Martyr of Frost
Creature — Human Wizard
, Reveal X blue cards from your hand, Sacrifice this creature: Counter target spell unless its controller pays 
.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duel Decks Anthology: Jace vs. Chandra
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #20718
Martyr of Frost trades itself and a fistful of blue cards to counter a spell — the ceiling scales with how many islands you're holding, but the floor is a one-mana Mana Leak stapled to a 1/1 that dies on command. In Azami, Lady of Scrolls decks where the hand routinely runs six or seven blue cards deep, this becomes a hard counter for essentially nothing.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Azami, Lady of Scrolls draws so many cards that Martyr of Frost regularly counters anything unconditionally — and because the Martyr is a Wizard, Azami can tap it for card draw before sacrificing it, squeezing extra value out of the card before it's gone.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Martyr of Frost is a niche inclusion that earns its slot specifically in blue decks that run enormous hands — Azami, Lady of Scrolls being the clearest example. In Legacy and Vintage, cheaper and more reliable countermagic exists, so Martyr of Frost sees essentially no competitive play there. Pauper is the one format where its ceiling is most interesting, since common-legal counterspells are limited and a hand-size-scaling counter has more relative value. Overall, this is a Commander-or-bust card outside of very specific brews.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Martyr of Frost is pure bulk — buy a copy without thinking twice if the engine fits. Bulk commons rarely climb, so don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.