Svella, Ice Shaper MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeLegendary Snow Creature — Troll Warrior
Power 2
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Svella provides card advantage with mana-generating artifacts, allowing for high-impact spells and maintaining hand size.
  2. The card operates at sorcery speed, but offers instant spell-casting surprise, adding a layer of strategy.
  3. Despite mana specificity and initial cost, Svella’s versatility makes it a worthy addition to Gruul decks.

Text of card

, : Create a colorless snow artifact token named Icy Manalith with ": Add one mana of any color." , : Look at the top four cards of your library. You may cast a spell from among them without paying its mana cost. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Svella, Ice Shaper opens the door to card advantage by creating Icy Manalith artifacts with its second ability. This not only smooths out your mana but can be converted into pulling powerful permanents straight into play, bulking up your side of the battlefield while keeping your hand ready for more action.

Resource Acceleration: The versatility of Svella, Ice Shaper is evident in its inherent resource acceleration. The ability to tap for mana with the Icy Manaliths generated lays the groundwork for earlier plays of high-impact spells, giving you a significant lead in the resource race and potential for explosive turns.

Instant Speed: While Svella itself is a creature card and operates at sorcery speed, the instant access to cast the top card revealed with its third ability gives you flexibility during the game. This element of surprise can dramatically shift the pace of the match, as your opponents must constantly be wary of the potential threats you can unleash at any moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Svella, Ice Shaper may require you to discard a valuable card to utilize its second ability. Discarding can be a significant setback, especially if your hand is already depleted or holding key components for your game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise combination of mana types to cast—both green and red. This mana specificity could be restrictive, as it fits primarily in Gruul-colored decks, reducing its flexibility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one green and one red, Svella can be considered costly compared to other mana accelerants or utility creatures in the game. This high mana investment might delay your game plan, particularly in formats where speed is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Svella, Ice Shaper thrives in various deck builds, adapting seamlessly into strategies that capitalize on mana ramp and permanent fetching. Its ability to put land cards onto the battlefield or create powerful artifacts gives deckbuilders creative license to exploit multiple strategies within a single card slot.

Combo Potential: This dynamic card opens up a plethora of combo avenues with its second ability to create Icy Manalith artifacts. Those can subsequently be utilized to cheat out costly permanents early in the game, unlocking a world of deck synergy and surprise comebacks.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment rich with aggressive and midrange strategies, Svella, Ice Shaper proves to be a resilient asset. Through its ability to quickly escalate your mana resources and field presence, it combats pace-intensive playstyles and tilts the battlefield to your advantage.


How to beat

Svella, Ice Shaper presents an intriguing challenge in the arena of Magic: The Gathering, offering players a way to ramp and churn out potent artifacts. The key to countering Svella lies in preemptive disruption, focusing on denying the mana ramp or removing the card before it can utilize its formidable abilities. Artifact removal spells, counterspells, or quick creature elimination are sound strategic choices when facing Svella, Ice Shaper on the battlefield. Timing is critical; apply pressure early and keep your opponent’s board clear to prevent them from gaining momentum, ensuring Svella doesn’t shape the game to their advantage.

Mana denial is also an effective tactic. Limiting an opponent’s mana can hinder their ability to cast Svella or activate its ability, which is crucial to maintaining control. Direct damage spells remain a reliable method for handling Svella before it becomes an insurmountable threat. Finally, instant speed interaction ensures you can respond to the Ice Shaper’s activations, preserving the balance in your favor, and keeping the frozen tundra at bay.


Cards like Svella, Ice Shaper

Svella, Ice Shaper has positioned itself as a unique mana ramp and toolbox card in MTG. It invites comparison with other cards that offer similar utility, such as Risen Reef, which also allows for land ramp but through elemental synergy. The key distinction lies in Svella’s ability to not only provide land but also to directly create Icy Manaliths and expensive spells through its ability.

Another card to consider is Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. While both cards provide a means to access spells, Golos fetches a land upon entry and has the potential to cast spells for free, offering immediate value upon hitting the battlefield. Svella, in contrast, requires a more strategic setup, asking players to invest time and mana into its abilities to unlock its full potential.

When delving into MTG card comparisons, each card’s strategic advantage becomes clear. Svella offers a slow build with a payoff in the form of versatile mana artifacts and a curated spell-drafting feature, whereas cards like Risen Reef and Golos provide more immediate value. A discerning player will weigh these differences when tailoring their deck for optimal gameplay.

Risen Reef - MTG Card versions
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - MTG Card versions
Risen Reef - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - Core Set 2020 (M20)

Cards similar to Svella, Ice Shaper by color, type and mana cost

Centaur Archer - MTG Card versions
Giant Trap Door Spider - MTG Card versions
Jungle Troll - MTG Card versions
Raging Kavu - MTG Card versions
Verduran Emissary - MTG Card versions
Viashino Grappler - MTG Card versions
Hunting Kavu - MTG Card versions
Lithatog - MTG Card versions
Boggart Ram-Gang - MTG Card versions
Feral Animist - MTG Card versions
Wilderness Elemental - MTG Card versions
Tattermunge Duo - MTG Card versions
Godtracker of Jund - MTG Card versions
Daybreak Ranger // Nightfall Predator - MTG Card versions
Immerwolf - MTG Card versions
Fanatic of Xenagos - MTG Card versions
Ulrich's Kindred - MTG Card versions
Relentless Hunter - MTG Card versions
Khenra Charioteer - MTG Card versions
Hallar, the Firefletcher - MTG Card versions
Centaur Archer - Ice Age (ICE)
Giant Trap Door Spider - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Jungle Troll - Mirage (MIR)
Raging Kavu - Invasion (INV)
Verduran Emissary - Invasion (INV)
Viashino Grappler - Invasion (INV)
Hunting Kavu - Invasion (INV)
Lithatog - Odyssey (ODY)
Boggart Ram-Gang - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Feral Animist - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Wilderness Elemental - Coldsnap (CSP)
Tattermunge Duo - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Godtracker of Jund - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Daybreak Ranger // Nightfall Predator - Innistrad (ISD)
Immerwolf - Shadows of the Past (SIS)
Fanatic of Xenagos - Born of the Gods (BNG)
Ulrich's Kindred - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Relentless Hunter - Battlebond (BBD)
Khenra Charioteer - Amonkhet Remastered (AKR)
Hallar, the Firefletcher - Dominaria Promos (PDOM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Svella, Ice Shaper 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 Svella, Ice Shaper and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Svella, Ice Shaper Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 883802015normalblackDZO
22021-02-05KaldheimKHM 2302015normalblackAndrew Mar
32021-02-05KaldheimKHM 3312015normalblackDZO
42021-02-05Kaldheim Art SeriesAKHM 662015art_seriesborderlessAndrew Mar

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Svella, Ice Shaper has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Svella, Ice Shaper 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 If the spell has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X.
2021-02-05 If you cast a spell using Svella’s ability, you do so as part of the resolution of that ability. You can’t wait to cast it later in the turn. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored.
2021-02-05 If you cast a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell.
2021-02-05 In some unusual cases, the order of your library will matter as you cast the spell from among the revealed cards. Remember that looking at the top cards of your library doesn’t change their order or allow you to change their order. You don’t put the cards on the bottom of your library until after you are done casting the spell.
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 spell you cast with Svella’s last ability is cast from your library.
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 You’ll put the cards you didn’t cast on the bottom of your library before the spell you cast resolves.

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