Cursed Courtier MTG Card

Provides consistent card advantage, seamlessly recovering from the graveyard during your turn. Demanding mana cost and discard requirement can constrain deck-building options and strategies. Combines well with cards that benefit from creature casts or graveyard returns in MTG.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Noble
Abilities	Lifelink,Role token
Released	2023-09-08
Set symbol
Set name	Wilds of Eldraine
Set code	WOE
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	9
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tuan Duong Chu

Text of card

Lifelink When Cursed Courtier enters the battlefield, create a Cursed Role token attached to it. (Enchanted creature is 1/1.)

It was the first and last time anyone attempted to levy a tax on the witches of Dunbarrow.

Cards like Cursed Courtier

The Cursed Courtier offers a fresh perspective to creature cards with its unique set of abilities. It can be likened to other creatures such as Blood Artist, that also thrives on the death of other creatures to trigger beneficial effects. However, where Blood Artist rewards you with life gain and inflicts life loss on opponents, Cursed Courtier leans into the aspect of counters, enhancing its power and toughness directly.

Comparatively, Falkenrath Noble stands out with its flying ability and similar trigger that activates upon a creature’s demise. Although it carries a higher mana cost, it also deals damage to a player while giving you life, an inverse yet valuable effect. Then there’s Zulaport Cutthroat, with a lower mana cost and a similar death-triggered ability. While it does lack the self-enhancing counter mechanism, it compensates by impacting all opponents regardless of who controls the dying creature.

Weighing the strategic benefits, Cursed Courtier stands out in decks focusing on +1/+1 counters, potentially growing stronger with each turn, whereas its counterparts tend to benefit the overall game state and health totals. It’s a compelling choice for players looking to bolster their creatures over time.

Cards similar to Cursed Courtier by color, type and mana cost

Pianna, Nomad Captain - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cursed Courtier offers steady card advantage over time by returning to your hand from the graveyard whenever you lose life during your turn. This persistent ability means you effectively have an extra card to play each turn, bolstering your hand and maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While Cursed Courtier doesn’t directly produce mana or Treasure tokens, it provides a reliable way to trigger other cards’ abilities that do. As a recurring creature that you can play each turn, it sets off synergies with cards that capitalize on creature casts or death, potentially ramping up your available resources.

Instant Speed: Cursed Courtier itself may not be an instant, but its return-from-the-graveyard ability works well with instant-speed interactions. It allows you to plan your plays, make calculated risks with your life total, and return the Courtier to your hand during your turn, ready to be recast after taking strategic actions with your mana and spells at instant speed.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing the Cursed Courtier demands a sacrifice of another card from your hand, which could potentially deplete your options and weaken your position, especially in the clutch moments when every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Cursed Courtier’s mana cost requires a precise combination of colors, making it a less flexible choice for decks that run a broad spectrum of hues. This can be especially challenging in formats that value mana base flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that could be considered steep for its offered abilities, the Cursed Courtier may lag behind other cards in terms of cost-efficiency. In a game where tempo can be decisive, the impact of its summoning cost shouldn’t be underestimated.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cursed Courtier’s adaptability shines in decks that capitalize on sacrifice mechanics or the need for consistent creature presence on the board.

Combo Potential: This card thrives in tandem with tactics that utilize death triggers, amplifying strategies around life loss or reanimation for added value.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment rich with creature interaction, Cursed Courtier’s persistent effects can pivot the balance of power, making it a noteworthy contender in your arsenal.

How to Beat

Confronting the Cursed Courtier on the battlefield requires a strategy that recognizes its unique strengths in MTG. This card can be troublesome due to its ability to return from the graveyard, making it a persistent threat. To tackle this card efficiently, players should focus on exile removal spells such as Path to Exile or use graveyard disruption techniques like Rest in Peace. Spells that counter creature abilities, like Stifle, are also effective against the Cursed Courtier, as they can prevent its resurgence from the graveyard.

Another approach is to limit the card’s impact by controlling the game’s tempo. This can be done using bounce spells like Unsummon to return the Cursed Courtier to the owner’s hand, disrupting their strategy and gaining you time to establish a stronger position. Alternatively, employing sacrifice effects can prove fruitful, making it costly for the opponent to embrace the Cursed Courtier’s recursive nature. The key here is persistence and maneuvering around the card’s strengths, rather than direct confrontation.

In summary, the Cursed Courtier requires a careful and measured response, but with the right removal tools and strategies, its curse can be lifted, ensuring your victory on the MTG battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cursed Courtier MTG card by a specific set like Wilds of Eldraine, 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 Cursed Courtier and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cursed Courtier has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2023-09-01	A permanent can have multiple Roles attached to it if each one is controlled by a different player.
2023-09-01	Cards in the Wilds of Eldraine main set create six different Role tokens: Cursed, Monster, Royal, Sorcerer, Wicked, and Young Hero. A seventh Role token, Virtuous, is created by Ellivere of the Wild Court, the commander of the “Virtue and Valor” Commander Deck.
2023-09-01	Hexproof and shroud won’t prevent a Role from becoming attached to a permanent if the ability creating that Role attached to that permanent doesn’t target it.
2023-09-01	If a permanent has more than one Role attached to it controlled by the same player, each of those Roles except the one with the most recent timestamp is put into its owner’s graveyard. This is a state-based action.
2023-09-01	If two or more Roles controlled by the same player become attached to a permanent at the same time (perhaps due to an effect such as that of Doubling Season), that player chooses which one to keep and which are put into their owners’ graveyards.
2023-09-01	In rare cases, a spell or ability might attempt to create a Role token enchanting a permanent that it can’t legally enchant (because of an ability like protection from enchantments). In such cases, the Role token isn’t created.
2023-09-01	Roles are colorless enchantment tokens. Each one has the Aura and Role subtypes and the enchant creature ability.
2023-09-01	Some spells and abilities that create Role tokens require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won’t resolve. The Role token won’t be created.