Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Crunching the Numbers: Ice Flan and Kin in a Statistical Showdown
Blue has long thrived on tempo, layer cake combos, and finding the exact moment to prune an opponent’s momentum. Ice Flan arrives as a curious mix of body, effect, and.kinda-glib cycling that invites a deeper look at how a single card can influence a game’s statistical power ledger. With a cost of six mana for a 5/4 body, its raw power/toughness ratio sits in the middle of the blue curve. But the real intrigue lies in its enters-the-battlefield ability and the trio of cycling options that give you both grip and reach in the midgame. 🧙🔥💎⚔️
What the card does, in numbers you can actually crunch
Ice Flan’s front-end value is a two-part package: a targeted, temporary disruption on entry, plus flexible draw and selection tools through cycling. Specifically:
- Mana cost and stats: {4}{U}{U} for a 5/4 creature. A six-mana investment is respectable in blue’s tempo-rich toolkit, giving you a solid body to leverage while also threatening an immediate disruption on the opponent’s board.
- ETB disruption: When Ice Flan enters, you tap an opponent’s artifact or creature and place a stun counter on it. The stun mechanic prevents untapping, effectively neutralizing a key permanent for at least a turn. This isn’t a long-term exile, but in a pivotal moment it can swing combat math or pull a crucial engine out of the game for a crucial moment.
- Islandcycling, Landcycling, Typecycling: You’ve got three cycling-themed tools—each costs {2} and does something different. Islandcycling searches for an Island, Landcycling fetches a basic land, and Typecycling is a more flexible option tied to the card’s broader identity. Together, these options smooth draws, improve mana bases, and unlock deck-thinning strategies at the moment you need it most.
From a statistical perspective, the card’s power profile isn’t purely “eviction on a stick.” It’s a layered asset: a reliable blocker with a consistent path to your late-game plan via cycling. The combination of a sturdy body and a potentially game-defining ETB effect makes Ice Flan an attractive tempo play in blue shells that want to pressure opponents while keeping their own stability intact. 🧙🔥
How cycling reshapes its expected value
Consider the three cycling modes as separate lines of EV (expected value) density you can draw on across a match:
- Islandcycling helps fix mana and unlock Island-heavy control strategies. If your hand is full of non-Islands, this cycling turns a brick into a potential late-game tempo swing by ensuring you can cast counterspells or draw into your win condition.
- Landcycling is the classic “draw a land, draw a card” tempo play. It increases your consistency for big turns and lets you shore up mana-screw situations—crucial in formats where your mana base matters as much as the on-board plan.
- Typecycling expands the deck’s versatility beyond the usual island/land routine. In a world of tribal synergies or archetypes that care about card type (or just to thin the deck’s clutter), cycling to a different class of card at the right moment can be the difference between chaining a pair of cantrips and drawing the Doom Blade you actually need.
These cycling options also boost Ice Flan’s average-turn decisions. In practice, you’re not just paying six for a 5/4 with an ETB tap; you’re paying six plus the opportunity cost of cycling to keep drawing relevant tools. In the long game, the card’s EV trend leans toward a patient tempo plan: you secure an early tempo move with the ETB poke, then curve into card advantage and inevitability through islandland management and targeted draws. ⚡🎲
Kin, power, and matchup sense
When you stack Ice Flan against similar blue creatures or control-focused “tempo elements,” a few patterns emerge. The most important is how often the ETB tap and stun effect lands on a critical opposing play—say, a planeswalker activation, a key mana rock, or a threat you’d otherwise be forced to answer immediately. The stun counter alters the typical tempo calculus: untap steps are inhibited, and that creates a ripple effect across two or three turns of gameplay. It’s not just removing a threat for a moment; it’s simultaneously delaying your opponent’s plan while you assemble your own threats. 🧙🔥
In a field of blue-focused cards, Ice Flan sits between midrange bodies and flashier tempo bombs. It isn’t a one-card win condition, but it contributes multi-turn pressure that scales with how often you can land the cycling engines. If you’ve built around Islandcycling and Landcycling, you also gain resilience against parity games where both players are drawing to the same late-game finish. And yes, the artful pride of a common card from Final Fantasy’s Fin set adds a dash of nostalgia to the table—because every mana curve needs a character arc. 🎨
Format implications and practical play
Ice Flan’s legality spectrum covers a broad stroke of formats, including modern and legacy, with standard-legal considerations in the Fin block. As a common, it’s not going to carry a tournament deck on its own, but the card’s multiple utilities give it a surprising ceiling in budget-friendly shell builds. In a blue midrange or tempo deck, Ice Flan can disrupt a key turn while thinning toward your win conditions via cycling. The EDH (Commander) space also rewards this kind of value: a 5/4 body for six with an ETB tap-and-stun adds to the deck’s control and attrition options, especially when you’re leaning into island-themed or artifact-centric boards. EDHREC’s snapshot (a rough guidepost) can help you gauge how often you’ll find the card in common, given its color identity and cycling. The synergy between the ETB language and the stun counter mechanic creates a unique tempo-swinging dynamic that’s worth experimenting with in multiplayer formats. ⚔️
“Power isn’t everything; tempo is the silent accountant.”
In terms of collector value, Ice Flan sits at a cosmopolitan intersection: a rare sticker of the Final Fantasy crossover with practical implications in multiple formats, plus a price point that’s friendly for budget-minded players. Its market numbers reflect a low entry barrier, which is nice for new players who want to test blue’s pacing without overcommitting. If you’re chasing edge cases, a foil variant or a border-crop art reveal could give it a bit more shine on a modern display shelf. The card’s mix of power, versatility, and nostalgia gives it a surprisingly robust footprint in the current metagame. ⏳💎
Final thoughts: building toward a plotted power curve
To really maximize the value of Ice Flan, think about how to weave its three cycling options into a cohesive game plan. Use Islandcycling to fix your draws, Landcycling to ensure you’re not stranded on a shaky mana base, and Typecycling to adapt mid-game to whatever the board demands. Pair that with a lean suite of counterspells, efficient fixers, and removal that can synergize with the stun counter to grind out the game. The card isn’t a fireworks show, but it’s a patient’s tool—one that rewards careful counting, precise timing, and a dash of blue-magic bravado. And if you’re looking to level up your desk at the same time, consider giving your setup a neon glow with a personalized mouse pad—the kind of product that keeps your battlefield ready for the next mana tide. 🧙🔥🎨