Patron of the Kitsune MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Spirit |
| Abilities | Offering |
| Released | 2005-02-04 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Betrayers of Kamigawa |
| Set code | BOK |
| Power | 5 |
| Toughness | 6 |
| Number | 19 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Ben Thompson |
Key Takeaways
- Patron of the Kitsune excels in drawing cards and resource conservation, supporting a creature-heavy deck.
- High white mana demand and late gameplay entry point to consider for deck synergy and tempo.
- Offers life gains that bolster both offensive and defensive tactics, making it meta-relevant.
Text of card
Fox offering (You may play this card any time you could play an instant by sacrificing a Fox and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Fox. Mana cost includes color.) Whenever a creature attacks, you may gain 1 life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Patron of the Kitsune serves as a robust draw engine, particularly rewarding in decks that focus on a large number of creatures. Each time a creature attacks, its Fox offering ability triggers, letting you draw a card and thereby growing your hand and options.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, Patron of the Kitsune encourages a defensive playstyle which can effectively conserve your resources. Its ability to gain you life can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by allowing you to spend life as a resource with less risk, giving you an advantage over the course of the game.
Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, Patron of the Kitsune can influence instant speed interactions. The life gain provided whenever a creature attacks allows you to use life as a buffer, thus holding mana open for instant-speed spells, secure in the knowledge that your life total is less vulnerable to sudden drops from unexpected aggression.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Patron of the Kitsune requires you to continually feed it cards to sustain its ability, potentially draining your hand when you might need those resources for other strategies.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a hefty amount of white mana, making it challenging to include in multicolor decks that might not consistently produce enough of this specific mana type to cast it on time.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing six mana to summon, Patron of the Kitsune can be a late game play. In fast-paced matchups, this substantial investment can outweigh the benefits, especially when more agile creatures and spells could be played instead.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Patron of the Kitsune serves as a valuable asset in decks that thrive on life gain and creature control. Its ability to accumulate life points each time a creature attacks bolsters both defensive and offensive strategies.
Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with strategies that trigger upon gaining life or during combat phases. With Patron of the Kitsune in play, life-gain decks can reach new heights, turning each skirmish into a source of strength.
Meta-Relevance: Patron of the Kitsune shines in a meta filled with aggro and token decks. As opponents amass their armies and attack, this card becomes a keystone piece, deterring opponents and tipping the scales with its life-gaining abilities.
How to beat
Patron of the Kitsune is a unique card that poses a substantial challenge on the battlefield due to its lifegain ability and the Fox offering mechanic. To overcome this card, understanding the game’s tempo and managing creature threats effectively is essential. One strategic approach is to limit your attacks, preventing its controller from gaining life. Alternatively, removing it from the battlefield is effective—using removal spells such as Murder or Path to Exile can cleanly deal with the Patron without triggering its ability.
Another tactic involves circumventing the card’s lifegain feature by utilizing cards that negate life gain like Tainted Remedy. This can turn the tide by making the Patron’s ability a liability for its controller. You can also employ cards with “can’t be blocked” or direct damage spells and abilities to maintain pressure without enabling the Patron’s ability. Interaction with the graveyard can be another angle, employing tools like Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus to disrupt any plans for a reanimation strategy, which can be common with offering cost mechanics.
Efficiency is key in Magic: The Gathering, and turning Patron of the Kitsune’s strengths into weaknesses, or simply sidestepping them altogether, can be the perfect game plan to emerge victorious against this powerful fox spirit.
Cards like Patron of the Kitsune
Patron of the Kitsune fosters a unique deck dynamic in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, promoting a defensive strategy that rewards life gain. In this space, we find cards like Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice which also capitalizes on life gain, though it does so through creature token generation. Whereas Trostani proactively populates the board, Patron of the Kitsune instead offers a reactive benefit, gaining you life every time a creature attacks.
Another card worth mentioning is Righteous Cause, an enchantment with a similar triggering condition, gaining you life whenever a creature swings. It provides a stable life boost, but lacks the flexibility and potential board impact of a creature like Patron of the Kitsune.
When considering deck-building options, the thematic kinship between Ajani’s Pridemate and Patron of the Kitsune shouldn’t be overlooked. Ajani’s Pridemate flourishes in environments rich in life gain triggers, growing stronger with each instance, but unlike the Patron, it doesn’t provide a deterrent effect on opponents’ creatures.
Ultimately, Patron of the Kitsune sits at a crossroads of creature utility and life gain. It lures players into a strategic gameplay pivot that can shape the tide of battle through incremental, sustained life accumulation.
Cards similar to Patron of the Kitsune by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Patron of the Kitsune MTG card by a specific set like Betrayers of Kamigawa, 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 Patron of the Kitsune 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Patron of the Kitsune has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Patron of the Kitsune card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2005-02-01 | You may gain life when any creatures are declared as attackers, not just for attacking creatures you control. |
| 2005-02-01 | You may gain one life per attacking creature when the ability resolves during each declare attackers step. |
