Thawing Glaciers MTG Card
1996-06-10 - Number 144
1997-08-13 - Number jk144
2007-09-10 - Number 180
2010-01-01 - Number 4
2014-06-16 - Number 318
2002-06-24 - Number 43564
| Card sets | Released in 6 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land |
Text of card
Comes into play tapped. o1, oc T: Search your library for a basic land and put it into play tapped. This does not count towards your one land per turn limit. Shuffle your library afterwards. At end of turn, return Thawing Glaciers to owner's hand.
Cards like Thawing Glaciers
Thawing Glaciers offers a strategic land search mechanism in MTG, reminiscent of other land fetching cards. It shares traits with cards like Terramorphic Expanse, which also serves the purpose of ensuring land drop consistency. Thawing Glaciers is distinct in that it can be reused, allowing the player to sift through their deck for basic lands turn after turn, although this process is slower, as the land returns to your hand at the beginning of the next cleanup step.
Another comparison is with the more powerful and faster Cultivate, which immediately puts one land onto the battlefield and another into your hand. This is at the cost of being a single-use spell. Evolving Wilds is also a strong contender for its similarity, as it provides immediate land tutoring though it sacrifices itself in the process. The recurring advantage of Thawing Glaciers could potentially outpace the one-time utility of such cards in longer games.
When considering the long-term advantage of ensuring land drops in a match, Thawing Glaciers stands out for its ability to smooth out mana availability throughout a game, though it requires a slower, more methodical approach compared to its counterparts.
Cards similar to Thawing Glaciers by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Thawing Glaciers. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Jeff | Free form | Canadian Highlander for Duals - Underground Sea Guaranteed - Proxies Allowed | |
 | Rift Slide | Premodern | Eternal Weekend Europe 2023 Premodern Mainevent |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Thawing Glaciers is adept at ensuring a steady flow of land cards to your hand. This effectively thins out your deck, raising the likelihood of drawing non-land cards and thus maintaining card advantage as the match progresses.
Resource Acceleration: Though not directly a ramp card, Thawing Glaciers can facilitate resource acceleration by guaranteeing your land drops each turn. Over time, this consistency can prove crucial in outpacing your opponent with more significant and more impactful plays.
Instant Speed: The unique ability to activate Thawing Glaciers during your opponent’s end step mimics instant speed functionality. This strategy enables you to maximize mana usage throughout your turns while setting up for your next land drop without sacrificing momentum.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Although Thawing Glaciers doesn’t have a discard requirement itself, it does require careful hand management to fully utilize its potential. Players often have to make difficult decisions about what to discard in order to achieve the ideal land balance.
Specific Mana Cost: Thawing Glaciers demands a specific mana investment to activate. This need for one colorless and two generic mana can be a hurdle in highly streamlined or multi-colored decks with a tight mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement to pay three mana and return it to your hand, Thawing Glaciers has a comparably high mana cost when looking at other mana-fixing options. This timing can often slow down the player’s tempo, making it a less favorable choice in faster-paced games where every mana point spent is critical for maintaining the lead.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Thawing Glaciers brings a unique and flexible land search ability to the table, allowing players to consistently access their essential basic lands. Its adaptability makes it a valuable asset in decks that need to ensure land drops or manage their mana base efficiently during the game.
Combo Potential: With the right deck configuration, Thawing Glaciers can become a powerhouse by interacting with cards that untap lands or benefit from landfall triggers. This interaction can amplify its utility, making it a key component in specific strategy enablers and powerful land-based combos.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where mana advantage can be a decisive factor, Thawing Glaciers maintains its relevance. Its capability to smooth out mana availability keeps it pertinent in various meta environments, particularly in formats where games may extend over several turns, and incremental advantages can lead to victory.
How to beat
Thawing Glaciers is a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering that operates on an incremental advantage strategy by pulling basic lands from your deck turn after turn. This ability keeps your land drops consistent, potentially giving your opponent a slow but sure path to victory through enhanced mana availability and deck thinning. To counteract Thawing Glaciers, one strategy is to apply pressure with aggressive plays that outpace the gradual advantage it offers.
Utilizing land destruction or resource denial can also be effective. Cards that force shuffle effects can disrupt the setup that Thawing Glaciers aims to achieve. Moreover, running cards that can handle multiple types of threats, including lands, allows for flexibility and the ability to address the Glaciers head-on. It’s also important to keep in mind that Thawing Glaciers returns to its owner’s hand at the end of turn, which provides an opportunity for discard effects to remove it from play indirectly.
Overall, the key lies in recognizing the tempo Thawing Glaciers sets and strategically planning a faster or more disruptive gameplay to bypass the incremental advantage it grants. Every turn counts, so leveraging your plays to maintain momentum can secure your victory against this persistent land card.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Thawing Glaciers MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and World Championship Decks 1997, 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 Thawing Glaciers 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 Thawing Glaciers Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2014-06-16. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-06-10 | Alliances | ALL | 144 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
| 2 | 1997-08-13 | World Championship Decks 1997 | WC97 | jk144 | 1997 | Normal | Gold | Jeff A. Menges | |
| 3 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 43564 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Jim Nelson | ||
| 4 | 2007-09-10 | Masters Edition | ME1 | 180 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
| 5 | 2010-01-01 | Judge Gift Cards 2010 | G10 | 4 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Jim Nelson | |
| 6 | 2014-06-16 | Vintage Masters | VMA | 318 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jim Nelson |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Thawing Glaciers has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Thawing Glaciers card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | Because the “search” requires you to find a card with certain characteristics, you don’t have to find the card if you don’t want to. |
| 2004-10-04 | The land put onto the battlefield does not count toward your one per turn limit because it was put onto the battlefield by an effect. |