Transcendent Master MTG Card

Transcendent Master - Rise of the Eldrazi

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Creature — Human Cleric Avatar
Abilities	Indestructible,Level Up,Lifelink
Released	2010-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Rise of the Eldrazi
Set code	ROE
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	51
Frame	2003
Layout	Leveler
Border	Black
Illustred by	Steven Belledin

Key Takeaways

Transcendent Master upgrades to a 6/6 Lifelink creature, strengthening your game significantly.
Instant-speed Level Up allows for strategic gameplay and resourceful mana management.
While mana-intensive, it’s a versatile card that can dominate late-game scenarios.

Text of card

Level up (: Put a level counter on this. Level up only as a sorcery.) LEVEL 6-11 6/6 Lifelink LEVEL 12+ 9/9 Lifelink Transcendent Master is indestructible.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Transcendent Master offers a substantial upgrade path, allowing a player to transform it into a 6/6 Lifelink, potentially outpacing the opponent’s threats and bolstering your own board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly affecting mana resources, Transcendent Master’s Level Up ability lets you gradually invest mana over several turns, providing a flexible advantage as you allocate resources efficiently to create a dominating board state.

Instant Speed: The Level Up mechanic on Transcendent Master can be activated at instant speed, enabling strategic depth by allowing you to adapt to the game’s flow, surprise opponents with a sudden upgrade during combat, or after declared blockers, and manage mana wisely throughout your turns.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Transcendent Master does not directly ask for a card to be discarded, achieving Level Up counters could indirectly force players to forego developing their board, which is akin to discarding potential plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Transcendent Master requires a specific white mana investment. Its initial casting cost and subsequent level up payments might strain mana resources, especially in multicolored decks where white mana isn’t abundant.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To fully leverage Transcendent Master’s capabilities, a substantial amount of mana investment is required to reach its ultimate level. The journey to level 12 requires a large mana commitment that may be challenging to achieve before the game reaches its climax.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Transcendent Master is a flexible and powerful creature card that can be a game-changer in decks that aim for late-game dominance. Its ability to level up allows it to seamlessly adapt to the changing pace of the game, making it a threat that can evolve as the match progresses.

Combo Potential: With levels that increase its power and grant it lifelink, Transcendent Master can be a linchpin in combos that revolve around life gain and creature buffs. Pairing this card with strategies that manipulate counters can unlock its full potential swiftly, turning it into a formidable presence on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Transcendent Master holds its ground as a respectable contender. Being able to become a 9/9 creature with lifelink puts it on par with some of the most daunting threats and enables it to turn the tide in your favor during a match.

How to Beat Transcendent Master

Transcendent Master, once fully leveled up, can be a formidable creature on the battlefield in MTG. Achieving its maximum level 12, it not only boasts a 9/9 status but also gains indestructibility, making it a major hurdle for opponents. While intimidating, it is not unbeatable. Interactions with exile spells or abilities, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can effectively deal with the Transcendent Master, bypassing its indestructibility. Additionally, counter spells like Mana Leak can prevent it from ever hitting the field if played early.

Using sacrifice effects is another clever strategy to bypass Transcendent Master’s defenses. Forcing a creature to be sacrificed with edict effects, such as Diabolic Edict or Liliana of the Veil, circumvents indestructibility. Moreover, forcing a player to shuffle their creature into their library with cards like Terminus or Hallowed Burial can also clear the board of even the most resilient creatures. Remember, the key is to tackle the Transcendent Master before it overwhelms the board with its dominating presence.

While Transcendent Master might seem like an insurmountable force once fully leveled, strategic card choices and a well-timed offense can ensure that this Master does not transcend your path to victory in MTG.

Cards like Transcendent Master

Transcendent Master is a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering, evoking comparisons to other level up creatures such as Student of Warfare. Both are single-colored creatures that grow stronger as you invest more mana into them. However, Transcendent Master stands out with its leap to indestructibility at its highest level, a rare and powerful trait that Student of Warfare does not possess.

Another card worth mentioning is Lighthouse Chronologist. While this card also uses the level up mechanic, it diverges significantly in function. The Chronologist grants extra turns at max level, a different approach to impacting the game’s state compared to Transcendent Master which becomes a formidable, nearly invincible creature on the battlefield.

Ultimately, while each level up card impacts the game in its distinct way, Transcendent Master’s transition into an indestructible lifelink creature makes it a valuable card for any player seeking to establish a durable presence on the board. Its transformation not only poses a defensive stronghold but also an aggressive threat in MTG’s dynamic play environment.

Lighthouse Chronologist - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Transcendent Master MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi, 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 Transcendent Master and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Transcendent Master has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-06-15	A creature’s level is based on how many level counters it has on it, not how many times its level up ability has been activated or has resolved. If a leveler gets level counters due to some other effect (such as Clockspinning) or loses level counters for some reason (such as Vampire Hexmage), its level is changed accordingly.
2010-06-15	Effects that modify a leveler’s power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Glorious Anthem, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness.
2010-06-15	Effects that set a leveler’s power or toughness to a specific value, including the effects from a level symbol’s ability, apply in timestamp order. The timestamp of each level symbol’s ability is the same as the timestamp of the leveler itself, regardless of when the most recent level counter was put on it.
2010-06-15	If another creature becomes a copy of a leveler, all of the leveler’s printed abilities — including those represented by level symbols — are copied. The current characteristics of the leveler, and the number of level counters on it, are not. The abilities, power, and toughness of the copy will be determined based on how many level counters are on the copy.
2010-06-15	The abilities a leveler grants to itself don’t overwrite any other abilities it may have. In particular, they don’t overwrite the creature’s level up ability; it always has that.
2013-07-01	Lethal damage and effects that say “destroy” won’t cause a creature with indestructible to be put into the graveyard. However, a creature with indestructible can be put into the graveyard for a number of reasons. The most likely reasons are if it’s sacrificed, if it’s legendary and another legendary creature with the same name is controlled by the same player, or if its toughness is 0 or less.