Cold-Eyed Selkie MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Merfolk Rogue
Abilities Islandwalk,Landwalk
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Cold-Eyed Selkie rewards you with cards for each damage dealt, enhancing hand resources considerably.
  2. Instant speed enhancements make Cold-Eyed Selkie a flexibly powerful asset during play.
  3. Balancing a mana-specific deck is essential to maximize Cold-Eyed Selkie’s unique abilities in MTG.

Text of card

Islandwalk Whenever Cold-Eyed Selkie deals combat damage to a player, you may draw that many cards.

She follows the old tributaries built when merrows still shaped the tides.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cold-Eyed Selkie allows players to draw a card for each point of damage it deals to an opponent, presenting a potential influx of resources each turn this creature connects with an adversary.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, the sheer card draw potential of Cold-Eyed Selkie can lead to an accelerated acquisition of land draws or spells that can further resource development.

Instant Speed: The merit of Cold-Eyed Selkie comes from its ability to be enhanced with instant speed spells or abilities at a moment’s notice, making it a dynamic threat that can scale in power based on the player’s open mana and available spells.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not applicable to Cold-Eyed Selkie, this is a common downside in many card effects when additional costs become a heavy burden on your hand’s resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Cold-Eyed Selkie requires both green and blue mana, which restricts it to decks that can generate these colors, potentially limiting its versatility

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Cold-Eyed Selkie’s mana cost may be considered steep for its 1/1 body. More powerful creatures or impactful cards could occupy this cost slot in a deck.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cold-Eyed Selkie offers unique adaptability to various deck themes, especially where drawing cards is paramount. Its presence in decks with an emphasis on Island lands ensures a consistent card advantage.

Combo Potential: With innate islandwalk, this creature pairs well in synergistic plays, particularly with land auras or effects turning opponents’ lands into Islands, thus allowing unhindered damage and card draw.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where player interaction and card advantage are pivotal, incorporating Cold-Eyed Selkie might be a tactical move, especially against decks with Island lands, thus maintaining relevance in shifting metagames.


How to beat

Cold-Eyed Selkie is a unique multi-colored creature card that can create significant card advantage for players in Magic: The Gathering. With its Islandwalk ability, it becomes unblockable as long as the opponent controls an Island, which translates to potentially drawing many cards. However, while the Selkie’s strengths are evident, there are strategies to mitigate its impact.

To effectively deal with Cold-Eyed Selkie, targeted removal spells are highly effective, such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade, which can dispatch the creature before it deals combat damage and triggers its ability. Alternatively, changing the landscape of the game by removing Islands with cards like Blood Moon can negate its unblockability. Players can also employ creatures with reach or flying to block Cold-Eyed Selkie if it doesn’t have Islandwalk active. Lastly, cards that limit the number of cards a player can draw per turn, like Notion Thief, can also be a hindrance to Cold-Eyed Selkie’s card drawing capability, ensuring its potential is kept in check.

By appreciating the card’s strengths and understanding how to counter them, players can prepare their decks with effective answers, making Cold-Eyed Selkie less of a threat during gameplay.


BurnMana Recommendations

With Cold-Eyed Selkie in your MTG arsenal, you unlock a realm where drawing cards is synonymous with dealing damage—an asset in any strategy that values a full hand. The potential to accelerate your resource pool every turn this creature breaches an opponent’s defenses is invaluable. Yet its unique abilities demand nuance in deck building and play. Incorporating the Selkie into your collection, considering specific mana needs and interactions, can transform it from a simple card to a deck linchpin. We encourage you to discover the depths of strategy this card offers—step into our community to sharpen your skills and optimize your gameplay.


Cards like Cold-Eyed Selkie

The Cold-Eyed Selkie from Magic: The Gathering stands out in its capacity to combine card draw with combat damage. This intriguing creature compares favorably to cards like Ohran Viper, which also carries the potential for card draw upon dealing damage to a player. Yet, the Selkie is unique with its Islandwalk ability, allowing unblocked attacks if the opponent controls an Island.

Looking at Edric, Spymaster of Trest, there’s a synergy to consider. Although Edric doesn’t draw cards on his own, he enables card draw for each creature that deals combat damage to a player, expanding the potential draw effect across multiple creatures. However, the Selkie’s advantage lies in its inherent ability, independent of other creatures’ attacks.

To sum up, Cold-Eyed Selkie provides an invaluable asset for decks focusing on drawing cards through combat. Its blend of Islandwalk and card draw on damage gives a tactical edge that makes it a compelling choice for players seeking to maintain a flow of new options in their hand while pressuring aquatic-territory-deficient opponents.

Ohran Viper - MTG Card versions
Edric, Spymaster of Trest - MTG Card versions
Ohran Viper - Coldsnap (CSP)
Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Commander 2011 (CMD)

Cards similar to Cold-Eyed Selkie by color, type and mana cost

Selkie Hedge-Mage - MTG Card versions
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - MTG Card versions
Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist - MTG Card versions
Vigean Hydropon - MTG Card versions
Silkwing Scout - MTG Card versions
Gilder Bairn - MTG Card versions
Wistful Selkie - MTG Card versions
Winged Coatl - MTG Card versions
Lorescale Coatl - MTG Card versions
Edric, Spymaster of Trest - MTG Card versions
Elusive Krasis - MTG Card versions
Vorel of the Hull Clade - MTG Card versions
Bounding Krasis - MTG Card versions
Kaseto, Orochi Archmage - MTG Card versions
Void Grafter - MTG Card versions
Rogue Refiner - MTG Card versions
Avid Reclaimer - MTG Card versions
Shapers of Nature - MTG Card versions
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca - MTG Card versions
Gyre Engineer - MTG Card versions
Selkie Hedge-Mage - Eventide (EVE)
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - Theros Beyond Death Promos (PTHB)
Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist - Commander Legends (CMR)
Vigean Hydropon - Dissension (DIS)
Silkwing Scout - Dissension (DIS)
Gilder Bairn - The List (PLST)
Wistful Selkie - Eventide (EVE)
Winged Coatl - Commander 2013 (C13)
Lorescale Coatl - Masters 25 (A25)
Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Commander 2016 (C16)
Elusive Krasis - RNA Guild Kit (GK2)
Vorel of the Hull Clade - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Bounding Krasis - The List (PLST)
Kaseto, Orochi Archmage - Legendary Cube Prize Pack (PZ1)
Void Grafter - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Rogue Refiner - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Avid Reclaimer - Hour of Devastation (HOU)
Shapers of Nature - Ixalan (XLN)
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Gyre Engineer - Ravnica Allegiance (RNA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cold-Eyed Selkie MTG card by a specific set like Eventide and Modern Masters, 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 Cold-Eyed Selkie and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cold-Eyed Selkie Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2008-07-25 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by Jaime Jones.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12008-07-25EventideEVE 1492003normalblackJaime Jones
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1862003normalblackJaime Jones
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 2412015normalblackJaime Jones
42017-10-24Duel Decks: Merfolk vs. GoblinsDDT 252015normalblackJaime Jones
52018-08-09Commander 2018C18 1722015normalblackJaime Jones
62020-04-17Commander 2020C20 2042015normalblackJaime Jones
72021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 1832015normalblackJaime Jones
82023-11-17The Lost Caverns of Ixalan CommanderLCC 2662015normalblackJaime Jones

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cold-Eyed Selkie has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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