Time of Ice
Enchantment — Saga
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I, II — Tap target creature an opponent controls. It doesn't untap during its controller's untap step for as long as you control this Saga.
III — Return all tapped creatures to their owners' hands.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.26
- EDHREC rank
- #11153
Time of Ice taps down a creature every upkeep and, once you hit four counters, bounces the entire board of nonland permanents — all for four mana. In any deck that cares about tapping creatures, particularly Hylda of the Icy Crown, it is a saga that both enables your commander and threatens a one-sided reset.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hylda of the Icy Crown
Time of Ice triggers Hylda of the Icy Crown on each of your upkeeps, generating a steady stream of tokens or +1/+1 counters while the saga counts down to a board wipe that leaves your tokens standing — it is the engine and the closer in one card.
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 |
Time of Ice sees virtually no play in competitive formats like Modern and Legacy, where four mana for a slow, three-chapter payoff can't compete with instant-speed interaction. In Pioneer it's similarly fringe — the formats move too fast for a saga that asks you to survive three upkeeps. Commander is where Time of Ice actually earns its slot: the singleton format slows the game down enough that the repeating tap effect matters, and the chapter three bounce is a genuine reset that can break a stalled board state wide open.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.26 bulk tier
At $0.26, Time of Ice is firmly bulk — easy to acquire and easy to cut without guilt. Bulk rares at this price rarely spike unless a new commander pushes them into demand, and Hylda of the Icy Crown already did that work; what you see is what you get.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.