Design errors with this card - (1) Snow Devil sounds like a creature. (2) The words "snow" and "devil" have nothing to do with flying. (3) I guess the second ability, flavor-wise, this is supposed to mean that your creature can hide in the snow for an advantage in combat (that's what the picture looks like, at least), but even that is weak because that would be more of an advantage when attacking. (4) Hiding in the snow has nothing to do with flying.
FragNutMK1
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Think "Dust Devil" Gains. It's a quick, flying whirlwind of snow!
Tiggurix
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I think the flavour text on this card is one of the few that adresses you, as a planeswalker, directly.
achilleselbow
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Ice Age had the most ridiculous specific restrictions on cards. You need snow-covered lands to get first strike WHEN BLOCKING. Because flying and first strike for 2 mana would have just been ridiculous...oh wait, Wings of Aesthir.
longwinded
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@achilles: Wings of Aesthir costs , which means a comparable blue-only cost would be something like . Since Flight is only , you are getting the first-strike-while-blocking for about as cheap as you could get it without making the card strictly better than Flight.
It also makes sense that you (and not any player) have snow lands out to trigger the ability. There's supposed to be some tension between the advantages and disadvantages of using snow lands, and this is supposed to be an advantage. However, if there's a good chance my non-island snow lands help someone else's blue deck be better, I probably would be reluctant to run them. By removing the enemy's lands from consideration, the ability can be seen universally as a benefit to running snow lands when constructing a deck.
The condition on blocking is a bit too restrictive for the cost, though. I'm pretty sure that's for flavor reasons. ("Hey, why does your guy benefit from the snow on your lands when he's attacking me through _my_ lands?")
land_comment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I used to have this but no snow covered lands (I bought a bunch of cards online) and had absolutely no idea what it did.
Comments (7)
It also makes sense that you (and not any player) have snow lands out to trigger the ability. There's supposed to be some tension between the advantages and disadvantages of using snow lands, and this is supposed to be an advantage. However, if there's a good chance my non-island snow lands help someone else's blue deck be better, I probably would be reluctant to run them. By removing the enemy's lands from consideration, the ability can be seen universally as a benefit to running snow lands when constructing a deck.
The condition on blocking is a bit too restrictive for the cost, though. I'm pretty sure that's for flavor reasons. ("Hey, why does your guy benefit from the snow on your lands when he's attacking me through _my_ lands?")