Sculptor of Winter MTG Card


Sculptor of Winter - Kaldheim
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSnow Creature — Elf Rogue
Released2021-02-05
Set symbol
Set nameKaldheim
Set codeKHM
Power 2
Toughness 2
Number193
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byPINDURSKI

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances mana availability by untapping snow lands for resource acceleration and flexible play.
  2. Effective in snow-themed decks but less versatile in decks with a diverse mana base.
  3. Can be pivotal for combos, making it a valuable asset for land-focused strategies.

Text of card

: Untap target snow land.

"I and my kin remember the old ways. The frost whispers to me in a language too ancient for the Skoti usurpers to comprehend."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Sculptor of Winter doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, it does ensure that your lands are unpapped more frequently, giving you the potential to leverage more spells or abilities within a single turn. This can indirectly contribute to card advantage by optimizing the use of the cards already in your hand.

Resource Acceleration: Sculptor of Winter shines in its ability to untap a snow land. This straightforward mechanism is a form of resource acceleration, as it effectively increases the amount of mana available to you during both your turn and your opponent’s. This can be particularly powerful in decks that rely on snow lands for complex mana strategies or for activating abilities that require snow mana.

Instant Speed: While this creature operates at sorcery speed, its resource acceleration can indirectly benefit you at instant speed. By untapping a snow land on your turn, you can keep mana available to react with instant-speed spells or abilities during your opponent’s turn. This added flexibility can be a crucial advantage in many game situations.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Sculptor of Winter does not in itself require you to discard cards, but its effectiveness is dependent on having snow lands to untap. Without an adequate number of snow lands in hand or on the battlefield, its ability becomes irrelevant, potentially limiting your hand flexibility to retain snow lands over other strategic plays.

Specific Mana Cost: While this card’s mana cost of two green mana can fit smoothly within green-centric or two-color decks, it might pose a challenge in more color-diverse or multicolor strategies. Decks without a heavy green presence may struggle to consistently meet the specific mana requirements to cast Sculptor of Winter.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With two mana for a 2/2 creature, Sculptor of Winter’s cost is on par with other mana dorks. However, it’s important to note that it doesn’t generate mana independently but requires snow lands to optimize its ability. Other creatures can produce mana without such conditions, potentially offering more immediate or versatile mana acceleration.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sculptor of Winter stands out with its ability to untap snow lands, allowing it to adapt to a variety of decks that utilize snow mana mechanics. This adaptability makes it a valuable component for any MTG player looking to optimize their land usage.

Combo Potential: This card excels in synergy with decks focusing on land-based strategies, unlocking potential combos by providing extra mana each turn. Paired with cards that benefit from land activations or entering the battlefield, it becomes a dynamic force that can shift the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: Within the current landscape, efficient mana acceleration can be the edge needed to outpace opponents. Sculptor of Winter feeds into this by instantly increasing access to mana resources, keeping it relevant and a strategic addition to decks aiming to dominate the board early on.


How to beat

Sculptor of Winter is an intriguing card that can untap snow lands, keeping your mana pool fluid and allowing for more flexibility in your plays. When facing a deck with Sculptor of Winter, it’s essential to keep in mind its potential to accelerate a player’s game by offering extra mana for spells and abilities. This can lead to early game dominance if not addressed quickly.

To counteract the advantages Sculptor of Winter provides, one approach is to remove it from the battlefield as soon as possible. Utilize spells that can eliminate creatures at low cost before the opponent’s mana base expands dangerously. Creature removal such as Shock or Fatal Push works well, as they are efficient and immediate answers to this two-mana creature. Another strategy involves disrupting the snow mana base itself. Cards that can destroy or take control of lands will minimize the impact Sculptor of Winter has on the game. Land destruction or direct damage spells are key in dealing with decks that heavily rely on snow lands and their enablers.

Ultimately, countering Sculptor of Winter comes down to awareness and quick response. By preventing the potentially exponential advantage it can provide, you solidify your position and better your chances for victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into the world of MTG is an endless journey of discovery, where every card like Sculptor of Winter can unlock new paths to victory. With its potential for resource acceleration and adaptability in snow land-centric decks, this card is an indispensable tool for strategic plays. Are you keen on forming formidable combinations and taking control of the game’s tempo? Sculptor of Winter could be your next clever pick. Join our community to deepen your insights into pivotal cards that can reshape your deck and your destiny in the game. Uncover the strategies that lead to mastery with us.


Cards like Sculptor of Winter

Sculptor of Winter has an active role within the roster of mana acceleration creatures in Magic: The Gathering. Among its kin, we find Llanowar Elves, a classic one-cost creature that taps for green mana, offering a basic yet efficient ramp from the outset of the game. On the other hand, Sculptor of Winter’s ability to untap a snow land gives it more synergy in a deck that capitalizes on snow mechanics, allowing for more dynamic play with multicolored snow lands or utility snow lands with activated abilities.

Following the same theme of untapping lands, another similar card is Argothian Elder. Although it has a higher cost, Argothian Elder is not restricted to snow lands and can untap two lands at a time. This means in the right deck, it could potentially provide even greater mana acceleration than Sculptor of Winter. However, the Elder’s influence on gameplay arrives later due to its four-mana cost, while Sculptor of Winter’s lower two-mana cost enables earlier tactical plays.

Each card presents unique strategies, whether you prefer the early game acceleration provided by the dependable Llanowar Elves, the broader utility of the Argothian Elder, or the snow-based synergy of Sculptor of Winter. It’s these intricated variances that enrich deck-building strategies and make Magic: The Gathering an ever-evolving game of skill and creativity.

Llanowar Elves - MTG Card versions
Argothian Elder - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Elves - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Argothian Elder - Urza's Saga (USG)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sculptor of Winter MTG card by a specific set like 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 Sculptor of Winter and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sculptor of Winter has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-05 Sculptor of Winter’s activated ability is not a mana ability. It can’t be activated while casting a spell or activating an ability. It uses the stack and can be responded to.
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.

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