Snowfield Sinkhole MTG Card
2021-02-05 - Number 269
2022-06-10 - Number 915
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Snow Land — Plains Swamp |
Key Takeaways
- Offers both black and colorless snow mana, enhancing decks that thrive on snow mechanics.
- Enters the battlefield tapped with an upside for snow land-heavy decks.
- While versatile in the right deck, it may limit multicolor deck strategies.
Text of card
(: Add or .) Snowfield Sinkhole enters the battlefield tapped.
"Young Vitima bellowed to the Cosmos, daring the gods to punish her hubris! Well, she got their attention, as you can see." —Iskene, Kannah storyteller
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Snowfield Sinkhole enters the battlefield tapped but offers the long-term benefit of potentially thinning your deck, which subtly boosts your chances of drawing into non-land cards as the game progresses. This slight increase in card quality contributes to card advantage over time.
Resource Acceleration: As a mana-generating source, Snowfield Sinkhole can be leveraged within decks that use the mechanic of snow mana, a specialized resource in MTG. By providing access to both colorless and black snow mana, it accelerates your ability to deploy powerful snow-related spells and abilities ahead of schedule.
Instant Speed: While Snowfield Sinkhole itself doesn’t function at instant speed, it supports decks that rely on instant-speed interaction. Having a land that taps for black mana ensures that you can consistently cast your instant removal or flash creatures, maintaining the upper hand during critical moments of gameplay.
Card Cons
Specific Mana Cost: As a dual-land card, Snowfield Sinkhole enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or more other snow lands. Its specific mana requirement of producing black or white mana could potentially limit its inclusion in multicolor decks that don’t synergize with those colors.
Discard Requirement: While Snowfield Sinkhole doesn’t have a discard requirement itself, it’s important to note that if you’re aiming to use its full potential in a snow-themed deck, you’re generally committing to a strategy that could require discards from other synergistic cards, potentially straining your hand.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: In comparison to other lands, Snowfield Sinkhole’s condition for entering the battlefield untapped may require a higher mana investment. This can be a downside in fast-paced games where immediate mana access is crucial.
Reasons to Include Snowfield Sinkhole in Your Collection
Versatility: Snowfield Sinkhole serves a dual purpose in a deck, countering as both a mana source and as a way to optimize your land plays. This makes it a valuable card for decks that require consistent mana fixing or are looking for ways to utilize their land drops more effectively.
Combo Potential: As part of a land base in a deck with a focus on snow permanents, Snowfield Sinkhole can be a crucial enabler. It not only contributes to mana diversity but also increases the effectiveness of spells that benefit from having multiple snow permanents in play.
Meta-Relevance: In a format where nonbasic lands come at a premium and the ability to fix your mana covertly is key, Snowfield Sinkhole can be a game-changer. It’s especially relevant in environments where decks hinge on multicolor strategies or where snow synergies are prevalent.
How to beat
Snowfield Sinkhole presents a certain challenge for players in Magic: The Gathering. As a dual land card that counts as both a snow land and a swamp or plains, it offers flexible mana resources which are particularly useful in multi-color snow decks. To effectively counteract Snowfield Sinkhole, one must consider the advantage it brings to an opponent’s deck – mana fixing and snow synergy.
One strategy to take on Snowfield Sinkhole relies on land destruction or disruption tactics. Employing cards that target nonbasic lands can unsettle your opponent’s mana base, forcing them to reconsider their strategies or delay their game plan. Moreover, it can be worthwhile to incorporate enchantments or spells that penalize players for using snow lands, indirectly deterring the land’s benefits without directly destroying it.
Lastly, utilize aggressive strategies that focus on rapid, early plays to outpace decks that depend on the long-term value gained from lands like Snowfield Sinkhole. When you apply enough pressure from the get-go, your opponent might not have the opportunity to exploit the benefits Snowfield Sinkhole provides, thereby mitigating its influence on the game.
Cards like Snowfield Sinkhole
Snowfield Sinkhole enters the realm of lands in Magic: The Gathering with unique traits. When looking at similar lands, like Scoured Barrens, we notice that both offer a dual land utility, tapping for black or white mana. Where Snowfield Sinkhole diverges is its capability to enter the battlefield untapped if you control two or more other snow permanents – a condition absent in Scoured Barrens.
Another land to consider is Temple of Silence. It provides scry utility, allowing you to refine your draws, but comes at the cost of entering the battlefield tapped without conditions. While Snowfield Sinkhole lacks this scry feature, it holds the potential for an untapped play under the right conditions. Isolated Chapel is also worth noting, with its conditional non-tapping attribute, needing you to control a plain or swamp to enter untapped, similar to the synergy-based check of Snowfield Sinkhole.
Examining these comparisons, Snowfield Sinkhole presents itself as a flexible choice for mana fixing in a deck with snow synergies, potentially accelerating your mana base without the drawback of coming into play tapped. In snow-heavy decks, Snowfield Sinkhole most certainly stands out as a solid utility land.
Cards similar to Snowfield Sinkhole by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Snowfield Sinkhole MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim and Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, 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 Snowfield Sinkhole and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Snowfield Sinkhole Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by Marta Nael.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 269 | 2015 | normal | black | Marta Nael | |
| 2 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 915 | 2015 | normal | black | Marta Nael |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Snowfield Sinkhole has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Snowfield Sinkhole 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 | 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. |
