For many years, Ichor Wellspring has been a staple of artifact decks in Pauper. This little trinket does everything a grindy deck wants. It cantrips when it enters, it’s a great card to sacrifice and it reduces the cost of your Affinity payoffs. This is undoubtedly a card that has stood the test of time.
Now, with Edge of Eternities, we finally have another card that closely resembles Ichor Wellspring being printed at common. Outside of the fact that this common is blue, it’s an upgrade in nearly every way. It’s poised to make its presence felt in Pauper, and thanks to some sweet synergies, there’s a good chance it will show up a variety of other formats as well.
Cryogen Relic in Pauper
We are, of course, talking about Cryogen Relic. Just like Ichor Wellspring, Cryogen Relic draws a card when it enters, and when you sacrifice it, you’ll draw another card. This automatically makes it a strong option for Affinity shells that rely on Fanatical Offering and Reckoner’s Bargain to generate value.
Obviously, being blue does hurt its stock a bit. After all, many current Affinity decklists are light on blue, mainly using it as a splash for Thoughtcast. Other decks like Jund Wildfire would have to rework their manabase in order to utilize this card. Nonetheless, the upside of running both Wellspring and Relic in the same deck definitely has some appeal.
Plus, unlike Ichor Wellspring, Cryogen Relic comes with its own way to sacrifice it in the event you’re running out of gas. Putting a stun counter on an opposing copy of Cryptic Serpent or Nyxborn Hydra isn’t throwaway text, either. This ability may make it easier to win a race or by you time to find Krark-Clan Shaman to clean up the board.
Where things get really interesting, though, is with the fact that Cryogen Relic doesn’t just draw a card when it dies, but also when it leaves the battlefield for any other reason. This makes it the perfect utility artifact for a deck with bounce or blink effects.
In a Pauper setting, my mind immediately goes to Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher. Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher decks are all about generating value. It’s common for card-drawing artifacts such as Lembas to serve as decent enablers.
Well, Relic is much better since it draws you a card both when it enters and when you bounce it. It’s less efficient than Experimental Synthesizer, but the difference between drawing a card and being forced to play the card you reveal that turn is big.
Playing blue even opens the door for utilizing Counterspell and other similar effects. It’ll take some experimenting to figure out what shell is best for Relic, but the payoff is there.
Cryogen Relic in Standard and Pioneer
Beyond its major Pauper appeal, Relic may have what it takes to make a splash in Standard and beyond. In Standard, while the deck isn’t super popular at the moment, Relic feels tailored for Azorius artifacts. The goal behind Azorius artifacts is to maximize the power of Simulacrum Synthesizer. Repurposing Bay serves as a way to tutor up Synthesizer or other potent three-drops, including Perilous Snare as interaction.
As a two-mana play, Relic is the perfect card to sacrifice to Repurposing Bay. It’s worth mentioning that there is some competition in the two-mana slot for card advantage elements thanks to Mazemind Tome. Regardless, Relic provides a more efficient way to draw cards in the event you don’t have turn one The Enigma Jewel lined up, which is important.
There may be room for Relic to make a splash outside of Azorius artifacts, too. Esper self-bounce took a big hit with the Hopeless Nightmare and This Town Ain’t Big Enough ban. Perhaps the idea of generating card advantage by using Nurturing Pixie and Sunpearl Kirin to bounce and replay Relic over and over can bring the deck back.
Neither Azorius artifacts nor Esper self-bounce lose much to rotation, which only makes the addition of Relic to Standard more intriguing.
Moving on to Pioneer, it’s not inconceivable that an Ensoul Artifact deck could play some copies of this card, despite being a bit slow. Relic wears Ensoul Artifact well. If the opponent removes your creature, it doesn’t feel like as much of a blowout since you get to draw another card when Relic goes to the graveyard.
The synergy between Relic and Torch the Tower is real, too. Instead of sacrificing meaningful board presence, you can get ditch Relic and pull ahead on cards. Similarly, Relic can be sacrificed to Legion Extruder for value. Both Torch the Tower and Legion Extruder are Standard legal, for that matter, so don’t count these interactions out there, either.
Cryogen Relic in Commander
Even if all else fails and Relic doesn’t find a home in a top tier Constructed deck, it’s hard to imagine it not making waves in Commander. Players love blink decks, and Relic is a card advantage machine with the right support.
Connecting with Brago, King Eternal enables you to blink out Relic, drawing you a card when it leaves and when it comes back. Similarly, you can sink mana into Abuelo, Ancestral Echo to draw a bunch of cards.
The combination of Relic and Displacer Kitten is incredible, since every noncreature spell you play will net you two cards from blinking Relic. With enough cheap spells at your disposal, you may be able to go completely nuts.
Cryogen Relic is much more than your ordinary common. Don’t be shocked if it turns into a multi-format staple.
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