Pointed Discussion

why wasn't this reprinted in Cold Snap?

anyways, awesome tempo card. Kinda like a preemptive mana leak.

Here's the predicament I have: I cast a spell and my friend casts Early Frost to tap my mana, technically before I can cast the spell. Does the spell just go back to my hand since I technically can't legally play it, or is my spell countered?

@Shabrosky: You already tapped your mana as part of the mana cost of your spell (which goes on the stack), so playing Early Frost in response and putting it on the stack wouldn't do anything useful other than tapping out any other lands that you didn't use. Tapping a land that you already used wouldn't really do anything at all. Basically, your spell would still go off.

but what happens if you tap your lands and in response (before casting) your opponent plays Early Frost in those lands???

If I tap opponents lands, can they then add mana from those lands to their mana pool?

Ok, irixio, I think you're mostly right until the last part, but you're being a little careless with your wording and possibly confusing people.
1. You can never tap lands "for no reason". You can only tap them to use their ability, which in most cases produces mana. Granted, this difference isn't as important with the removal of mana burn, but the point still stands - if you tap a land, you're doing it to add the mana to your mana pool.
2. You can tap lands and add mana to your mana pool whenever you have priority, and it doesn't have to be to pay the cost of a spell or ability. That's what 'floating mana' is.
3. Mana abilities don't use the stack and thus cannot be responded to or interrupted. Their effect happens immediately.
4. The result for the purposes of this card, and any other cards that tap lands is this: if you cast something like Early Frost during your opponent's main phase, he can tap the lands to produce mana in response, and then subsequently use the mana to cast whatever he wants after Early Frost has resolved. In which case you're an idiot and you just wasted a card. The proper way to play this card, on the other hand, is to cast it during their upkeep. They can still tap the lands for mana in response, but they'll only be able to use it to cast instants. Otherwise, it will empty at the end of the upkeep and those lands will be unavailable for their main phase, which is what you wanted. Hope that helps.

Pooling Venom, Contaminated Ground, Psychic Venom... Ouuh, that hurts!

Awesome.

3.5/5

im surprised that this is rated so low...i wish blue had more of cards like these; tapping multiple things at a time for a low cost

Thank you for the correction achilleselbow. I recently spoke with a judge on this (before I viewed this page again) and he confirmed what you reiterated. :)

Reminds me of Mana Leak...

This is an interesting card.

I see its main use as being a way to stop control decks from countering early spells. Casting Early Frost during the upkeep of their second or third turn will keep them off the mana for Counterspell or Mana Leak on your third or fourth turn, which could be critical for quick-but-vulnerable combo decks. It can also keep multicolor decks from generating two mana of a single color (for powerful, mana-intensive sorceries, such as Wrath of God or, heaven forbid, Mind Over Matter) until they have at least FOUR sources of that color of mana.

Would be interesting if it were reprinted in Type-II. Would be fun and usable in casual with Isochron Scepter for continual lock-down.

sure not the beast due to mechanics can nevertheless annoy if used properly

Does anyone have any idea how this flavor represents darksteel, let alone mirrodin? seems more like a card from coldsnap or ice age to me.

Against the right deck, this can serve as an early game Time Walk... I see no problem with it.

...Can someone explain to me why Mirrodin is frosty?

@Shabroky: Neither. Activated abilities that add mana to your mana pool (such as those included on almost every land, as well as cards like Llanowar Elves) are quite aptly called "mana abilities" and don't use the stack. As such, they can't be responded to. Similarly, paying the cost for any spell or ability (such as sacrificing a creature, paying life, tapping a permanent, or, most commonly, using mana that was just added to your mana pool) can never be responded to.

So, your opponent could not have legally attempted to deprive you of mana by casting Early Frost. You've already tapped the lands, gotten the mana, and paid the cost of the spell before he has the chance to do anything. He could still target the lands you used to get the mana to cast the spell, but they would already be tapped, and Early Frost would essentially do nothing.

@nammertime (and Shabroky): you don't "tap" mana. You add mana to your mana pool by "tapping" lands and other permanents with mana abilities, or playing a card such as Seething Song that adds mana to your mana pool. You can spend any of the mana in your mana pool to play spells and activate abilities until the end of the current step, when all mana pools empty (unless another effect like Upwelling says so).

And @Shabroky again: If you ever do find yourself in a situation (not like this one) where you discover that you couldn't have legally cast a spell (like, say, "Oh darn! I needed 3 red mana for that Violent Ultimatum, but I overlooked the fact that I only have 2 Mountains"), then a number of things can happen, depending on how serious the game is. Technically, in an official, sanctioned game, it would be up to a judge to decide, and you would probably be issued a game loss, or maybe even a match loss. If you're just playing with some friends or something, they'll probably just let you take it back. We all make mistakes!

The rules involving the speed of mana abilities and when costs are paid can be confusing for those who are unfamiliar.
Hope this has helped!

It's like an early game Time Walk and just super annoying late game. (It's really Silence, but c'mon.)

Can be used with other tappers, bounce cards, or similar to establish yourself while pinning your opponent to the wall.

@DoragonShinzui: Icy Manipulator.

Isochron Scepter.