Discarding the card is part of the cost to activate a channel ability.
2022-02-18
If a channel ability requires a target, you may not activate it without a target just to discard the card.
: Add .
Channel — , Discard this card: Return target artifact, creature, enchantment, or planeswalker to its owner's hand. This ability costs less to activate for each legendary creature you control.
Otawara is a near-auto-include in any deck running blue. It's a land that taps for mana when you don't need its ability, but doubles as flexible interaction you can deploy from your hand without spending a card slot. That's the key: you never feel bad drawing it, because it's a land first.
The Channel ability bounces almost anything — a problematic artifact, a blink-worthy creature, a planeswalker about to ult, or your own permanent to dodge removal or reuse an ETB. The cost reduction makes it absurd in legendary-heavy lists (Voltron, Kamigawa-themed, or any commander deck where your general counts), sometimes letting you bounce for just .
Decks that want it: literally any blue deck. It's especially strong in interaction-light pods where instant-speed answers from your hand are gold.
When to skip it: if you're tightly mana-hungry and every land needs to enter untapped while also fixing — it only makes , so heavy multicolor manabases occasionally cut it. Otherwise, run it.