Twilight Prophet MTG Card


Twilight Prophet excels in offering card draw and life manipulation, strengthening your game position. City’s blessing prerequisite and specific mana demands can limit its versatility in some decks. Incorporating Twilight Prophet enhances late-game presence, augmenting both offense and defense.
Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Vampire Cleric
Abilities Ascend,Flying
Power 2
Toughness 4

Text of card

Flying Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have the city's blessing, reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. Each opponent loses X life and you gain X life, where X is that card's converted mana cost.


Cards like Twilight Prophet

Twilight Prophet stakes its claim among Magic: The Gathering’s unique card advantage engines. Riding alongside other ascend cards, it shares similarities with enchantments like Dark Prophecy, which also leverages creature deaths for card draw. Nonetheless, Twilight Prophet carries the ascend mechanic, providing not just card draw but life gain and life loss for opponents if you meet the city’s blessing condition.

Another close relative is Bloodgift Demon, offering a comparable “pay life for cards” trade—however, with the prophet, the cost is conditional, hinging on having ten permanents. Conversely, Bloodgift Demon presents a consistent option but without the added opponent life loss.

Evaluating Twilight Prophet within the rich tapestry of MTG’s card pool, we see its distinctiveness in combining card advantage with board state recognition, paving the way for a sustained late-game dominance. It’s not just a card drawer; it’s a game finisher, provided the conditions are met, making it a multipurpose ally in decks mastering the delicate dance of permanents.

Dark Prophecy - MTG Card versions
Bloodgift Demon - MTG Card versions
Dark Prophecy - MTG Card versions
Bloodgift Demon - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Twilight Prophet. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
DecklistDecklist Free form1
Mono-Black ControlMono-Black Control GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Twilight Prophet provides a substantial edge in card economy. By revealing the top card of your library at your upkeep and putting it into your hand if you have the city’s blessing, you effectively gain an additional draw each turn. This consistent extra draw can tilt the game in your favor, keeping your hand stocked with options.

Resource Acceleration: The ability of the Twilight Prophet to grant you extra life points equal to the revealed card’s mana cost, while simultaneously draining your opponent, accelerates your resource advantage. This not only increases your survivability but can also help you turn the tide by chipping away at your opponent’s life total without expending additional resources.

Instant Speed: While the Twilight Prophet itself isn’t an instant, the benefits it provides during your upkeep occur effectively at ‘instant speed’. This means you’ll gain the advantage during your turn without having to allocate mana or time during your main phases, allowing you to keep mana available for other instant-speed interactions and surprises.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Twilight Prophet carries the city’s blessing requirement meaning you will need to accumulate ten permanents on the battlefield to unlock its full potential. For many decks, this requirement could be too slow or cumbersome to manage, particularly in fast-paced games where board presence is constantly being challenged.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring two black mana in its cost can make the Twilight Prophet less flexible in mana bases that support three or more colors. It may be difficult to cast on curve without a dedicated mana base, potentially delaying its impact on the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Twilight Prophet enters a competitive slot for impactful plays. Considering other creatures and planeswalkers in this range, there are alternatives that might offer immediate effects or broader synergy with other deck strategies without the prerequisite of the city’s blessing.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Twilight Prophet is a Swiss-army knife for any deck aiming to leverage life points as a resource. Its ability to provide card advantage while dealing direct damage to opponents makes it a valuable addition to various black-centered deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: As part of the ascend mechanic, Twilight Prophet synergizes with permanents-heavy strategies and can easily become a combo enabler. Its reveal-and-play ability can be the key to unleashing a devastating sequence of plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a landscape where games often extend into the late phase, Twilight Prophet shines by offering consistent advantage each upkeep. Its relevance grows in metas where sustaining card quality and pressure on opponents’ life totals can dictate the pace of the game.


How to beat

Twilight Prophet is a potent MTG card that becomes a thorn in the side of many players due to its ability to provide card advantage and life drain upon attaining the “city’s blessing”. Neutralizing this card early is key to maintaining control of the game. One effective strategy is to use removal spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile before the Prophet can activate its ability. Counter spells also work well if you can catch it as it’s being cast.

Another approach is to limit your opponent’s permanents, delaying the city’s blessing. Board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation can reset the playing field. If Twilight Prophet does manage to get its ability off, lifegain strategies or cards that prevent damage, such as those found in white control decks, can help negate the life loss and card advantage it provides. Keep your wits sharp and your removal ready, and this Prophet can be silenced before your opponent reaps its rewards.


BurnMana Recommendations

With the Twilight Prophet, every round transforms into an opportunity for card advantage and pressure on your opponent’s life total. Such a card is not just an asset; it’s a strategy definer. As you refine your deck, consider the synergies that can make this card a lynchpin in your game plan. Ascending to the city’s blessing shouldn’t be an afterthought – it should be your mission. Ready to harness the power of the Twilight Prophet and ascend to victory? Visit us to learn more and integrate this card’s profound potential into your MTG tactics.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Twilight Prophet MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan and Secret Lair Drop, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Twilight Prophet and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Twilight Prophet Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2018-01-19 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-01-19Rivals of IxalanRIX 882015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
22019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 13042015NormalBlackRyan Alexander Lee
32020-09-26The ListPLST RIX-882015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
42023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 1932015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
52023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 5242015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
62023-11-17The Lost Caverns of Ixalan CommanderLCC 2112015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
72024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 1432015NormalBlackDavid Astruga

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Twilight Prophet has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Twilight Prophet card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2018-01-19 A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren't permanents.
2018-01-19 Ascend on a permanent isn't a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can't respond to getting the city's blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can't respond before you get the city's blessing.
2018-01-19 If the mana cost of the revealed card includes , X is considered to be 0.
2018-01-19 If the revealed card doesn't have a mana cost (because it's a land card, for example), its mana value is 0.
2018-01-19 If you cast a spell with ascend, you don't get the city's blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city's blessing.
2018-01-19 If you control ten permanents but don't control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don't get the city's blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of one, then cast Golden Demise, you won't have the city's blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
2018-01-19 If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the "Legend Rule" or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city's blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
2018-01-19 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Twilight Prophet's last ability causes the opposing team to lose twice X life and you gain X life.
2018-01-19 Once you have the city's blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your permanents. The city's blessing isn't a permanent itself and can't be removed by any effect.
2018-01-19 Some cards have triggered abilities with an intervening "if" clause that checks whether you have the city's blessing. These are worded "
-rigger condition], if you have the city's blessing,
-ffect]." You must already have the city's blessing in order for these abilities to trigger; otherwise they do nothing. In other words, there's no way to have the ability trigger if you don't have the city's blessing, even if you intend to get it in response to the triggered ability.
2018-01-19 The mana value of a split card, such as cards with aftermath from the Amonkhet block, is based on the combined mana cost of its two halves.