Glacial Grasp
Instant
Tap target creature. Its controller mills two cards. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. (They put the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.)
Draw a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Zendikar Rising
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #18347
Glacial Grasp taps a creature and keeps it tapped for two turns while replacing itself with a card draw — all for two mana. It's a tempo play and a cantrip in one, and that combination punches above its weight for common-slot interaction.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Glacial Grasp fits blue tempo and control shells that need cheap interaction without card disadvantage — the cantrip means you never truly spend a card to slow down an attacker or stall a combo piece. In Pauper, where card efficiency at common rarity is everything, Glacial Grasp competes in tempo and control lists that already run similar tap effects, though the two-turn lock is conditional on the creature not being untapped by other means. In Modern and Legacy, the effect is too low-impact against the threats those formats present, and it won't see serious play there. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read: fine in a blue tempo shell, irrelevant outside one.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Glacial Grasp is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a common box, not buying it intentionally. It won't hold or gain monetary value, but the cost of running it is essentially zero if the effect fits your deck.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.