Scion of Stygia MTG Card

Scion of Stygia allows flexible play with flash, offering surprise blocks and instant responses. This card can draw extra cards or untap lands, enhancing hand and mana resources respectively. Although powerful, it requires discarding and a specific mana setup, which may limit some decks.

Scion of Stygia - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Tiefling Shaman
Abilities	Flash
Released	2021-07-23
Set symbol
Set name	Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Set code	AFR
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	70
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Cristi Balanescu

Text of card

Flash Cone of Cold — When Scion of Stygia enters the battlefield, choose target creature an opponent controls, then roll a d20. 1—9 | Tap that creature. 10—20 | Tap that creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.

Cards like Scion of Stygia

Scion of Stygia adds a chill to any MTG player’s deck with its ability to freeze opposing forces. Reflecting on similar cards that incapacitate creatures, Frost Lynx leaps to mind with its entrance effect that taps a target creature, which doesn’t untap during the next untap step of its controller. Scion of Stygia shares this icy touch, but with its place in the adventure mechanic series, it offers an extra spell option before it even hits the board.

Comparatively, Icefall Regent is another creature known for its frosty grip on opponents. While this dragon also taps down adversaries, it brings a sustained control effect, increasing the cost of spells your opponent casts that target it. Scion of Stygia doesn’t toughen up your defenses in the same way but provides earlier utility and flexibility with its adventure and Flash, allowing for surprise plays that Icefall Regent can’t match.

In essence, Scion of Stygia presents a unique blend of immediate and versatile control options. It stands as a solid choice for those seeking to add a bit of strategic freezing to their MTG games, with an advantageous blend of immediate board impact and the unexpected factor of its adventure capability.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Scion of Stygia offers a strategic edge by granting you the ability to potentially draw cards if enchanted or equipped. This feature is perfect for keeping your hand full and staying ahead in the game’s resource competition.

Resource Acceleration: This creature can potentially untap a land when it enters the battlefield or attacks, which can provide a subtle yet valuable boost in your mana resources, enabling more dynamic play sequences or the ability to cast more spells in a single turn.

Instant Speed: Scion of Stygia possesses flash, which advantageously allows you to play the card at instant speed. This tactical flexibility can disrupt your opponent’s strategies by introducing an unexpected blocker or by benefiting from its untap ability at the most opportune moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Scion of Stygia demands a card from your hand as part of its Icebind ability, presenting a hurdle when your options are already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: Being a blue card, it necessitates a particular mana setup, potentially restricting deck flexibility for those not committed to a blue-centered strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one blue, it’s on the pricier side for its temporary freezing effect, especially when weighed against other control options available.

Reasons to Include Scion of Stygia in Your Collection

Versatility: Scion of Stygia can be seamlessly incorporated into various decks, allowing players to access both freezing mechanics and potential blockers. Its adaptability in responding to different threats on the battlefield makes it a handy tool in any player’s arsenal.

Combo Potential: With its ability to tap a target creature when it enters the battlefield, Scion of Stygia can be paired with cards that profit from creatures becoming tapped or from maintaining control of the board, enabling resourceful combo setups that can turn the tide of a game.

Meta-Relevance: Given the tempo and control that Scion of Stygia can bring to the table, it is particularly effective in game environments favoring creature-based strategies. This card can often be the key to stalling opponents’ aggressive plays, securing its place in decks that thrive in the current meta.

How to beat

Scion of Stygia weaves its magic in MTG as a creature with frosty control over the board. Boasting the power to tap an opposing creature, it plays a cool tactical game, reminiscent of the Frost Lynx but with a twist of affecting instant-speed magic. Whether the intention is to support ambush strategies or inhibit attackers, Scion of Stygia stands out with its clever utility.

Part of its charm lies in the flexibility it affords. Opponents should focus on preemptive measures like creature removal spells to effectively navigate around this icy fiend. Untapping abilities or cards that grant protection from blue spells are equally helpful to keep your fleet-footed attackers and valued creatures safe. Timing is critical; by disrupting the Scion’s enthralling entrance or steering clear of its chilling—yet targeted—abilities, one stands a better chance of maintaining dominance over the battlefield.

Ultimately, circumventing Scion of Stygia’s influence requires strategic foresight and a warm arsenal of counters. In doing so, players can thaw the control it seeks to assert and can assert their own strategy within the dynamic and ever-evolving world of MTG.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scion of Stygia MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, 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 Scion of Stygia and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scion of Stygia has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-07-23	An ability that tells you to roll a die will also specify what to do with the result of that roll. Most often, this is in the form of a “results table” in the card text.
2021-07-23	An effect that says “choose a target, then roll a d20” or similar still uses the normal process of putting an ability on the stack and resolving it. Choosing targets is part of putting the ability on the stack and rolling the d20 happens later, as the ability resolves.
2021-07-23	Dice are identified by the number of faces each one has. For example, a d20 is a twenty-sided die.
2021-07-23	Dice used must have equally likely outcomes and the roll must be fair. Although physical dice are recommended, digital substitutes are allowed, provided they have the same number of equally likely outcomes as specified in the original roll instruction.
2021-07-23	Some abilities, like that of Pixie Guide and Barbarian Class, replace rolling a die with rolling extra dice and ignoring the lowest roll. The ignored rolls are not considered for the effect that instructed you to roll a die, and do not cause abilities to trigger. For all intents and purposes, once you determine which dice count, any extra dice were never rolled.
2021-07-23	Some effects instruct you to roll again. This uses the same number and type of dice as the original roll, and that roll will use the same set of possible outcomes.
2021-07-23	Some effects may modify the result of a die roll. This may be part of the instruction to roll a die or it may come from other cards. Anything that references the “result” of a die roll is looking for the result after these modifications. Anything that is looking for the “natural result” is looking for the number shown on the face of the die before these modifications.
2021-07-23	The instruction to roll a die and the effect that occurs because of the result are all part of the same ability. Players do not get the chance to respond to the ability after knowing the result of the roll.
2021-07-23	Tournament events have more specific rules regarding dice and die-rolling. For more information, please see the most recent version of the Magic Tournament Rules at https://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
2021-07-23	While playing Planechase, rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result will ignore the rolling of the planar die.

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.