Resplendent Griffin MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Griffin
Abilities	Ascend,Flying
Released	2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set name	Rivals of Ixalan
Set code	RIX
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	170
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Sam Rowan

Key Takeaways

Flying ability and ascend mechanic make Resplendent Griffin a significant aerial threat in various deck strategies.
Demanding discard and specific mana costs limit flexibility, potentially hindering deck performance.
Its potential for synergy and meta-relevance make it a viable choice for enhancing your collection’s diversity.

Text of card

Flying Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) Whenever Resplendent Griffin attacks, if you have the city's blessing, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When deploying Resplendent Griffin to the battlefield, its flying capability makes it a formidable threat, often necessitating multiple resources from an opponent to deal with it. This can translate into a significant advantage for the player, as the opponent might need to trade more than one card to remove it.

Resource Acceleration: Resplendent Griffin supports the “ascend” mechanic available in some MTG decks, which could potentially accelerate your resources. If you have the city’s blessing, playing Resplendent Griffin can contribute to your board presence and overall resource acceleration, letting you capitalize on opportunities more quickly.

Instant Speed: While Resplendent Griffin itself might not have instant speed, its presence in a deck can synergize with other cards that do. As part of a strategy, it plays well alongside instant-speed interaction, letting you manage your threats efficiently while keeping mana open for responsive play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Resplendent Griffin may demand a discard from your hand to trigger its full potential. This cost can be steep, especially in tight matches where every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This card needs a precise combination of mana to come into play. With its specific mana requirements, deck flexibility is hampered and it can struggle in multicolored mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though the Griffin brings a majestic presence to the battlefield, its casting cost is on the high side for its stat line and abilities. This can slow down your game, particularly when faster, lower-cost creatures are available.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Resplendent Griffin plays well in a vast array of decks, soaring in limited formats or as part of a flying-centric strategy in Constructed play. Its ability to adapt to various game plans makes it a card worth considering for your collection.

Combo Potential: With its Ascend ability, the card synergizes with strategies that capitalize on having the city’s blessing. It powers up not only itself but can also enable other combos and interactions in decks centered around permanents.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aerial threats are key, Resplendent Griffin holds its own. Its ascend mechanic remains pertinent in certain metagames, providing you with a creature that grows while affecting board presence.

How to beat

Resplendent Griffin is a unique card that presents players with the challenge of overcoming its potential for exponential growth in strength. This creature takes flight with the ability to ascend, gaining strength with each attack if you have the city’s blessing. Thwarting this creature’s impact involves a strategic approach to prevent it from reaching that critical point of ten permanent cards on the battlefield.

One effective strategy is to manage the board early and keep the number of permanents under control, making it more difficult for your opponent to gain the city’s blessing. Instant-speed removal spells like Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt can be pivotal in suppressing the growth of Resplendent Griffin before it becomes a larger threat. Enchantment-based removal, such as Cast Out or Seal Away, also provide a restorative measure to ensure the griffin does not soar out of control.

It is essential to anticipate the tempo and adapt your gameplay to curb the Resplendent Griffin’s ascension. By maintaining pressure and keeping the opponent’s board clear, you minimize the chance for this elegant creature to tip the scales in your opponent’s favor.

Cards like Resplendent Griffin

The Resplendent Griffin card stands out in Magic: The Gathering for its multifaceted abilities. This card is often compared to creatures like Aven Sunstriker for its flying keyword and double strike potential, although Aven Sunstriker lacks the ascending ability which can elevate Resplendent Griffin’s game presence. The Griffin’s versatility is further shown when contrasted with Mistral Charger, a card with a steadfast flying trait but without the prospect of gaining a +1/+1 counter each time the city’s blessing is declared.

Looking at Skymarcher Aspirant, another creature that gains advantages upon attaining the city’s blessing, there’s an observable contrast. While Skymarcher Aspirant gains permanence in flying, the Resplendent Griffin begins with this ability and instead becomes more formidable as the game advances. Lastly, Sunscourge Champion can be a reference point in terms of resilience. Despite its ability to gain life, it does not offer the same aggressive momentum that the Griffin’s escalating threat level provides.

Resplendent Griffin is a dynamic choice for players who enjoy escalating their board state. While it shares a family resemblance with these similar cards, it uniquely rewards a player’s ascendancy, making it a distinct contender within its class.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Resplendent Griffin MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan, 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 Resplendent Griffin and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Resplendent Griffin has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-01-19	A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren’t permanents.
2018-01-19	Ascend on a permanent isn’t a triggered ability and doesn’t use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can’t respond to getting the city’s blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can’t respond before you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19	If you cast a spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19	If you control ten permanents but don’t control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of one, then cast Golden Demise, you won’t have the city’s blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
2018-01-19	If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the “Legend Rule” or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city’s blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
2018-01-19	Once you have the city’s blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your permanents. The city’s blessing isn’t a permanent itself and can’t be removed by any effect.
2018-01-19	Some cards have triggered abilities with an intervening “if” clause that checks whether you have the city’s blessing. These are worded “ -rigger condition], if you have the city’s blessing, -ffect].” You must already have the city’s blessing in order for these abilities to trigger; otherwise they do nothing. In other words, there’s no way to have the ability trigger if you don’t have the city’s blessing, even if you intend to get it in response to the triggered ability.