Coldsnap

Coldsnap
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Cantrips, Cumulative upkeep, Snow, Pitch cards, collectible commons
Keywords/​ability words	Ripple, Recover
Set size	155 (60 commons, 55 uncommons, 40 rares)
Expansion code	CSP
Development codename	Splat

Coldsnap is the thirty-ninth Magic expansion and was released in July 2006 as the third set and second small expansion of the Ice Age block, replacing the Homelands expansion as a member of the block. The prerelease events for this set were held on July 8-9, 2006.

Set details

Coldsnap contains 155 black-bordered cards (40 rare, 55 uncommon, and 60 commons). Its expansion symbol is a depection of three icicles. When Coldsnap was initially announced, Wizards of the Coast claimed that the set was a "lost design file" only recently found. Because this statement was taken seriously, Mark Rosewater later had to announce that it was a joke.

R&D made a conscious effort to hit on every standout theme in Ice Age and Alliances to give the set the necessary “retro” feel. This included cumulative upkeep, allied colors, pitch cards, old characters springing to life and land that doesn't tap for mana. The 'snow-covered' supertype changed to 'snow' and expanded its use to nonland permanents. . The new Recover mechanic captured the feel of "graveyard order matters" without requiring meticulous tracking. Another new mechanic was Ripple.

Because most sealed tournaments would use only Coldsnap cards due to the rarity of Ice Age and Alliances booster packs, as a means of making frequently recurring commons more valuable, several common cards (the "kindle" and "surging" cycles) were printed that rewarded players for using multiple copies in their decks, making them more collectible.

Storyline

Terisiare, the island continent that was home to the Brothers’ War and the Ice Age, is in a state of rebirth known as the Thaw. The icy shell that encased the continent is melting away. Most of the inhabitants of Terisiare rejoice as the ice gives way to warmth and the rebirth of the land. But, in this time of great change, there are some who see it as a time to angle for power: a secretive society of mages poised to shroud the continent with their icy brand of magic.

Marketing

Coldsnap was sold in 15-card boosters, four preconstructed theme decks and a fat pack. The decks and the fat pack contained a random Pro Tour Players Card. The booster packs featured artwork from Adarkar Valkyrie, Rimescale Dragon and Allosaurus Rider. The prerelease card was a foil alternate art Allosaurus Rider. The release card was a Marit Lage token The fat pack also contained Jeff Grubb's classic novel The Gathering Dark'.

Tournament impact

As of February 2011, Coldsnap is tournament legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Ice Age block tournament formats. It was also released on Magic Online on August 14, becoming the first expansion ever to be legal for Constructed tournament play on Magic Online before its paper version was. However, the Ice Age and Alliances reprints from the theme decks were not legal in Standard tournament play however, and the reprints have not been added to Gatherer.

Coldsnap is the only expansion released that does not fit the Modern block schedule, creating some confusion. It was legal in the Extended format based on its release date, not on its association with the Ice Age block.

Mechanics

• Recover — allows a player to return cards with the keyworded ability to their hand by paying the card's Recover cost when a creature goes into their graveyard from play. However, if they do not pay the Recover cost then the card is instead removed from the game.
• Ripple — when a player plays a spell with ripple, the triggered ability then lets a player reveal four cards from the top of his or her library and play all cards revealed with the same name as the card with the triggered the ability without paying their mana cost.

Creature types

The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: Juggernaut.

The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Angel, Ape, Artificer, Assassin, Aurochs, Avatar, Barbarian, Bear, Beast, Bird, Cat, Centaur, Cleric, Construct, Dragon, Druid, Elemental, Elf, Faerie, Gargoyle, Giant, Goblin, Griffin, Horror, Illusion, Knight, Leviathan, Lizard, Lord (later changed to Human), Minotaur, Mutant, Ooze, Orc, Rogue, Serpent, Shade, Shaman, Skeleton, Slug, Snake, Soldier, Specter, Sphinx, Spider, Spirit, Treefolk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wall, Warrior, Wizard, Wurm, Yeti, Zombie.

Cycles

Coldsnap has ten cycles and a vertical cycle.

