Icy seems to fall a little further from grace
with each reprinting. When it first debuted, it
was a marvel-- a way for any color to lock down
just about anything! But, as removal spells have
become more commonplace, and especially as the
game has dropped the "tapped artifacts don't
turn off" rule, Icy just doesn't sparkle like
she used to. It's still a great way to let you
keep something off your back if you need to,
especially in Limited where one blocker could
decide the game, but people just don't rely on
it the way they used to. I think the success of
similar cards in their respective Limited
formats, like Tumble Magnet or Trip Noose,
proves that this is a Limited-caliber effect
that just doesn't get to crack into 60-card
formats much any more.
Icy Manipulator was a key player in the earliest
control archetypes, as it was one of the few
repeatable effects that existed in the early
sets. Among those, it stood out for being an
answer to creatures like Ihsan's Shade that many
of the one-shot effects couldn't touch.
Nowadays, it's sometimes overlooked, as
planeswalkers get a lot of this type of effect,
and it was left out of a few sets in favor of
flashier effects. Nonetheless, it's still
capable of dominating any deck that isn't
prepared for it; in a sense, it can actually be
harder to deal with than planeswalkers, as you
need very specific lines of text to get rid of
it.
Welcome back reader’s continuing this week’s
theme of cards from the latest duel deck, today
we have one of the most classic Magic cards Icy
Manipulator killing creatures in conjunction
with Royal Assassin since the 90’s. In standard
this card has not been playable for a long time,
tapping down potential blockers and possibly
locking down players lands is good but just
not good enough in a world of planeswalkers and
six mana bomb creatures. In extended and modern
and eternal formats this is once again severely
outclasses I could see it becoming a possible
tech addition to decks but that is unlikely it
is just a relic of Magic’s past such as Serra
Angel. In casual and multiplayer it can still
see a small amount of play although it once
again is outclassed by a large amount of cards
printed since but nothing beats the classics. In
limited it is able to pacify a creature or keep
them off mana or even a splashed color making it
a valuable tool. Overall a historical card in
the game that has some practical uses but also
has been outclassed.
Welcome back reader’s continuing this week’s
theme of cards from the latest duel deck, today
we have one of the most classic Magic cards Icy
Manipulator killing creatures in conjunction
with Royal Assassin since the 90’s. In standard
this card has not been playable for a long time,
tapping down potential blockers and possibly
locking down players lands is good but just
not good enough in a world of planeswalkers and
six mana bomb creatures. In extended and modern
and eternal formats this is once again severely
outclasses I could see it becoming a possible
tech addition to decks but that is unlikely it
is just a relic of Magic’s past such as Serra
Angel. In casual and multiplayer it can still
see a small amount of play although it once
again is outclassed by a large amount of cards
printed since but nothing beats the classics. In
limited it is able to pacify a creature or keep
them off mana or even a splashed color making it
a valuable tool. Overall a historical card in
the game that has some practical uses but also
has been outclassed.
