Parish-Blade Trainee MTG Card
2021-11-19 - Number 29
2022-01-28 - Number 296
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Human Soldier |
| Abilities | Training |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Its ability to grow through training makes it a potent board presence, potentially trading up in combat.
- Requires careful resource management, as it can lock you in white mana and demand hand resources.
- Offers deck-building flexibility, combo potential, and relevance in the current small creature meta.
Text of card
Training (Whenever this creature attacks with another creature with greater power, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.) When Parish-Blade Trainee dies, put its counters on target creature you control.
The recruits trained in eternal night, fueled by the hope that they might one day see the sun again.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While the Parish-Blade Trainee itself does not directly provide card draw, it offers the potential for card advantage through its synergistic interactions with equipment or aura cards. By becoming a more substantial threat on the board, it can pressure the opponent, potentially trading up with more valuable creatures or pushing through damage for card advantage in the long run.
Resource Acceleration: The Parish-Blade Trainee is an efficient addition to your board, at just two mana for a 1/2 body that can grow. Although not a direct source of mana acceleration, it utilizes mana effectively by allowing players to invest in a creature that can become a scaling threat as resources permit.
Instant Speed: Parish-Blade Trainee synergizes well with instant-speed spells and abilities that can modify its power. As a creature that benefits from buffs during combat, having instant speed interactions available means you could significantly boost the Trainee mid-combat to surprise an opponent, potentially netting advantageous exchanges or clearing a path for damage.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Parish-Blade Trainee demands a card discard to trigger its ability, a steep price that could deplete your hand and reduce strategic options on the battlefield.
Specific Mana Cost: The card is locked into white mana requirements, potentially restricting deck versatility and making it challenging to fit into multi-color strategies where mana optimization is key.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost higher than some other creatures of a similar power level, players might be inclined to seek out more mana-efficient creatures that provide greater immediate board presence or utility.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Parish-Blade Trainee brings flexible options to your gameplay, offering a reliable early board presence that can grow over time. It fits nicely into various White weenie and human tribal decks, adapting effortlessly to both aggressive and more controlling builds.
Combo Potential: This card works well with strategies that involve +1/+1 counters, such as proliferate mechanics or cards that empower creatures based on their power. Given the right setup, this trainee can evolve into a substantial threat, synergizing with cards that reward you for attacking with strong creatures.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where small creature strategies are viable, Parish-Blade Trainee can serve as an important piece in your aggro deck. Its ability to potentially bypass stalemates on the board makes it an adept card for current meta trends that favor proactive, creature-based plays.
How to beat
The Parish-Blade Trainee may seem like a humble contender on the battlefield, but this aspiring soldier can quickly become a threat when paired with the right support. Equipped with the formidable ability to buff up each time it attacks with another creature, this card can tip the scales to your opponent’s favor if not addressed early. So, how does one navigate around this growing menace?
One effective strategy to counter the Parish-Blade Trainee is to regulate the battlefield. This means controlling the number of creatures your opponent has at their disposal. Removal spells are your best asset here. They disrupt combative synergies while also disposing of the trainee before it can become more powerful. Direct damage spells or those that cause creatures to be sacrificed can check the trainee’s growth before it gets out of hand. Prioritize spells that can target multiple creatures to get ahead of the trainee’s growth curve.
Furthermore, denying your opponent’s ability to swarm the field with creatures is crucial. Use effects that counter creature spells or employ board wipe spells, wiping clean all the progress made by the Parish-Blade Trainee. By cutting off the synergistic chain, you preserve your standing and keep the trainee from becoming the hero it strives to be.
Cards like Parish-Blade Trainee
Parish-Blade Trainee’s position within the pantheon of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering is an interesting one. It can be juxtaposed with cards like Elite Inquisitor, another low-cost creature, which boasts additional vigilance and first strike. The Parish-Blade Trainee, lacking these abilities, instead leans on its potential power growth through training — a mechanic that amplifies its strength each time it attacks alongside a stronger ally.
Furthermore, consider Silverflame Squire, which shares the same mana cost and also sits in the aggressive two-drop creature spot. While Silverflame Squire has an onboard combat trick to boost its strength and toughness, the Parish-Blade Trainee excels in decks focusing on synergy and creature interactions, rewarding the player each combat phase it can collaborate with more formidable allies.
To wrap it up, Parish-Blade Trainee can be a formidable asset in the right setup. It may not have the immediate presence of Elite Inquisitor or the flexibility of Silverflame Squire, but its potential for growth in decks designed around teamwork pushes it into a favorable niche for creature-based strategies within Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Parish-Blade Trainee by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Parish-Blade Trainee MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Parish-Blade Trainee 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
Printings
The Parish-Blade Trainee Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-11-19 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Zara Alfonso.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-11-19 | Innistrad: Crimson Vow | VOW | 29 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Zara Alfonso | |
| 2 | 2022-01-28 | Innistrad: Double Feature | DBL | 296 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Zara Alfonso |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Parish-Blade Trainee has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Parish-Blade Trainee card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-11-19 | A creature's training ability triggers only when both that creature and a creature with greater power are declared as attackers. Increasing a creature's power after attackers are declared won't cause a training ability to trigger. |
| 2021-11-19 | If Parish-Blade Trainee has -1/-1 counters on it when it dies, the last ability will include those as well. This may result in the recipient also dying. |
| 2021-11-19 | In some unusual cases, you may end up putting the appropriate counters on more than one permanent. For example, if you control The Ozolith when Parish-Blade Trainee dies, you'll put the appropriate number of each kind of counter onto both The Ozolith and the target creature. |
| 2021-11-19 | Once a creature's training ability has triggered, destroying the other attacking creature or reducing its power won't stop the creature with training from getting a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2021-11-19 | Parish-Blade Trainee's last ability doesn't cause you to move counters from itself to the target creature. Rather, you put the same number of each kind of counter Parish-Blade Trainee had when it died onto that creature. |
| 2021-11-19 | Parish-Blade Trainee's last ability puts all of its counters onto the target creature, not just its +1/+1 counters. |