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Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Rush of Ice doesn’t draw cards directly, it can make your plays more efficient, effectively putting you ahead in tempo by freezing an opponent’s creature. This can be especially impactful if it allows you to bypass a key blocker and make profitable attacks potentially leading to an eventual card advantage as you whittle down their resources.

Resource Acceleration: With its awaken cost, Rush of Ice can transform a land into a creature, giving you an additional attacking or blocking option. Not only does this offer a form of creature-based resource acceleration, but it can also be a surprise element that turns the tides in your favor, leveraging your lands as more than just mana sources.

Instant Speed: Casting a spell like Rush of Ice at instant speed grants you flexibility in your game plan. You can wait to see how your opponent plays their turn, effectively keeping your options open. Pausing an advancing threat on their side on the end step before your turn can give you the upper hand, allowing you to be the aggressor in the next sequence of play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The need to have the proper card in hand to get the full value can feel restrictive, especially in decks that don’t focus on card draw.

Specific Mana Cost: Rush of Ice features a specific mana requirement that can affect deck flexibility, necessitating a dedicated spot in blue mana decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With other spell options available, the mana investment in Rush of Ice might not translate into the expected level of board control or tempo gain.

Reasons to Include Rush of Ice in Your Collection

Versatility: Rush of Ice is an adaptable card that can serve multiple roles within various deck types. Its main function as a tempo play can stall opponents or clear the way for your attacks, while the awaken ability offers late-game value by turning lands into attackers or blockers.

Combo Potential: With its awaken mechanic, Rush of Ice can synergize with decks that capitalize on land creatures or benefit from sorcery spells. It can help you create unexpected threats and work with spells or abilities that buff land creatures for game-changing plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where speed and board presence are crucial, the flexibility to either freeze an opposing creature or develop your board by awakening a land can be crucial. Rush of Ice can adapt to the shifting needs against various decks, making it a smart choice for competitive play.

How to beat Rush of Ice

Rush of Ice is a versatile blue spell that creates a temporary setback for your opponent by freezing their creature, preventing it from untapping during their next untap step. This card can also bolster your defenses with an Awaken mechanic, turning your land into a creature. Dealing with Rush of Ice requires a strategic approach. Firstly, countering it with spells like Negate or Dispel can negate its freezing effect entirely. Cards that grant hexproof to your creatures, such as Ranger’s Guile or Swift Warden, can also effectively neutralize the threat by making your creatures immune to such targeting spells.

Additionally, creature abilities that untap your creature or that give it indestructible, such as Vitalize or Lazotep Plating, offer ways to subvert Rush of Ice’s control. Speed and pre-emptive action are crucial, so keeping mana available for instant-speed responses can give you the edge you need. Furthermore, instant-speed removals that can take out the animated land creature are useful if the Awaken cost has been paid. Though it may delay your strategy temporarily, Rush of Ice can be overcome with the right counters and protective measures.