Icatian Crier MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Icatian Crier provides sustainable card utility by enabling you to create 1/1 Citizen creature tokens. This essentially turns any card in your hand into potential on-board presence, increasing your ability to influence the state of the game with each card you hold.

Resource Acceleration: Through the tokens it generates, the Icatian Crier offers an uptick in your resource management. These tokens can be utilized for various synergistic effects or can serve as fodder for convoke and other mechanics that require creatures, effectively acting as a form of resource acceleration in creature-centric decks.

Instant Speed: The Crier’s ability to create tokens is an activated ability that can be used at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to wait until the end of your opponent’s turn to create a creature. This versatility ensures that you can adapt to the flow of the game, deploying resources reactively and with strategic timing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To utilize the ability of Icatian Crier, you need to discard a card which might set you back if your hand is already depleted.

Specific Mana Cost: Icatian Crier demands white mana for both casting and activating its ability, potentially limiting its inclusion to mono-white or two-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of three mana and a further investment to activate its ability, the Crier may be less mana-efficient compared to other token generators available.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Icatian Crier offers flexibility in deck building, functioning well in strategies centered around token generation or needing to consistently put creatures on the board. This makes it a useful asset in various deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: Paired with cards that capitalize on creature or token entry, such as Cathars’ Crusade or Purphoros, God of the Forge, Icatian Crier’s capacity to generate tokens can be a cornerstone for powerful combo plays.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where board presence and creature counts are crucial, Icatian Crier gains importance. It can rapidly shift the balance to your favor by amassing an army of tokens, which is significant in creature-heavy or -focused metas.

How to beat Icatian Crier

Icatian Crier can be a resilient threat, enabling strategies focused on generating token creatures. While initially it may not seem imposing, this card can quickly outnumber an adversary by creating Citizen tokens. Dealing with Icatian Crier early is crucial; once the board is flooded with tokens, gaining control can become challenging.

Removal spells are the most straightforward method for dispatching Icatian Crier. Quick removal spells such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently take care of it before token generation gets out of hand. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation are also highly effective, especially if tokens have started to accumulate.

It’s also vital to hinder the Crier’s abilities. Countering it upon casting, with spells like Counterspell or Mana Leak, prevents it from ever affecting the board. Once on the field, using Silences or abilities that prevent activated abilities from being activated can stifle the Crier’s utility, nullifying the threat without directly removing the card.

Taking a proactive approach against Icatian Crier is essential. Utilizing spells and abilities that limit your opponent’s actions ensures that Icatian Crier doesn’t transform into a larger problem, maintaining a more manageable board state in your favor.