Icebreaker Kraken MTG Card

Icebreaker Kraken offers card advantage with disruptive battlefield reset abilities and instant-speed land recall. Reduced casting cost potential accelerates resource availability, supporting aggressive early play in snow-centric decks. Demands specific mana investments, potentially constraining deck design while posing a heavyweight mana challenge.
Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost12
RarityRare
TypeSnow Creature — Kraken
Power 8
Toughness 8

Text of card

This spell costs less to cast for each snow land you control. When Icebreaker Kraken enters the battlefield, artifacts and creatures target opponent controls don't untap during that player's next untap step. Return three snow lands you control to their owner's hand: Return Icebreaker Kraken to its owner's hand.

Cards like Icebreaker Kraken

Icebreaker Kraken enters the vast sea of formidable creatures within Magic: The Gathering. It shares space with other leviathans like Lorthos, the Tidemaker, which also demands high mana yet yields colossal power. However, Icebreaker Kraken boasts a unique ability to potentially reduce its casting cost under specific board conditions involving snow lands. Unlike Lorthos, the Tidemaker, which lacks this cost-efficiency mechanic.

Comparatively, we see Arctic Avalanche, another snow land focused card that benefits from having multiple snowy landscapes on the field. While it doesn’t bring the raw power of a Kraken onto the board, its influence can be just as impactful by ramping up your mana sources. Then we have Frost Titan, a giant that although costlier than Icebreaker Kraken without the discount, locks down opponents with its freeze ability upon entering the battlefield and when it attacks, thereby disrupting the opponent’s game plan.

Assessing these icy giants, Icebreaker Kraken distinguishes itself with its unique cost reduction and the potential to repeatedly spring a freeze trap on all nonland permanents, a truly chilling prospect for opponents. This characteristic makes it not just a creature but a strategic game-changer in MTG decks designed to capitalize on snowy synergies.

Lorthos, the Tidemaker - MTG Card versions
Frost Titan - MTG Card versions
Lorthos, the Tidemaker - MTG Card versions
Frost Titan - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Icebreaker Kraken brings a unique ability that can return three snow lands you control to your hand, potentially allowing you to disrupt an opponent’s play while setting up for your big turns. Even better, it can clear a cluttered battlefield when you cast it, giving you an indirect form of card advantage by resetting your opponents’ development.

Resource Acceleration: If you’ve built your deck around snow lands and snow permanents, Icebreaker Kraken rewards you for it. Costing less to cast for each snow land you control, it can hit the battlefield much sooner than its initial 12 mana might suggest. This can lead to a significant speed boost in your plays, allowing you to outpace the opponent with a high-impact creature early on.

Instant Speed: While Icebreaker Kraken itself is not an instant, its recall ability functions at instant speed. This flexibility lets you adapt to the ebb and flow of the game, using your snow lands’ return to your hand as either a defensive maneuver or a means to reposition for a more strategic play, all on your opponent’s turn or in response to their actions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the primary drawbacks of Icebreaker Kraken is its reliance on having a certain number of snow lands, which might force players to alter their playing strategy or deck composition significantly in order to accommodate it.

Specific Mana Cost: Icebreaker Kraken demands a heavy blue mana investment, with a total mana cost of ten and three of those being blue. This specific requirement can be restrictive and challenging for decks that are not mono-blue or that do not have a reliable mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Even though its cost can be reduced by the number of snow lands you control, its initial high mana cost makes it less accessible earlier in the game. In situations where speed is essential, Icebreaker Kraken’s heavy mana requirement can put players at a disadvantage compared to other creatures or spells with lower and more flexible casting costs.

Reasons to Include Icebreaker Kraken Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Icebreaker Kraken thrives in decks that manipulate the number of lands on the field. This large creature provides significant board presence and can adapt to various control strategies, further augmented by its ability to return to hand when lands return to yours.

Combo Potential: This frosty leviathan lends itself to combos with cards that bounce lands to your hand, potentially allowing you to recast the Kraken multiple times. This can be particularly disruptive in formats where resetting the board plays into your overarching game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where board-centric aggro and midrange decks prevail, the Icebreaker Kraken can act as a formidable obstacle. Its potent lockdown effect on opponents’ nonland permanents can swing the tide in games, making it a card worth considering for your arsenal, especially if the local or broader meta supports its inclusion.

How to beat

The Icebreaker Kraken proves to be a formidable presence on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. Its vaunted ability to send nonland permanents back to its owner’s hand can be game-defining, especially when you’re facing a board already congested with critical threats. To overcome this icy leviathan, the key lies in denying the setup it requires. Keeping your opponent’s snow lands count low thwarts the Kraken’s return to the field, making land destruction or countermagic approaches quite effective.

Alternatively, leveraging exile effects bypasses the Kraken’s ability to return to the safety of the hand, personified by spells like Path to Exile or Direct Current. Cards that force sacrifice, like Diabolic Edict, can also prove devastating, readily bypassing the creature’s defensive mechanisms. The key to naviga ting this chilling challenge is to maintain pressure and seize control before the Kraken can marshal the tide to its will. Strategic foresightedness coupled with swift and decisive actions ensures that Icebreaker Kraken’s deep sea reign is but a fleeting frost.

BurnMana Recommendations

Wrapping up our in-depth look at Icebreaker Kraken, it becomes evident that this card is a game-changer in a snow-themed deck. Its potential for cost reduction and recurring board impact makes it a force to reckon with. Icebreaker Kraken fits perfectly for those who relish the control and strategy behind manipulating lands and permanents for their advantage. If you’re contemplating adding an element of surprise and power to your deck, consider the icy depths that this kraken brings. Ready to disrupt your opponents with a frosty behemoth? Dive into our platform where we offer more insights and strategies to optimize your MTG experience with cards like Icebreaker Kraken.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Icebreaker Kraken MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Kaldheim, 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 Icebreaker Kraken and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Icebreaker Kraken Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-06. Illustrated by Chris Cold.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 882482015NormalBlackChris Cold
22021-02-05KaldheimKHM 632015NormalBlackChris Cold
32021-02-05Kaldheim Art SeriesAKHM 152015Art seriesBorderlessChris Cold
42021-02-05KaldheimKHM 3452015NormalBlackChris Cold
52021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 63p2015NormalBlackChris Cold
62021-02-06Kaldheim PromosPKHM 63s2015NormalBlackChris Cold

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Icebreaker Kraken has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-02-05 Icebreaker Kraken’s enters-the-battlefield ability won’t tap any artifacts or creatures.
2021-02-05 No artifacts or creatures controlled by the player affected by Icebreaker Kraken’s enters-the-battlefield ability will untap during that player’s next untap step, even if they were untapped as the ability resolved or that player didn’t control them at that time.
2021-02-05 Once you announce that you’re activating the last ability, no player may take actions until the ability has been paid for. Notably, opponents can’t try to stop you from activating it by removing your snow lands.
2021-02-05 Snow is a supertype, not a card type. It has no rules meaning or function by itself, but spells and abilities may refer to it.
2021-02-05 Snow isn’t a type of mana. If an effect says you may spend mana as though it were any type, you can’t pay for {S} using mana that wasn’t produced by a snow source.
2021-02-05 Some cards have additional effects for each {S} spent to cast them. You can cast these spells even if you don’t spend any snow mana to cast them; their additional effects simply won’t do anything.
2021-02-05 The Kaldheim set doesn’t have any cards with mana costs that include {S}, but some previous sets do. If an effect says such a spell costs less to cast, that reduction doesn’t apply to any {S} costs. This is also true for activated abilities that include {S} in their activation costs and effects that reduce those costs.
2021-02-05 The {S} symbol is a generic mana symbol. It represents a cost that can be paid by one mana that was produced by a snow source. That mana can be any color or colorless.
2021-02-05 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions (such as that of Icebreaker Kraken). The converted mana cost of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.