Deep Freeze MTG Card

Dominaria (DOM)
2018-04-27 - Number 50

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 346

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number DOM-50

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Deep Freeze efficiently handles threats without additional card loss, offering substantial control.
Strategically flexible due to its low mana cost, it fits well in control decks with tight mana curves.
While susceptible to enchantment removal, its unique effect on creatures provides valuable control options.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has base power and toughness 0/4, has defender, loses all other abilities, and is a blue Wall in addition to its other colors and types.

For cryomancers, studying the Ice Age isn't just an academic exercise.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Deep Freeze is incredibly efficient at neutralizing key threats, effectively removing a creature from combat relevance without losing card economy. It does this by turning the targeted creature into a 0/4 defender with no abilities, meaning you’ve handled a threat without dipping into your hand resources further.

Resource Acceleration: While Deep Freeze isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration, its low casting cost of three mana offers strategic flexibility. It allows players to immobilize a threat while still having mana available to deploy other spells or hold up counter magic, which can be crucial for maintaining the lead on the board.

Instant Speed: Although Deep Freeze is a sorcery, it’s pivotal to understand its strategic role akin to instant speed removal. Because it can be cast during your main phase, you can effectively time your move right before your turn to mitigate threats and swing the momentum in your favor. The timing of this card’s casting can be just as crucial as how fast you can play it, making it a tactical tool in many blue-based control decks.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other control cards, Deep Freeze doesn’t require discarding as a cost, so this isn’t a concern for deck-building strategies when considering this card.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring two blue mana in its casting cost, Deep Freeze can be restrictive for multicolored decks that may not have a reliable source of blue mana available at all times.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of three, which includes those specific blue mana, there could be instances where it’s less mana-efficient compared to other removal spells, particularly in fast-paced games where tempo is crucial.

Reasons to Include Deep Freeze in Your Collection

Versatility: Deep Freeze is a versatile card that can turn any threatening creature into a harmless block of ice without outright destroying it, making it a suitable addition to control decks in need of neutralizing opponents’ key creatures.

Combo Potential: This enchantment shines when combined with cards that capitalize on the opponent having a certain type of creature on the battlefield, such as those that punish players for controlling tapped or blue creatures.

Meta-Relevance: As creature-based decks continue to be prevalent in various formats, Deep Freeze maintains relevance by providing a low-cost removal solution, especially effective against indestructible or hexproof creatures that are otherwise difficult to deal with.

How to beat

Deep Freeze is a unique card within the pool of blue control tools in Magic: The Gathering. As a spell, it neutralizes threats by rendering targeted creatures powerless, turning them into Defender creatures with zero attack capability. Though this transformation doesn’t kill the creature, it effectively takes it out of the combat equation. It’s particularly useful against heavy hitters that can otherwise end the game quickly.

To counteract this icy enchantment, players might look to strategies such as enchantment removal. Cards like Naturalize are perfect for this, directly destroying Deep Freeze and reviving the creature’s capabilities. Another tactic is to utilize bounce spells like Blink of an Eye to return the ensnared creature to the owner’s hand, ready to be recast without Deep Freeze’s limitations. Players can also consider sacrifice effects, offering a controlled way to derive value from a creature even if it’s been neutralized by Deep Freeze.

Understanding the intricacies of Deep Freeze and its counters ensures players can navigate around this hindrance. Smart deck construction with the inclusion of versatile removal or bounce spells can mitigate the impact of Deep Freeze on your strategy, thereby keeping your creatures in the fight.

Cards like Deep Freeze

Deep Freeze is a part of the intriguing suite of blue control spells in Magic: The Gathering. It draws comparison to other control spells like Narcolepsy, which also aim to neutralize threats by rendering creatures non-threatening. However, Deep Freeze goes a step further, changing the creature’s power and toughness to 0/4, and stripping it of all abilities, essentially turning it into a harmless Wall without the ability to attack or block.

There’s also Ice Over as a comparable card, which shares the common goal of disabling creatures. Ice Over can freeze a creature or vehicle, preventing it from untapping during its controller’s untap step. While it’s a resemblance in function, Deep Freeze’s conversion of the creature into a Wall is a unique feature. Then we have Claustrophobia, which sees play for its ability to lock down a creature in a similar manner. Unlike Deep Freeze, Claustrophobia doesn’t alter a creature’s characteristics, which can be a subtle yet impactful difference in gameplay.

In comparing these alternatives, it becomes clear that Deep Freeze offers a distinct advantage by significantly altering a creature’s role on the battlefield, thereby making it an intriguing choice within the realm of blue control spells in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Deep Freeze by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Deep Freeze MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria and Mystery Booster, 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 Deep Freeze and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Deep Freeze Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2018-04-27 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Svetlin Velinov.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2018-04-27	Dominaria	DOM	50	2015	Normal	Black	Svetlin Velinov
2	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	346	2015	Normal	Black	Svetlin Velinov
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	DOM-50	2015	Normal	Black	Svetlin Velinov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Deep Freeze has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Deep Freeze card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2018-04-27	Deep Freeze overwrites all previous effects that set the creature’s base power and toughness to specific values. Any power- or toughness-setting effects that start to apply after the ability resolves will overwrite this effect.
2018-04-27	Effects that modify a creature’s power and/or toughness, such as the effect of Titanic Growth, will apply to the creature no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for any counters that change its power and/or toughness and effects that switch its power and toughness.
2018-04-27	If the enchanted creature has an ability that grants abilities to other objects, Deep Freeze’s effect will stop it from doing so. If the enchanted creature gains an ability after Deep Freeze resolves, it will keep that ability.