• Allied-color cumulative upkeep spells: Each of these uncommon spells has a cumulative upkeep cost that can be paid with either that spell's color or the next allied color clockwise around the color pie — Jötun Owl Keeper, Krovikan Whispers, Balduvian Fallen, Earthen Goo, and Arctic Nishoba.
• Allied-color snow taplands: Each of these uncommon nonbasic snow lands comes into play tapped and can produce two allied colors of mana — Boreal Shelf, Frost Marsh, Tresserhorn Sinks, Highland Weald, and Arctic Flats.
• Enemy-color hosers: Each of these uncommon spells hampers both of their enemy colors at a low mana cost — Luminesce, Flashfreeze, Deathmark, Cryoclasm, and Karplusan Strider. This cycle was reprinted in 10th Edition.
• Kindle spells: Each of these common instant or sorcery spells becomes more powerful the more spells there are with the same name in all graveyards — Kjeldoran War Cry, Rune Snag, Feast of Flesh, Rite of Flame, and Sound the Call. This cycle is named after the card Kindle from Tempest.
• Martyrs: Each of these common Human creatures has an activated ability that requires you to pay a mana cost, reveal X cards of its color from your hand, and sacrifice it for an effect based on the number of cards revealed — Martyr of Sands, Martyr of Frost, Martyr of Bones, Martyr of Ashes, and Martyr of Spores.
• Snow-covered lands: Each of these basic lands has the snow supertype — Snow-Covered Plains, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Swamp, Snow-Covered Mountain, and Snow-Covered Forest. They were reprinted from Ice Age.
• Super pitch cards: Each of these rare spells may be played by removing two cards in your hand of its color from the game instead of playing its mana cost — Sunscour, Commandeer, Soul Spike, Fury of the Horde, and Allosaurus Rider. Allosaurus Rider was the set's prerelease card.
• Surging spells: Each of these common spells has the ripple ability: Surging Sentinels, Surging Æther, Surging Dementia, Surging Flame, and Surging Might.
• Tricolor creatures: Each of these rare creatures requires three colors of mana to cost: Diamond Faerie; Zur the Enchanter; Garza Zol, Plague Queen; Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper; and Tamanoa.
• Uncommon gold spells: Each of these uncommon multicolor spells requires two mana of allied colors to cast: Vanish into Memory, Blizzard Specter, Deepfire Elemental, Wilderness Elemental, and Juniper Order Ranger.

Vertical cycle

• Rimewind wizards: Each of these blue Human Wizard creatures, one at each level of rarity, has an activated ability that can be used only if you control four or more snow permanents — Rimewind Taskmage; Rimewind Cryomancer; and Heidar, Rimewind Master.

Mirrored pair

Coldsnap has one mirrored pair:

• Crusaders: These uncommon 2/1 Knight creatures, one white and one black, each have protection from the other's color, "{C}: [This] gains flying until end of turn", and "{C}{C}: [This] gets +1/+0 until end of turn" — White Shield Crusader and Stromgald Crusader. These cards are an homage to the "pump knights" from Fallen Empires and Ice Age.

Theme decks

Like other theme decks, Coldsnap theme decks used cards available in its block. This created reprints of Ice Age and Alliances cards. These reprints were different from the originals in that they had expansion symbol rarity coloring (in addition to being slightly redesigned), have collector numbers, and were printed featuring the new card frame. The preconstructed theme decks are: Template:Theme decks

Notable cards

• Dark Depths — Originally ignored for tournament play, the printing of Vampire Hexmage in Zendikar (and later Thespian's Stage in Gatecrash) caused its play value and price to skyrocket.
• Ohran Viper - The initial chase rare of the set.
• Panglacial Wurm — The first creature that can be played directly from the library.
• Haakon, Stromgald Scourge - The first creature that can't be cast from your hand.
• Vanish into Memory - The third card to be designed through the Wizards of the Coast's "You Make the Card" promotion through their website, MTG.com

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted from previous sets and included in Coldsnap.

• Frozen Solid — was last seen in Scourge, possibly reprinted due to the card name or card flavor fitting the set.
• Snow-covered lands cycle — were last seen in Ice Age.

Functional reprints

Coldsnap has two functional reprints:

• Krovikan Scoundrel is a functional reprint of Dakmor Scorpion from Portal Second Age, Skeletal Snake from Portal and Wei Infantry from Portal Three Kingdoms, save for creature types.
• Ronom Unicorn is a functional reprint of Kami of Ancient Law from Champions of Kamigawa, save for creature type.

External links

• Coldsnap product information page — Wizards of the Coast
• "Magic Arcana" (Tuesday, February 21, 2006). "Coldsnap Fact Sheet". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.