Snow-Covered Mountain MTG Card
1995-06-03 - Number 379
2006-07-21 - Number 154
2008-09-22 - Number 244
2018-07-14 - Number 260
2019-06-14 - Number 253
2021-02-05 - Number 282
2021-02-05 - Number 283
2019-12-02 - Number 4
2019-12-02 - Number 1476
2019-12-02 - Number 328
| Card sets | Released in 10 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Basic Snow Land — Mountain |
Text of card
oc T: Add o R to your mana pool.
Cards like Snow-Covered Mountain
Snow-Covered Mountain holds its unique position in Magic the Gathering as a basic land with a twist. Related to other basic Mountains, it taps for red mana without distinction. However, Snow-Covered Mountain’s defining characteristic comes into play with cards that recognize “snow” as a condition. This gives it a slight edge in decks that capitalize on snow synergies compared to its non-snow counterparts.
Considering cards like Highland Weald, which also produces red mana and adds green, the Snow-Covered Mountain still stands out. Highland Weald enters the battlefield tapped, delaying the mana advantage. Similar to other dual lands, it doesn’t have the basic land type, which is crucial for certain deck compositions that need an untapped land source immediately.
While both Scrying Sheets and Snow-Covered Mountain share the snow land type, Scrying Sheets offers an ability to obtain card advantage by potentially drawing extra cards. However, it cannot produce red mana inherently. Thus, Snow-Covered Mountain maintains a solid role in red-based snow decks looking for immediate mana access without the need for additional card advantage mechanics.
In conclusion, Snow-Covered Mountain’s simplicity and snow subtype offers an indispensable asset for players looking to optimize their mana base within certain MTG deck strategies, making it a staple in snow-themed decks.
Cards similar to Snow-Covered Mountain by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Snow-Covered Mountain. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Temur Ponza | Pauper | Temur Ponza | Pauper Challenge 64 2024-04-28 |
 | UR | Pauper | Pauper League 2024-04-25 | |
 | Goblins | Legacy | Goblins | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-27 (1) |
 | Boros Convoke | Modern | Boros Convoke | Modern League 2024-04-27 |
| Grixis Control | Pauper | Grixis Control | Pauper Challenge 64 2024-04-28 |
 | UBR | Legacy | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-28 | |
| WRG | Pauper | Pauper League 2024-04-28 | |
 | Jeskai Ephemerate | Pauper | Jeskai Ephemerate | Pauper Challenge 32 2024-04-26 |
 | R | Legacy | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-27 | |
 | RG | Legacy | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-27 |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While not directly impacting card draw, the Snow-Covered Mountain allows for synergistic plays with cards requiring snow mana, effectively expanding your options and potentially leading to card advantage by unlocking snow-specific abilities.
Resource Acceleration: This land’s capability to be untapped through certain spells and abilities like Skred or Scrying Sheets can accelerate your mana resources. This is particularly valuable in decks that utilize snow mechanics for powerful plays.
Instant Speed: Although lands are played at sorcery speed, having a Snow-Covered Mountain ensures that you can access mana for instant speed responses during your opponent’s turn. This seamless integration into your mana base keeps the game pace in your favor without sacrificing turn efficiency.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: In the context of Snow-Covered Mountain, a potential downside is any synergistic card that demands a discard, thereby depleting your hand of these specialized lands. Being forced to discard a Snow-Covered Mountain could hinder strategies dependent on snow permanents.
Specific Mana Cost: Though it taps for red mana, Snow-Covered Mountain is sometimes a requirement for casting certain spells or activating abilities specifically calling for ‘snow mana.’ This necessity restricts deck-building options, as you’ll have to balance the inclusion of these lands with your overall mana base to ensure consistency.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the land itself doesn’t have a mana cost, it can contribute to a higher overall deck cost concerning spells reliant on a high count of snow permanents. These spells often come at a premium, both in monetary and opportunity costs, compared to their non-snow counterparts.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: A Snow-Covered Mountain offers an edge in decks that capitalize on snow mechanics, enabling more strategic options over a regular Mountain without changing the mana base’s foundational color.
Combo Potential: This card synergizes with effects that count the number of snow permanents you control and also interacts well with spells that specifically require a snow mana as a casting cost, potentially unlocking powerful combos.
Meta-Relevance: In game environments where snow themes are prevalent, having Snow-Covered Mountains can significantly bolster your deck’s performance against competitors while adhering to themes that reward snow land types.
How to beat
Snow-Covered Mountain is a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering that offers a slight edge in decks tailored to take advantage of snow mechanics. Unlike a regular Mountain, it provides “snow mana,” a specialized resource required to fuel powerful spells or activate abilities within snow-themed decks.
To outplay someone using Snow-Covered Mountain, the strategy should involve disrupting the synergy that snow cards rely upon. This can be achieved by including cards that target nonbasic lands or utilizing spells that hamper the snow abilities. For instance, employing land destruction cards like Field of Ruin can upset the balance of an opponent’s mana base, consequently stifling their snow-based strategies. Additionally, cards like Blood Moon can transform all nonbasic lands into basic Mountains, negating any advantages the Snow-Covered Mountain might bring to the table.
While exploring your options, remember that preparation is key. Construct your deck with the knowledge that you might face snow synergies. Equip yourself with the suitable sideboard choices to adapt, and the elemental chill of the Snow-Covered Mountain won’t freeze your path to victory.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Snow-Covered Mountain MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Coldsnap, 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 Snow-Covered Mountain and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Snow-Covered Mountain Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by 8 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995-06-03 | Ice Age | ICE | 379 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Tom Wänerstrand | |
| 2 | 2006-07-21 | Coldsnap | CSP | 154 | 2003 | Normal | Black | John Zeleznik | |
| 3 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 244 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Tom Wänerstrand | |
| 4 | 2018-07-14 | MTG Arena Promos | PANA | 260 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Titus Lunter | |
| 5 | 2019-06-14 | Modern Horizons | MH1 | 253 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Titus Lunter | |
| 6 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 4 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alayna Danner | ||
| 7 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 1476 | 2015 | Normal | Black | ELK64 | ||
| 8 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 328 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jubilee | ||
| 9 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 282 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Adam Paquette | |
| 10 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 283 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jung Park |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Snow-Covered Mountain has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Snow-Covered Mountain 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 | In a Limited event (usually Booster Draft or Sealed Deck), you can’t add basic snow lands to your card pool as you would other basic lands. You can play with basic snow lands only if you open them in your sealed deck or draft them. |
| 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. |