Cold Storage MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Cold Storage allows strategic creature stashing, dodging removals and setting up future plays.
  2. Acts as a safeguard against board wipes, enabling a surprise board repopulation.
  3. Demands careful mana management and presents certain vulnerabilities in the short term.

Text of card

o3: Put target creature you control on Cold Storage. Sacrifice Cold Storage: Put all creature cards on Cold Storage into play.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cold Storage provides an unparalleled ability to bypass hand limits by tucking away creatures for a later surprise, effectively increasing your in-game resources without drawing additional cards.

Resource Acceleration: Cold Storage can act as a form of creature acceleration by allowing you to temporarily remove creatures from the battlefield to dodge removal, and later deploy them en masse, potentially saving mana costs from recasts.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of Cold Storage is highlighted by the instant-speed activation, letting you react swiftly to board wipes or end-of-turn maneuvers, preserving your board presence and setting up pivotal plays for your next turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Activating the ability of Cold Storage requires you to ship creatures away, possibly leaving you more vulnerable in the short term. This trade-off can be particularly risky against fast-paced or control decks that can exploit your temporarily weakened board state.

Specific Mana Cost: Cold Storage comes with a mana cost that’s specific to colorless, this can be somewhat restrictive for multi-colored decks that might not always have the required resources at the ready to utilize this artifact effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Clocking in at a total of four mana to cast and three to activate, Cold Storage may not always provide the most mana-efficient means of safeguarding your creatures, especially when compared with other protective options or more reactive counterspells.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cold Storage is a unique card that offers a flexible solution for creature-heavy decks, allowing you to temporarily remove your creatures from the battlefield, protecting them from board wipes or saving them for a more opportune moment to attack or use their abilities.

Combo Potential: The card can be incredibly synergetic with enter the battlefield effects or cards that benefit from being cast multiple times. It also pairs well with sacrifice strategies, granting you the ability to store creatures before they’re lost and redeploy them later.

Meta-Relevance: Within formats where long game control decks prevail, having a way to safeguard your key creatures or reuse their abilities can be a game-changer. It’s a powerful tool to have access to and can swing the tide of battle by re-introducing a full board presence in a single turn.


How to Beat Cold Storage

Understanding the mechanics and strategies around the Cold Storage card can be instrumental in gaining the upper hand in MTG gameplay. This artifact offers a unique ability by allowing players to remove creatures from the game and releasing them at a later stage, ideally timed with strategic precision. However, this can be countered effectively by incorporating artifact removal cards in your deck, such as Naturalize or Krosan Grip, which can dismantle this storage facility and prevent the tide of creatures it controls from reentering the battlefield. Cards like Disenchant are also valuable tools, offering versatility in dealing with both artifacts and enchantments.

Another key strategy involves timing your removal appropriately so that it disrupts your opponent’s plans. Cold Storage requires a sizeable investment of four mana to play and three to activate, making the window to respond distinct and detectable. Paying attention to your opponent’s mana pool and playing style can clue you into the perfect moment to strike. Sacrifice-based strategies may also prove fruitful, emphasizing cards that force your opponent to sacrifice their artifacts, hence bypassing Cold Storage’s control over its exiled creatures. Ultimately, it’s about anticipating your opponent’s moves and countering them with precision and foresight.


Cards like Cold Storage

In examining the utility of Cold Storage within Magic: The Gathering, it’s imperative to consider how it interacts with creatures on the battlefield. Cold Storage shares a functional kinship with other artifact cards like Synod Sanctum and Voyager Staff. Each of these tools offers a unique method of extracting creatures from imminent threats or leveraging tactical advantages.

For instance, Synod Sanctum requires a lower investment for both casting and activation, thereby allowing retrieval of your creature at a moment’s notice. On the other side, Voyager Staff demands lesser resources, but it exiles only one creature with no option for later return. The distinct edge of Cold Storage is evident when dealing with multiple creatures – offering a haven where an entire army can hide until the perfect moment for a surprise resurgence.

To conclude, while Synod Sanctum offers more flexibility and Voyager Staff is more cost-effective, Cold Storage stands out when plotting to unleash a wave of creatures and flipping the game in your favor. Each of these artifacts play distinct roles, yet it’s Cold Storage that holds the potential for a dramatic shift in the battlefield dynamics.

Synod Sanctum - MTG Card versions
Voyager Staff - MTG Card versions
Synod Sanctum - Mirrodin (MRD)
Voyager Staff - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Cold Storage by color, type and mana cost

Jayemdae Tome - MTG Card versions
Juggernaut - MTG Card versions
Dancing Scimitar - MTG Card versions
Grinning Totem - MTG Card versions
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Patagia Golem - MTG Card versions
Lodestone Myr - MTG Card versions
Krark-Clan Ironworks - MTG Card versions
Ur-Golem's Eye - MTG Card versions
Jester's Cap - MTG Card versions
Bottled Cloister - MTG Card versions
Rod of Ruin - MTG Card versions
Gnarled Effigy - MTG Card versions
Scrapbasket - MTG Card versions
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Icy Manipulator - MTG Card versions
Eye of Doom - MTG Card versions
Well of Lost Dreams - MTG Card versions
Tower of Fortunes - MTG Card versions
Coercive Portal - MTG Card versions
Jayemdae Tome - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Juggernaut - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Dancing Scimitar - Revised Edition (3ED)
Grinning Totem - Mirage (MIR)
Phyrexian Processor - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Patagia Golem - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Lodestone Myr - Mirrodin (MRD)
Krark-Clan Ironworks - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Ur-Golem's Eye - Commander 2014 (C14)
Jester's Cap - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Bottled Cloister - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Rod of Ruin - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Gnarled Effigy - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Scrapbasket - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Magnetic Mine - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Icy Manipulator - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Eye of Doom - Commander 2013 (C13)
Well of Lost Dreams - The List (PLST)
Tower of Fortunes - Commander 2013 (C13)
Coercive Portal - Conspiracy (CNS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cold Storage MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and The List, 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 Cold Storage and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cold Storage Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 1997-10-14. Illustrated by Greg Simanson.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-10-14TempestTMP 2801997normalblackGreg Simanson
22020-09-26The ListPLST TMP-2801997normalblackGreg Simanson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cold Storage has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 If it exiles a token creature, the token ceases to exist and will not return.
2004-10-04 If this card leaves the battlefield, the cards it exiled remain exiled.
2008-04-01 For a time, the second ability returned all cards exiled by it to the battlefield, regardless of what types they had while exiled. It has been restored to its original functionality, so only cards that actually have the type Creature will get returned.

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