Knights of the Black Rose MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Knight
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Becoming the monarch from this card grants extra card draw, boosting your strategic options.
  2. Mana cost and color requirements may limit this card’s flexibility in various decks.
  3. Despite its power, strategic removal can mitigate the advantages Knights of the Black Rose provides.

Text of card

When Knights of the Black Rose enters the battlefield, you become the monarch. Whenever an opponent becomes the monarch, if you were the monarch as the turn began, that player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.

"Hail to the true queen! Long may she reign!"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When it comes to maintaining a solid presence on the battlefield, Knights of the Black Rose provides a distinct edge. Upon entering the game, this card allows you to become the monarch, which can lead to drawing an additional card at the end of your turn. This consistent draw mechanism can help you dig through your deck for more answers and threats, keeping your hand full and your options open.

Resource Acceleration: While Knights of the Black Rose doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, being the monarch can indirectly boost your mana efficiency by offering you extra cards to play with. Moreover, the more cards you have, the more likely you are to draw into other resource acceleration means within your deck, ensuring you’re not falling behind in the late game.

Instant Speed: Although Knights of the Black Rose operates at sorcery speed, its ability to make you the monarch can have instant speed implications. Your opponents must consider the risk of attacking you and potentially allowing you to reclaim the monarchy, which could result in immediate card draw benefits. This puts pressure on your opponents to strategize carefully, effectively giving you control over the pace of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Knights of the Black Rose comes with a hefty responsibility. When it enters the battlefield under your control, you become the monarch, which is advantageous until you can’t fend off combat damage. Losing that status requires you to discard cards, which drains your hand and resources, making recovery difficult.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that demands precise color alignment, this card requires both black and white mana. This may hinder its inclusion in multicolor decks that can struggle to produce the necessary mana on a consistent basis, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The initial cost for Knights of the Black Rose can push your budget, coming in at a five-mana investment. While it does bring notable benefits to the battlefield, there are alternatives in deck building that can potentially deliver similar advantages with a lower mana commitment, improving your mana curve efficiency.


Reasons to Include Knights of the Black Rose in Your Collection

Versatility: Knights of the Black Rose offers gameplay flexibility due to its unique abilities that can adapt to various board states. This card performs well in Incremental advantage decks, as it rewards you for maintaining the monarchy.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that allow you to become the monarch repeatedly or protect it, such as Palace Jailer, this creature enhances political and strategic aspects of the game, often shifting the balance of power in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where the political aspect and creature control are pivotal, having Knights of the Black Rose can provide constant card draw and pressure on opponents. It fits well in a meta that features decks aiming to control the game through incremental advantages.


How to Beat Knights of the Black Rose

In the realm of MTG, Knights of the Black Rose stand as a formidable card that embodies power and loyalty. This card can be a game-changer with its ability to grant you the monarch status, thus drawing an additional card at the end of your turn. When it enters the battlefield, it becomes immediately impactful if you’re the monarch, posing a strategic advantage on the field.

However, as with all cards, they have their Achilles’ heel. To challenge the Knights of the Black Rose, it’s crucial to strip away their monarch status, which dims their strength substantially. Direct removal spells are your best friends here – think Path to Exile or Doom Blade, which can unseat them without ceremony. Another tactic is to utilize bounce spells like Unsummon to return them to the opponent’s hand, disrupting their board presence and costing them valuable tempo.

Moreover, playing cards that hinder or prevent your opponents from claiming the monarch can ensure the Knights never reach their full potential. Cards like Palace Jailer can turn the tables and allow you to seize control of the game. In essence, while Knights of the Black Rose may appear daunting, they can be overthrown with strategic planning and precise plays.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving into the art of deck building and gameplay strategy is the essence of MTG. Knights of the Black Rose offers a dual facet of political play and card advantage, which could augment your deck’s resilience and your standing in the game. With its monarchy mechanic and the consequent rewards and risks, this creature card could be what you need to tip the scales in your favor. We encourage MTG enthusiasts to further explore the vast possibilities that adding such a unique card to your collection can provide. For a comprehensive understanding of how to best utilize Knights of the Black Rose and similar cards, dive into our expert resources and enhance your skills for the next duel.


Cards like Knights of the Black Rose

Knights of the Black Rose is a distinctive addition to creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, especially those with a knightly theme. When compared to other knight creatures, this card stands out due to its unique monarch mechanic. For instance, it shares thematic similarities with the card Kinsbaile Cavalier, which also glorifies the knight creature type by granting double strike to all knights. However, the monarch ability tied to Knights of the Black Rose adds an additional layer of gameplay by passing around the crown and incentive for being the monarch.

Another knight of note is the History of Benalia, an enchantment that not only brings knight tokens into play but also buffs them significantly on its third lore counter. Whereas History of Benalia focuses on building up a board presence over a few turns, Knights of the Black Rose immediately influences the political landscape of a multiplayer game by introducing the monarchy.

Ultimately, Knights of the Black Rose carves a niche for itself among knight-themed cards. These knights, while sharing the valor and thematic flair, offer different strategies to the gameplay, making Knights of the Black Rose an intriguing choice for players looking to mix chivalrous tactics with political savvy in their MTG decks.

Kinsbaile Cavalier - MTG Card versions
History of Benalia - MTG Card versions
Kinsbaile Cavalier - MTG Card versions
History of Benalia - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Knights of the Black Rose MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown and March of the Machine Commander, 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 Knights of the Black Rose and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Knights of the Black Rose Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-08-26 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by Mark Zug.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-08-26Conspiracy: Take the CrownCN2 762015NormalBlackMark Zug
22023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 3322015NormalBlackMark Zug

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Knights of the Black Rose has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2016-08-23 Abilities that trigger whenever you “become the monarch” trigger only if you aren't already the monarch. For example, if you are already the monarch as Custodi Lich enters the battlefield, its last ability won't trigger.
2016-08-23 Being the monarch carries two inherent triggered abilities. “At the beginning of the monarch's end step, that player draws a card” and “Whenever a creature deals combat damage to the monarch, its controller becomes the monarch.”
2016-08-23 If the triggered ability that causes the monarch to draw a card goes on the stack, and a different player becomes the monarch before that ability resolves, the first player will still draw the card.
2016-08-23 The game starts with no monarch. Once an effect makes one player the monarch, the game will have exactly one monarch from that point forward.
2016-08-23 The last ability of Knights of the Black Rose will trigger even if the most recent monarch was another player, as long as you were monarch as the turn began.

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