Ashling's Prerogative MTG Card


Ashling’s Prerogative requires decks to adapt, favoring creatures with even or odd costs for optimal effectiveness. With this card, players gain an advantage in tempo, setting the pace against opponents for aggressive plays. Strategically, pairing the right creatures or removal spells can counteract or leverage its unique abilities.
Ashling's Prerogative - Lorwyn
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment
Released2007-10-12
Set symbol
Set nameLorwyn
Set codeLRW
Number150
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byWarren Mahy

Text of card

As Ashling's Prerogative comes into play, choose odd or even. (Zero is even.) Each creature with converted mana cost of the chosen value has haste. Each creature without converted mana cost of the chosen value comes into play tapped.


Cards like Ashling's Prerogative

Ashling’s Prerogative stands out in Magic: The Gathering as an enchantment card that has the unique ability to influence the battlefield by giving odd or even creatures a speed advantage. Looking at cards with a similar impact, Urza’s Incubator is one that might come to mind. This artifact reduces the casting cost of creatures of a chosen type, which can accelerate the pace at which you cast your creatures but won’t affect their speed once on the battlefield.

Another card with a related effect would be the enchantment Fervor, which gives all creatures you control haste. While Fervor doesn’t discriminate based on mana cost, it doesn’t provide the same level of potential deck manipulation that Ashling’s Prerogative does. Then there’s Fires of Yavimaya, a card that not only grants haste to your creature but can also be sacrificed for a burst of extra power, offering a different strategic layer compared to the constant speed control of Ashling’s Prerogative.

Comparing these options highlights Ashling’s Prerogative’s unique role in MTG. It doesn’t just speed up creature spells as others do; it adds a layer of strategic complexity, rewarding deck builders who align their creature base with its odd or even cost constraint.

Urza's Incubator - MTG Card versions
Fervor - MTG Card versions
Fires of Yavimaya - MTG Card versions
Urza's Incubator - MTG Card versions
Fervor - MTG Card versions
Fires of Yavimaya - MTG Card versions

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Power Surge - MTG Card versions
Raging River - MTG Card versions
Smoke - MTG Card versions
Giant Strength - MTG Card versions
Goblin Kites - MTG Card versions
The Brute - MTG Card versions
Lightning Reflexes - MTG Card versions
Consuming Ferocity - MTG Card versions
Agility - MTG Card versions
Errantry - MTG Card versions
Heat of Battle - MTG Card versions
Goblin Festival - MTG Card versions
Scald - MTG Card versions
Cave Sense - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Surge - MTG Card versions
Maniacal Rage - MTG Card versions
Battle Strain - MTG Card versions
Goblin Bombardment - MTG Card versions
Underworld Breach - MTG Card versions
Lightning Rift - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ashling’s Prerogative enhances your game strategy by enabling a consistent board presence. It allows you to streamline your creature deployment, making sure that those benefiting from its effect are played without interference, leading to improved card effectiveness during gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: By allowing even-costed or odd-costed creatures to come into play untapped, this enchantment can significantly enhance your resource acceleration. This increased tempo can give you an edge by being a step ahead of your opponent, often translating into more aggressive plays or more efficient mana usage.

Instant Speed: While Ashling’s Prerogative itself is not an instant, it has a substantial impact on creatures that have or can gain flash. It can amplify the impact of instant-speed plays by ensuring that your relevant creatures hit the battlefield ready to act, providing a tactical advantage often associated with playing at instant speed.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Despite not forcing players to discard, Ashling’s Prerogative can influence deck-building decisions, pressuring players to conform to even or odd casting costs, which can be limiting.

Specific Mana Cost: Locked into a double-red mana cost, Ashling’s Prerogative demands a significant commitment to red mana. This requirement restricts deck versatility and can clash with multi-color deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana, the enchantment comes with a price that may be too steep when compared to other cards that can provide speed advantages for creatures early in the game.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ashling’s Prerogative adds flexibility to your gameplay, allowing you to customize tempo by giving haste to odd or even creatures. This card can enhance various deck archetypes, from aggressive red decks to complex combo builds.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with creatures that benefit from attacking early. It syncs well with strategies that utilize creature swiftness or wish to capitalize on speedy damage output.

Meta-Relevance: Due to its ability to accelerate gameplay, Ashling’s Prerogative holds its ground in a dynamic MTG environment, especially where dictating the pace can mean the difference between victory and defeat.


How to beat

Ashling’s Prerogative is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that can swiftly tilt the tempo of the game by allowing creatures with either even or odd converted mana costs to have haste. This choice affects both you and your opponent, so the key to countering it lies in deck building and strategic play. Smart mana curve planning is essential. If your deck is heavy on creatures with the opposite converted mana costs than chosen by Ashling’s Prerogative, you could effectively bypass this speed bump.

Additionally, consider incorporating enchantment removal or counterspells into your arsenal. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can directly answer Ashling’s Prerogative, while counterspells prevent it from hitting the board altogether. Prioritize managing your resources effectively to ensure that you can respond when your opponent accelerates their game. By staying one step ahead and having the right answers in your deck, you can negate the advantages granted by Ashling’s Prerogative and maintain control over the pace of play.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ashling's Prerogative MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn, 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 Ashling's Prerogative and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ashling's Prerogative has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2007-10-01 If a creature has X in its mana cost, that X is treated as 0 for the purposes of these effects. It doesn’t matter what the value of X was while the creature was on the stack.
2007-10-01 The “chosen value” is either “odd” or “even.” So either creatures with odd mana values enter the battlefield tapped and creatures with even mana values have haste, or vice versa.