User blog comment:Patrick x hunter/some nen ability's do not work/@comment-27459426-20151224000927/@comment-5780397-20151227180358

The point is Hunter x Hunter is not Fairy Tail, and Transmutation Nen is not magic. It's been made pretty clear that anything that has a mass is created via Conjuration. Poison gases have it. How can you reproduce the abilities of a poison gas with Transmutation? Force the enemy to sleep or paralyze him could be Manipulation abilities. Sure, if you are a good Transmuter with skills in Emission, you can turn your aura into very small blades/explosions and let the enemy breathe them, so they damage his body from the inside, but that's it.

My points about ice were: if you want the cold to harm the enemy, it can also harm you (Transmutation); if you want ready-made ice, you have to Conjure it, like Gray would do if he were a HxH character, because it's highly unlikely you can glean the necessary moisture from the atmosphere. However, conjuring ice does not look too useful, since it breaks pretty easily...