliffs Armada Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-05-01 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Zhang Jiazhen.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-05-01Portal Three KingdomsPTK 511997NormalWhiteZhang Jiazhen
22008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 621997NormalBlackZhang Jiazhen

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Red Cliffs Armada has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal