Icy Prison MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Icy Prison not only disrupts an opponent’s strategy by exiling a key creature, but it can also potentially draw you a card. This happens if the creature is returned to play and you manage to fulfill a specific condition. This gives you a decent chance to replace the Icy Prison in your hand, keeping your resources high.

Resource Acceleration: While Icy Prison doesn’t directly accelerate your resources in terms of mana, it can indirectly speed up your game plan. By freezing an opponent’s threat for a turn or more, you effectively gain ‘time’ – a resource that can be just as valuable as mana. This can allow you turn the tide in your favor while your opponent’s resources are temporarily tied down.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Icy Prison at instant speed gives you significant flexibility during gameplay. You can wait until the most opportune moment, such as in response to an opponent’s attack or end of their turn, to use Icy Prison. This element of surprise can shift the momentum in your favor and disrupt your opponent’s tactics.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Icy Prison demands a player to part with another card from their hand, which can deplete valuable resources and reduce hand advantage, especially detrimental in formats where every card matters.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Icy Prison includes a requirement for blue mana, thus restricting it to decks that can produce this color, potentially limiting its versatility in multi-color decks that may struggle with consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that competes with other impactful spells, Icy Prison’s economic value comes into question, particularly when considering its temporary nature and the extra conditions required for its activation and maintenance.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Icy Prison proves to be a flexible control option, able to adapt to various decks that might require temporary removal of threats on the board. With its ability to neutralize an opponent’s creature, it can swiftly turn the tides of the game.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with effects that allow you to untap it or reuse its ability, creating opportunities to lock down multiple targets or repeat the disrupting process.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where large creatures or combo pieces threaten to overrun the battlefield, Icy Prison serves as an efficient response tool, maintaining balance and giving you the upper hand against formidable setups.

How to beat

Icy Prison is an intriguing card that can take your opponents by surprise. The ability to incapacitate an opponent’s creature upon casting is a significant tactical advantage. But like any piece on the chessboard, it can be outmaneuvered. The first thing to note is that the creature isn’t removed permanently but can break free once its casting cost is paid. This nuance opens a window of strategy for dealing with it.

To trump Icy Prison, focus on amassing sufficient mana to liberate your creature, or employ spells that can remove enchantments or disrupt strategies that rely on enchantments. Cards like Disenchant or Krosan Grip can effectively dismantle the Prison. Utilizing counter spells when Icy Prison is played can prevent it from hitting the board altogether. Lastly, don’t overlook the all-important pacing of your game; sometimes, simply playing around the Prison by deploying less vital creatures as decoys can give you the upper hand. Flexibility and anticipation are key in turning this frosty obstacle into a mere bump in the road toward victory.