Oreskos Sun Guide MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Cat Monk
Abilities	Inspired
Released	2014-02-07
Set symbol
Set name	Born of the Gods
Set code	BNG
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	22
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mathias Kollros

Key Takeaways

Life-gain from Oreskos Sun Guide provides indirect card advantage through synergies with life-triggered abilities.
Consistent life gain aids resource acceleration strategies, potentially furthering your board state advancement.
Oreskos Sun Guide’s life gain adds resilience, offering strategic flexibility akin to instant-speed spells.

Text of card

Inspired — Whenever Oreskos Sun Guide becomes untapped, you gain 2 life.

"Let the humans have their pantheon. We need no gods to thrive. Even a mortal such as I can capture a part of the sun's power."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While the Oreskos Sun Guide might not explicitly let you draw cards, its recurrence of life gain each time it untaps ensures that you maintain an advantage in life total, which can indirectly affect card advantage through synergies with other life-triggered abilities and effects in your deck.

Resource Acceleration: The Oreskos Sun Guide can be an integral part of a resource acceleration strategy. Although it doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, having consistent life gain can fuel various engines in the game such as cards that allow you to draw or scry when you gain life, effectively increasing your resources and advancing your board state.

Instant Speed: The Oreskos Sun Guide itself may not operate at instant speed, but the life you gain from it equips you with more stability to hold off on using your life as a resource until absolutely necessary, much like how one may hold instant spells until the right moment. This resilience provides its own form of flexibility and strategic planning potential.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Needing to discard a card can be a drawback for players, especially in situations where every resource counts. Fortunately, Oreskos Sun Guide doesn’t impose such an extra cost, allowing you to maintain your hand advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Oreskos Sun Guide requires both white mana and generic mana to summon. Decks that don’t run on a white mana base might find it tricky to accommodate this sun-loving feline.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that might be considered steep for its 2/2 stats, players often find that in the same mana range, other creatures or spells could offer greater impact or utility on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Oreskos Sun Guide offers flexibility to white decks that prioritize life gain. Its ability to replenish health every other turn makes it a reliable piece in strategies aimed at outlasting opponents.

Combo Potential: The consistent life gain from Oreskos Sun Guide can synergize with other cards that benefit from life gains, such as Ajani’s Pridemate, to quickly build a formidable threat on the board.

Meta-Relevance: Against aggressive metas, Oreskos Sun Guide can serve as an early blocker that also helps stabilize your life total, buying you crucial time to set up your defense or execute your strategy.

How to beat

Oreskos Sun Guide may not be the most formidable opponent on the battlefield, but this MTG card can still be a nuisance with its consistent life-gain ability during your upkeep. When facing this persistent feline, the key lies in swift removal. A well-timed Shock or Lightning Bolt can easily dispatch the 2/2 creature before its life-gain becomes problematic. It’s vital to manage threats as they appear, especially in a format where life totals can dictate the pace and outcome of a game.

Counterspells also serve as an effective strategy against Oreskos Sun Guide. By preventing it from entering the battlefield in the first place, you can save your removal spells for larger threats. In addition, combat tricks that bolster your creatures or diminish the opponent’s forces can turn the tide, making it impossible for the Sun Guide to survive combat, thus negating its cumulative benefits over time.

Remember, the battlefield in MTG is dynamic, and dealing with creatures like Oreskos Sun Guide promptly can maintain your advantage. By utilizing the right mix of instant-speed interaction and keeping pressure on your opponent, the Sun Guide’s influence will wane, and you’ll be one step closer to victory.

Cards like Oreskos Sun Guide

Oreskos Sun Guide draws comparisons with other life-gaining creatures within the expansive Magic: The Gathering universe. The kitty monk shines with its recurring life-gain ability, resembling pride mates like Ajani’s Pridemate that also thrive on you gaining life, albeit beefing itself up rather than restoring your health. However, Oreskos Sun Guide differs in its resilience—unlike Ajani’s Pridemate, it does not get stronger with life gain but offers a consistent health buffer with each untapping.

Another counterpart to consider is Healer of the Pride, which boosts your health whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control. While Healer of the Pride has a more passive life-gain ability, Oreskos Sun Guide requires strategic plays around the untap phase to optimize health recovery. Lastly, comparing it to Lone Missionary gives an insight into immediate life-gain benefits. Lone Missionary grants a lump sum of life upon entering the battlefield, contrasting with the steady pacing of Oreskos Sun Guide’s incremental gains.

Despite the diverse pool of life-gaining cards in MTG, Oreskos Sun Guide holds its ground with a unique mix of upkeep consistency and potential for synergy in decks that focus on manipulating untap mechanics.

Cards similar to Oreskos Sun Guide by color, type and mana cost

Voice of the Blessed - MTG Card versions

Silverflame Squire // On Alert - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Oreskos Sun Guide MTG card by a specific set like Born of the Gods, 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 Oreskos Sun Guide and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Oreskos Sun Guide has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2014-02-01	If an inspired ability triggers during your untap step, the ability will be put on the stack at the beginning of your upkeep. If the ability creates one or more token creatures, those creatures won’t be able to attack that turn (unless they gain haste).
2014-02-01	If the inspired ability includes an optional cost, you decide whether to pay that cost as the ability resolves. You can do this even if the creature leaves the battlefield in response to the ability.
2014-02-01	Inspired abilities don’t trigger when the creature enters the battlefield.
2014-02-01	Inspired abilities trigger no matter how the creature becomes untapped: by the turn-based action at the beginning of the untap step or by a spell or ability.