Ondu Rising MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Abilities | Awaken |
| Released | 2015-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Battle for Zendikar |
| Set code | BFZ |
| Number | 41 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Igor Kieryluk |
Key Takeaways
- Ondu Rising provides card advantage and can dominate the battlefield with its creature-enhancing abilities.
- Casting at instant speed allows unexpected defensive/offensive switches, influencing game dynamics.
- Inclusion in decks enhances synergy, especially with lifegain strategies and aggressive playstyles.
Text of card
Whenever a creature attacks this turn, it gains lifelink until end of turn. Awaken 4— (If you cast this spell for , also put four +1/+1 counters on target land you control and it becomes a 0/0 Elemental creature with haste. It's still a land.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ondu Rising helps secure a card advantage by potentially turning all your creatures into card-drawing engines when they inflict damage on your opponents. This advantage can tip the scales of the game, providing a steady flow of options and responses.
Resource Acceleration: With this card in your deck, you can accelerate your in-game resources drastically by spawning an army of tokens. In some scenarios, it can create a domino effect that allows you to deploy other high-cost cards much earlier than usual.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Ondu Rising at instant speed gives a strategic edge, allowing you to make crucial plays in response to your opponent’s actions. This could mean turning a defense phase into a surprise assault or simply dodging a potential threat by timing your creature’s lifelink ability to bolster your life total unexpectedly.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Ondu Rising’s ability requires a discard, making it a potential downside when your hand size is depleted or you have valuable cards you don’t want to lose.
Specific Mana Cost: Playing Ondu Rising comes with a specific mana cost that strictly requires white mana, which might not always align with the flexibility of a player’s mana base, especially in multicolored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost set relatively high, it competes with other impactful cards in the same range, which might offer immediate board presence or game-changing effects, potentially lowering its priority in deck builds.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Ondu Rising proves to be a flexible card, seamlessly integrating into lifegain or aggro strategies. Its ability to give creatures lifelink until end of turn enables it to be a game-changer in both offensive and defensive scenarios.
Combo Potential: Ondu Rising can synergize with cards that benefit from lifegain, triggering powerful effects every time you gain life during that turn. It can serve as a pivotal piece in decks built around such mechanics.
Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment where races for life totals are common, Ondu Rising can swing the momentum in your favor. It’s especially useful in tipping balances against aggressive and creature-heavy decks.
How to beat
Ondu Rising is a card that shines in the right deck, offering a unique blend of life gain and a potential swing in battle performance. To effectively counter this card, you need to be strategic about your removal spells and the timing of your creatures. Cushioning your life total leading up to Ondu Rising’s cast can mitigate its impact, while maintaining removal resources for pivotal creatures can prevent the life gain trigger from becoming overwhelming.
Control decks with sweepers can reset the board before Ondu Rising can make a significant dent. Running counterspells could directly negate the spell and keep the battlefield in your favor. Efficiently managing your threats and answers aligns well with the rhythm of thwarting life gain strategies that Ondu Rising represents. As with any formidable card, understanding the pace of your opponent’s deck and the optimal moments for intervention are keys to success.
Ultimately, as challenging as Ondu Rising may appear in a creature-centric match, a well-timed counterspell, a sweep of the board, or a steady focus on reducing your opponent’s creature presence can undermine its effectiveness, keeping you one step ahead in the game.
Cards like Ondu Rising
Ondu Rising is a card that echoes thematic elements found in other life-gain spells in MTG. With its capacity to provide life gain equivalent to the total power of creatures you control after they attack, it stands in contrast to cards like Chaplain’s Blessing which grants a swift, unconditional 5 life, albeit without requiring any battlefield presence.
Cards like Congregate also offer life gain based on creature count but provide more flexibility as it counts all creatures on the battlefield, leading to potentially higher life totals. However, Ondu Rising’s value increases in aggressive decks where maintaining an attacking stance is pivotal. This synergy is less pronounced in Congregate, which can act as a mere defensive measure in stalled board states.
In comparison with Synchronized Strike, which also triggers on attack but focuses on bolstering creatures’ power and toughness, Ondu Rising prioritizes the life-gain strategy – a crucial factor in outlasting opponents. This card proves its worth in the right deck, capitalizing on the aggression to stabilize or even reverse daunting life total discrepancies during combat.
Cards similar to Ondu Rising by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ondu Rising MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Ondu Rising and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ondu Rising has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ondu Rising card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | Awaken doesn’t give the land you control a color. As most lands are colorless, in most cases the resulting land creature will also be colorless. |
| 2015-08-25 | If a spell with awaken has multiple targets (including the land you control), and some but not all of those targets become illegal by the time the spell tries to resolve, the spell won’t affect the illegal targets in any way. |
| 2015-08-25 | If the non-awaken part of the spell doesn’t require a target and you cast the spell for its awaken cost, then the spell won’t resolve if the target land you control becomes illegal before the spell resolves (such as due to being destroyed in response to the spell being cast). |
| 2015-08-25 | If the non-awaken part of the spell requires a target, you must choose a legal target. You can’t cast the spell if you can’t choose a legal target for each instance of the word “target” (though you only need a legal target for the awaken ability if you’re casting the spell for its awaken cost). |
| 2015-08-25 | Ondu Rising creates a delayed triggered ability. Any creature that attacks that turn will cause that ability to trigger, including creatures controlled by a teammate and creatures you didn’t control or that didn’t exist as Ondu Rising resolved. Notably, this includes the land creature created if Ondu Rising is cast for its awaken cost. |
| 2015-08-25 | The land will retain any other types, subtypes, or supertypes it previously had. It will also retain any mana abilities it had as a result of those subtypes. For example, a Forest that’s turned into a creature this way can still be tapped for . |
| 2015-08-25 | You can cast a spell with awaken for its mana cost and get only its first effect. If you cast a spell for its awaken cost, you’ll get both effects. |
