Icebox — the many casuals' nightmare. Many a poor soul has come across Icebox and their first reaction to it is to dodge. We all have that one map that we dislike, but it seems that it's almost universal that Icebox is the current punching bag in terms of "bad" maps. There's no arguing that it could need some changes, even after the ones made back in patch 1.14. However, sometimes the best you can do is make do with what you have. So, let's go into how to maximize agent composition advantages in order to have an edge over your opponents on Icebox.

Agent Picks

Having a good sense of good agent compositions for certain maps is key Some agents excel more than others in certain maps. It's hard not to imagine having a Raze on Bind to clear out its many chokepoints. Securing victory on Icebox highly depends on agent picks as well as any other map. After reviewing agent picks for the past VCT Series for North America (not including the open qualifiers), I've compiled a list of the most picked agents.

Sova

With the extreme amount of tight corners and close spaces, one would think Cypher would excel on Icebox as the main information agent. Surprisingly, (and after watching VCT, not very so) Sova is instead the go-to agent for getting the enemy position read. There are plenty of useful arrow lineups for both shock and recon darts that absolutely can turn a match around for your team. Let's not forget about his drone which can spot out any sneaky opponents hiding in corners that would have otherwise taken your team by surprise.

A very useful Recon Dart for Kitchen

Omen

The two main agents that are picked for smokes usually are a coin toss between Brimstone and Omen. The size of Icebox, however, makes Brimstone not as viable. I mean who wants to run all the way to B long just to fake some smokes and then run back to Belt to push with your team? With the range of Omen's Dark Cover, smokes are much easier to place. Don't forget about From the Shadows as it is extremely useful for information plays or making quick rotates.

Sage

While Sage's heal and revive are both very useful, they aren't what should be the focus when talking about her usefulness on Icebox. Icebox has many entrances to either site, making map control extremely hard for either side. Sage helps in this regard with her slows and wall. There's a reason why you'll find many Sage players walling off Tube into Kitchen. Limiting the number of lines of sight you have to worry about or possible flanks the opponents helps a lot in defending. As for the attack side, limiting where your opponents can come from for the retake is extremely useful. Both A and B have multiple angles to peak onto site from, so the fewer angles you have to worry about, the better.

FaZe Marved's Sage Wall, limiting the options the remaining defenders have to retake the site.

Here on A-site, a wall to cut off back site makes it easier to hold.

Jett, Raze

I've paired both Jett and Raze in one explanation because they are what I like to call "angle-makers". They are the prime benefactors of the obscene amount of vertical map design that makes these two wildcards when it comes to what angles they can hold or peek, which makes them unpredictable. Omen can also benefit from the vertical map design, but from what I've seen from VCT is that most teams play him not as a duelist as his usefulness doesn't come from that frag potential as a duelist would but from his role as a controller and limiting the angles the enemy team can see.

Jett and Raze both have abilities that allow them to get into odd positions, Jett's ability being her Updraft and Raze's being her satchels. Raze's Boombot, grenade, and Showstopper are great for making space for attack and defenses. Jett is also the ideal OP agent and with Icebox favoring those many off angles that a Jett can hold, it only makes her more of a threat to go against.

FaZe Babybaby's off-angle catching 100T Asuna off guard

Killjoy

Of the three sentinels, only two made the cut for the majority of the teams that participated in the NA VCT series: Sage and, our current nerd which we will explain, Killjoy. Killjoy is a menace to play against if you ever have the first half of attack on any map and plant default. Her Nanoswarm mollies are extremely useful for both attack and defense as they can be placed in anticipation. Both her bots are also good for holding flanks or detecting enemy presence as long as she is in range. And finally let's not forget about her ultimate which can both slow a push, or slow a retake.

Notes About the Agents Left Behind

Brimstone and Cypher were left behind as they were outperformed by their counterparts. Also, agents with flashes in their kit were extremely rare. Phoenix, Skye, Reyna, and Breach were sparse with Skye and Breach being nonexistent.

Now, there were a few teams that deviated from the standard. XSET in Masters ran a Phoenix and Sentinels did well with TenZ's Reyna. Does this mean that these agent comps that do forgo a Jett or Raze for a flash entry do poorly? Not entirely so. Sentinels themselves are solid proof as they took the title of Masters Champions. XSET on the other hand, not a very good performance.

There was one agent, however, that seems to now be a possible viable pick where she wasn't before. Viper's recent buff as of patch 2.06 has made her a bit more seen on Icebox as of late. With Viper's Pit, Poison Cloud, and Toxic Wall now all inflicting 50 Decay on contact it creates a brief moment of uncertainty for the enemy team as to whether they should explode onto site for attack or play retake slowly when defending. We've all seen Jetts and Razes create an insane amount of space with their mobility and propensity to get onto site to catch people off guard but now with Viper's recent buff, there may be a possibility to counter such plays.

While the aforementioned agents were most ideal and commonly played during stage one of VCT Master's NA for Icebox, be wary that this is only the case as the teams that participated played and constantly scrimmaged to maximize the value of these agent compositions. So, this doesn't mean that seeing a teammate pick Brimstone on Icebox is a "GG, go next". Especially if you're doing solo queue. This guide is simply meant to explain how and why these agents are so well complimented by the map itself and to help you be better informed during the agent pick phase.

Good luck and keep it frosty!