Storvald's Frost Giant Jarl: Expanding Forgotten Realms Culture

Storvald's Frost Giant Jarl: Expanding Forgotten Realms Culture

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Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl card art

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Storvald's Frost Giant Jarl: Expanding Forgotten Realms Culture

In the Forgotten Realms Commander world, Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl arrives not just as a hulking seven-mana threat, but as a cultural ambassador with a built-in safety net for your board. This legendary giant is a three-color powerhouse—{4}{G}{W}{U}—a signal that you’re embracing growth across green, white, and blue identities. In practical terms, Storvald invites a shared culture to flourish among your creatures, weaving a defense-in-depth that complicates opponents’ attack plans while letting your own board push for dramatic turns. 🧙‍♂️🔥

From a lore perspective, Storvald embodies frost giants’ enduring presence on the plane of the Forgotten Realms, where they are neither merely brute force nor solitary warlords but leaders who shape alliances and tactics. The card text itself mirrors that synthesis: a ward aura that radiates outward—Ward {3} on Storvald—and a second-layer effect that makes every other creature you control also ward {3}. It’s a cultural shield as much as a battlefield advantage, turning the helm of your army into a shared, almost communal guard against disruption. This isn’t just about one card doing damage; it’s about a collective identity that fans of the Realms recognize in their favorite frost giant clans. ❄️💎

Tri-Color Might: A Multicolor Commander with Global Ward

Storvald’s mana cost—{4}{G}{W}{U}—places him squarely in the multi-color design space that Wizards has dialing up in the Forgotten Realms era. The three colors each bring a distinct flavor to the table: white for resilience and order, blue for manipulation and tempo, and green for ramp and big‑creature threats. The net effect is a commander who rewards building a diverse ecosystem at your table, rather than a mono‑color sprint to the finish. And that ward aura isn’t just protection for Storvald—it’s a signal that your board is becoming a well-defended culture, where threats are filtered and delayed before they can topple your strategy. 🧭⚔️

  • Ward {3} on Storvald keeps the battlefield honest, especially in slower formats where removal and control run rampant.
  • Other creatures you control have ward {3}—a sweeping protection that cascades through your entire lineup, turning your side of the board into a fortified enclave.
  • Whenever Storvald enters or attacks, choose one or both: Target creature has base power and toughness 7/7 until end of turn or Target creature has base power and toughness 1/1 until end of turn.

That last bit—two options, potentially both—makes Storvald wonderfully flexible in combat. You can push a big 7/7 swing to clear a blocker or threaten a colossal overrun, or you can line up a swift sequence of micro-buffs that sets up a flanking assault with a suite of small, nimble threats. It’s a design that rewards players who plan for tempo and value in the same breath, a rare synthesis that feels both elegant and practical. The result is a culture that defends, evolves, and surprises—traits you’ll recognize in many classic FR narratives. 🔥🧊

Entering the Scene: The Jarl’s Impact on Gameplay and Culture

When Storvald enters the battlefield or launches an attack, he doesn’t merely announce a threat—he reshapes the battlefield. The choice to pump a single creature to 7/7 or to flatten a 1/1 into a 1/1 for a turn can flip races, tribes, and value engines in a heartbeat. In practice, you’ll see players weave Storvald into broader game plans that leverage big bodies and resilient boards. That tri-color identity also invites you to explore different directions for your deck: you might lean into a tempo-heavy approach that uses blue’s tricks and white’s protections, then anchor with green ramp to keep the pressure persistent. The result is a Realms-wide culture where giants, wizards, and woodland allies rally behind a single, multi-faceted commander. 🧙‍♂️🎲

Design-wise, Storvald demonstrates why the Forgotten Realms Commander set is so appealing to fans of lore and gameplay alike. The card’s foil finish adds to the sense of artifact-level majesty, turning Storvald into a centerpiece that looks every bit the legendary frost giant jarl. The art by Campbell White captures the imposing presence of a leader who has earned his nickname across ice and legend, reinforcing the flavor of a culture built on strength, strategy, and shared warding. The setting and cardwork align neatly, offering both narrative depth and mechanical clarity for commanders who love big plays and bigger stories. 🎨⚔️

Strategies and Deckbuilding Notes

For builders, Storvald suggests a few guiding principles. First, embrace the ward synergy by selecting creatures that can leverage protection—self-protecting threats, or creatures you don’t mind keeping out of harm’s way because they enable other combos. Second, harness the dual-turn swing potential from Storvald’s enter/attack trigger to surprise opponents with abrupt shifts in board state. Third, lean into ramp and multicolor consistency so you can reliably cast Storvald and then develop a resilient board that benefits from the ward aura. In practice, you’ll find Storvald thrives in decks that value resilient boards, multi-color interaction, and tempo-friendly plays—perfect for players who love lore-heavy commanders that also punch above their weight on the table. 🧭💥

Collectors and players who enjoy the tactile thrill of foils will appreciate Storvald’s status as a mythic foil—an eye-catching centerpiece for any FR Commander collection. The card’s rarity and finish underline its place as a memorable moment from the Forgotten Realms era, one that fans return to time and again when recounting their favorite giants and courtroom-style skirmishes in the game’s sprawling multiverse. ✨💎

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Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl

Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl

{4}{G}{W}{U}
Legendary Creature — Giant

Ward {3}

Other creatures you control have ward {3}.

Whenever Storvald enters or attacks, choose one or both —

• Target creature has base power and toughness 7/7 until end of turn.

• Target creature has base power and toughness 1/1 until end of turn.

ID: 8a5a45a7-d159-4821-8916-697b92fb80bf

Oracle ID: 5d7802a7-df6e-47fb-9065-c7461ea24a19

Multiverse IDs: 531873

TCGPlayer ID: 243749

Cardmarket ID: 572220

Colors: G, U, W

Color Identity: G, U, W

Keywords: Ward

Rarity: Mythic

Released: 2021-07-23

Artist: Campbell White

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 10822

Set: Forgotten Realms Commander (afc)

Collector #: 55

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — not_legal
  • Timeless — not_legal
  • Gladiator — not_legal
  • Pioneer — not_legal
  • Modern — not_legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — not_legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — not_legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — not_legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — not_legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD_FOIL: 0.64
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.47
Last updated: 2025-11-15