Royal Assassin Avatar MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeVanguard

Key Takeaways

  1. Royal Assassin Avatar mitigates threats by destroying tapped creatures, enhancing board control.
  2. Despite its power, the need for card discards to activate abilities can be a significant downside.
  3. Its unique traits and usability across different deck archetypes make it a valuable collectible.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Royal Assassin presents a recurring threat to your opponent’s creatures. This unique assassin provides ongoing control over the game, forcing your opponent to play around its ability or risk losing their key creatures turn after turn.

Resource Acceleration: While it may not directly accelerate your resources in the traditional mana-generating way, Royal Assassin saves crucial mana. This conservation comes from the mere presence on the battlefield acting as a deterrent, saving you mana that would otherwise be used on removal spells.

Instant Speed: The Assassin’s ability to destroy tapped creatures can be activated at instant speed, offering flexibility and surprise factor. You can wait until your opponent’s turn to decide the best moment to eliminate a threat, making it a tactical asset in any duel.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Royal Assassin Avatar card requires a player to discard other cards at times to activate specific abilities. This can become a setback during gameplay when a player has a limited number of cards in hand, reducing strategic options and potentially weakening their overall position.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of the Royal Assassin Avatar includes both black and generic mana, necessitating a dedicated color commitment that might not seamlessly integrate into multicolored or less focused mana base decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that could be considered steep for its abilities, the Royal Assassin Avatar card may compete with other cards in the same mana range that offer immediate board impact or more versatile effects.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Royal Assassin Avatar allows for dynamic control across various deck themes, seamlessly fitting into strategies centered on creature removal and tactical board presence.

Combo Potential: This intriguing card combines well with cards that tap or immobilize opponents’ creatures, enabling it to assert dominance on the board with strategic eliminations.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to disrupt opponent strategies, the Royal Assassin Avatar remains relevant in meta games where creature-based tactics prevail, providing essential control to tip the scales in your favor.


How to beat

Engaging with a Royal Assassin Avatar on the battlefield can present quite the challenge. As a classic creature card that taps to destroy another target tapped creature, it can control the tempo of the match and become a pain for opponents. Handling this card efficiently necessitates a specific strategy. Your priority should be to keep your valuable creatures untapped to avoid falling prey to the assassin’s ability. Removal spells that don’t require your own creatures to be tapped, such as ‘Murder’ or ‘Path to Exile’, are perfect for quietly taking out the assassin without any blowback. Additionally, countering it outright with spells like ‘Negate’ before it hits the field can also be an effective strategy. Using sweepers such as ‘Wrath of God’ can help to reset the board and clear out not just the Royal Assassin Avatar but any other threats simultaneously. By deploying these tactics, you can neutralize the threat of the Royal Assassin Avatar and maintain control of the game.


Cards like Royal Assassin Avatar

In the grand strategy-filled arenas of Magic: The Gathering, Royal Assassin holds its own as a notorious creature for controlling the battlefield. Its stealthy skill set is echoed in the likes of Avatar of Woe. Although requiring more mana, Avatar of Woe’s ability to destroy creatures isn’t restricted to just tapped ones and can operate just as deadly irrespective of whether they’re vigilant or not.

Murderous Rider is another card that walks the path of targeted removal. Unlike Royal Assassin, its Swift End ability can target any creature or planeswalker for a cost, although it’s more strict mana-wise as a one-time instant effect. Additionally, Murderous Rider offers a secondary value as a creature itself after its removal spell is used.

Vraska’s Contempt deserves a mention too; it exiles target creature or planeswalker and provides you with a small cushion of life in the process. The cost and sorcery speed differentiate it from the quick strike that Royal Assassin can deliver turn after turn, emphasizing the unique position of the Assassin for continuous control.

Thus, Royal Assassin is a force to be reckoned with, retaining its worth as a formidable asset for players aiming to dictate the tone of the match through precise creature elimination.

Avatar of Woe - MTG Card versions
Vraska's Contempt - MTG Card versions
Avatar of Woe - Prophecy (PCY)
Vraska's Contempt - Ixalan (XLN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Royal Assassin Avatar MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Avatars and Magic Online Avatars, 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 Royal Assassin Avatar and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Royal Assassin Avatar Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2003-01-01 and 2003-01-01. Illustrated by UDON.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12003-01-01Magic Online AvatarsPMOA 1052015vanguardblackUDON
22003-01-01Magic Online AvatarsPMOA 382015vanguardblackUDON

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