Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror
Creature — Horror // Creature — Kraken Horror
Defender
This creature enters with four ice counters on it.
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, remove an ice counter from this creature. Then if it has no ice counters on it, transform it.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Regional Championship Qualifiers 2023
- Price
- $5.64
- EDHREC rank
- #6390
Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror flips into a 7/8 that bounces every non-Horror on the board — a one-card pseudo-wrath stapled to a massive threat, all for two mana. In spell-heavy blue-black builds like Umbris, Fear Manifest, getting four ice counters removed is trivial, and the bounce hits opponents' boards while leaving your commander untouched.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Umbris, Fear Manifest
Umbris, Fear Manifest exiles cards from opponents' libraries whenever a Horror enters the battlefield, and Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror is both an early blocker and a Horror that triggers that ability on flip — clearing the board and growing Umbris in the same motion.
Captain N'ghathrod
Captain N'ghathrod wants opponents milling into their graveyards, and Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror provides early interaction plus a board reset that conveniently bounces creatures back so they can be milled again on the next attack.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror is a two-mana defensive piece that can reset the board mid-game in any spell-slinging blue or blue-black shell — the low cost relative to the impact makes it a consistent include. In Modern, it defined aggressive tempo strategies at its peak and still shows up in Izzet spells lists that want a threat that pulls double duty as a sweeper. Pioneer sees similar applications, though the format's creature density makes the bounce less universally punishing. Legacy has enough raw power that a two-mana 0/4 requiring setup rarely makes the cut, but fringe spells builds will still consider it. Across formats, the core pitch is the same: cheap to cast, hard to ignore once flipped.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
If the bounce-a-board effect is what you're after at a lower price point, Mesmerizing Benthid and Scourge of Fleets both clear or neutralize boards in blue for less, though neither doubles as a two-mana early blocker the way Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror does. Kederekt Leviathan gets closest to the mass-bounce payoff but costs seven mana, trading the explosive tempo flip for a guaranteed but slower reset.
Price Context
Current price
$5.64 mid tier
At $5.64, Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to notice in a budget build, cheap enough that it rarely gets cut from any deck that actually wants it. It has held this price range steadily due to consistent Modern and Commander demand, so you're not overpaying for hype.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Umbris, Fear Manifest
- Captain N'ghathrod
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.