Ice Knife
2024 Rules
- Level & School
- 1st-level conjuration
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- 60 feet
- Components
- S, M (a drop of water or a piece of ice)
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
You create a shard of ice and fling it at one creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 Piercing damage. Hit or miss, the shard then explodes. The target and each creature within 5 feet of it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 Cold damage.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The Cold damage increases by 1d6 for each spell slot level above 1.
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- 1st-level conjuration
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- 60 feet
- Components
- S, M (a drop of water or a piece of ice)
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
You create a shard of ice and fling it at one creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 piercing damage. Hit or miss, the shard then explodes. The target and each creature within 5 feet of the point where the ice exploded must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 cold damage.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the cold damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.
Ice Knife 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
Ice Knife popularity
How popular is Ice Knife? It is a commonly found spell in the game, but is chosen less than other options when available. This spell may be situational for many spellbooks.
- Top 25% of all 5e spells
- Top 50% of all level 1 spells
- Bottom 50% picked level 1 Wizard spell
- Bottom 50% picked level 1 Sorcerer spell
- Bottom 25% picked level 1 Druid spell
Spells similar to Ice Knife
Hail of Thorns 1st-level conjuration
It augments a single attack so it also deals a small area burst around the target, mirroring Ice Knife’s hit-then-explode feel.
Players prefer Hail of Thorns over Ice Knife
Acid Splash Evocation cantrip
Though a cantrip, it provides a tiny, selectable area effect against nearby creatures, reflecting Ice Knife’s multi-target utility at short range.
Players prefer Acid Splash over Ice Knife
Burning Hands 1st-level evocation
This first-level evocation clears multiple foes in a cone with an immediate damage effect, serving a similar purpose to Ice Knife’s small AOE.
Players prefer Burning Hands over Ice Knife
Thunderwave 1st-level evocation
A low-level spell that delivers instant area damage in close quarters, useful when you want quick multi-target damage from a single casting.
Players prefer Thunderwave over Ice Knife
Spellfire Flare 1st-level evocation
It’s a level 1 offensive spell that damages multiple targets and fills the same niche of an early-tier area damage option.
Players prefer Ice Knife over Spellfire Flare