Coldsnap

**Coldsnap**
	File:ColdExpSym.jpg
Released	July 21, 2006
Size	155
Keywords	Cumulative Upkeep, Ripple, Recover
Mechanics	Snow Permanent, Pitch Cards
Third set in the Ice Age Block block
← Dissension	Time Spiral →

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Coldsnap is the third set in the Ice Age block for the Magic:The Gathering collectible card game. It is scheduled to be released July 2006 by Wizards of the Coast. The set comes over ten years after the original Ice Age set was released in June 1995 and is the longest period of time between the completion of a full block in Magic.

The actual time during which Coldsnap was designed is ambiguous. In the initial announcement, Randy Buehler stated that Coldsnap is not a newly designed Magic set. Designed as part of the Ice Age block, the set was removed and replaced with Homelands for internal reasons. While not new, the set would be updated with modern Magic text and wordings. However, in the Ask Wizards section on November 10, 2005, a player points to several inconsistencies in the original story, expressing his doubt of its veracity. Buehler does not explicitly confirm the accusation, although he implies it is correct, and the story was in fact not true. He seems to imply that the story of an old set being uncovered in the vaults is much more interesting than Wizards just deciding to finish Ice Age block.

Mark Rosewater on February 6, 2006 wrote in his column that the story about the vault was made up, and that Coldsnap was made mostly from design elements that had previously been gathered up for a single expansion. He apologised for the confusion Wizards R&D had created and made it clear that the set is indeed a newly designed one.[1]

The set will be tournament legal in Standard, Legacy, Extended, Vintage, and Ice Age Block tournament formats. It will also be released on Wizard's Magic: The Gathering Online software, but a little later than the normal version.

Coldsnap will be given all the theme products that cards of that era didn't have: preconstructed theme decks and larger Fat Packs. The preconstructed theme decks will include updated/modernized Ice Age and Alliances cards as well, although those cards will not be Standard legal.

No mention has been given as to whether the general power level of the cards in Coldsnap will be increased to meet modern standards. Starting with Tempest block and continuing to present, creatures in the world of Magic have become increasingly powerful. However, when Ice Age was released, the general casting cost efficiency of creatures was not on par with those today, instead favoring non-creature cards such as removal spells (Swords to Plowshares, Lightning Bolt) or countering (like the famous Counterspell itself). In addition, Ice Age block was not designed to have enough well costed creatures appear in the right commonality to support block limited drafting, unlike all modern sets today. Whether or not this set is 'tweaked' will determine how many cards make their way into current Standard or Extended formats. On the one hand, if Coldsnap is changed, it can be playable alongside modern sets. However, the more it is updated, the more dominating it will be on Ice Age block constructed, leading for the first possibility of a secondary banned/restricted list to ever be released for a block constructed format. It has been hinted at that Wizards are going to finish all of their older sets in order to be able to integrate them into Magic Online, following the release of the Mirage expansion on Magic Online.

Orb of Insight

Like many other sets, Coldsnap comes with an Orb of Insight. This Java program, which tells visitors the number of cards a keyword they typed in appears on, has become a regular feature of the Magic site just before previews. Unlike other times, this one was released weeks before the Official Online preview.^[1]

Card Rumors

The French magazine Lotus Noir has revealed cards from Coldsnap. The information is found here. These cards include new "pitch cards", the return of Cumulative Upkeep (this time rewarding you for not paying the cost), and a new type of mana, Snow mana.

In a recent 'Taste the Magic' article on the Wizards of the Coast website, the art for a card called Ohran Viper has been revealed. Due to the winter background of the art, it is most likely a card from Coldsnap.

Notable Cards

Vanish Into Memory: Winner of You Make the Card 3, it was announced that this card will be in Coldsnap. [2]

In the March 2, 2006, Ask Wizards question, the answer suggested that new pitch cards and snow covered lands will be in the set. Snow-covered basic lands have been officially confirmed [3], and one of the french cards revealed is a pitch card [4].

Mechanics

Ripple. When a spell with Ripple is played, the controller of the spell may look at top cards of their library equal to the number that appear next to the word "Ripple" on the card. If any cards with the same name as the card with the Ripple effect on it are revealed, the player may play those spells without paying their mana costs.

Recover. Recover triggers when a creature card goes to the graveyard, and the card with "Recover" is also in the graveyard. The player who controls the card with "Recover" may then pay the Recover cost, and return the card to their hand. If they do not pay the recover cost, the player must remove the creature with "Recover" from the game.

Confirmed Cards

Allosaurus Rider Vanish into Memory Jotun Grunt

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External links

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[1] [5]

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