Spellpyre Phoenix MTG Card

Spellpyre Phoenix ensures card advantage and strategic play with its graveyard return ability. Mana allocation and discard requirements may pose challenges to integrating this phoenix. A versatile creature, it fits into multiple strategies, staying relevant in diverse metas.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Phoenix
Abilities	Flying
Released	2020-04-17
Set symbol
Set name	Commander 2020
Set code	C20
Power	4
Toughness	2
Number	56
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Svetlin Velinov

Text of card

Flying When Spellpyre Phoenix enters the battlefield, you may return target instant or sorcery card with a cycling ability from your graveyard to your hand. At the beginning of each end step, if you cycled two or more cards this turn, return Spellpyre Phoenix from your graveyard to your hand.

Cards like Spellpyre Phoenix

Spellpyre Phoenix adds an intriguing dynamic to the phoenix offerings in Magic: The Gathering. It finds company with creatures like Chandra’s Phoenix, yet it stands out due to its unique recursion ability, returning from the graveyard to the battlefield when a player casts a spell with five or more mana. Chandra’s Phoenix, by contrast, has the convenience of immediate return to the hand upon casting a red spell, though Spellpyre Phoenix promises a more substantial board presence on its revival.

Another similar card is Arclight Phoenix, which also boasts graveyard-return capability. Unlike Spellpyre Phoenix, Arclight demands that a player casts three or more instant or sorcery spells in a turn to rise again, presenting a different challenge and synergy with spell-slinging decks. The two birds play different roles depending on the strategy and composition of the deck they feature in.

Examining Spellpyre Phoenix within its thematic lineage, the card exhibits a distinctive resilience and a recurring threat that adds depth to gameplay strategies. This makes Spellpyre Phoenix a compelling choice for players who favor high-impact, reincarnating creatures that can repeatedly apply pressure on opponents within the MTG universe.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spellpyre Phoenix contributes to card advantage by providing an opportunity to return it from the graveyard to the battlefield. This recurring ability means players can repeatedly utilize the Phoenix, benefiting from its presence more than once throughout the game. A single card that offers multiple uses adds considerable value in any match.

Resource Acceleration: This fiery avian accelerates resources by triggering prowess or spell-synergy effects each time it’s cast. Its reusability also synergizes with escape mechanics or graveyard strategies, promoting a faster buildup of resources on the board and enhancing your ability to deploy other threats swiftly.

Instant Speed: Spellpyre Phoenix’s interaction at instant speed is implicitly tied to its escape mechanic. Playing this card from the graveyard during your opponent’s turn can be a strategic surprise, potentially disrupting their plans and tipping the scales in your favor. Instant speed plays keep opponents guessing and provide tactical flexibility during gameplay.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the main drawbacks of Spellpyre Phoenix is the discard condition attached to its reanimation ability. Players must discard a card with a cycling ability to return Spellpyre Phoenix from the graveyard to play, potentially depleting your hand of valuable resources or forcing a tough decision when your hand is limited.

Specific Mana Cost: This fiery creature requires a specific mana allocation to cast—three generic and one red mana. This stipulation can sometimes be restrictive, especially in decks that are not predominantly red, hampering its integration into multicolored or non-red strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a mana value of four, Spellpyre Phoenix’s cost is relatively steep compared to other creatures in its category. This can be a setback especially when players consider cost-to-effectiveness ratio, finding that there might be alternatives that offer better board presence or utility per mana spent.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Spellpyre Phoenix offers adaptability across various deck builds, thanks to its ability to recur from the graveyard when conditions are met. This flexibility makes it a solid pick for decks focusing on casting multiple spells or those that could benefit from a recurring threat in the air.

Combo Potential: As a creature that can return to play, Spellpyre Phoenix can be a key piece in combos that hinge on repeated entering-the-battlefield or death triggers. Additionally, it can benefit from and contribute to prowess-like mechanics, amplifying the effects of spells cast turn after turn.

Meta-Relevance: In a gaming environment where graveyards can become a resource, Spellpyre Phoenix can capitalize on the spellslinging theme. Its relevance increases in metas where it can consistently return from the graveyard, ensuring sustained board presence against control decks.

How to beat Spellpyre Phoenix

Spellpyre Phoenix is a resilient threat that can return from the graveyard to the battlefield, provided its controller has cast a spell with five or more mana. Overcoming this firebird often requires a strategic approach. Utilizing graveyard hate is one of the key tactics. Employing cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can help remove Spellpyre Phoenix from the game entirely or eat it up before it has a chance to come back.

Counterspells are also an effective method against high-cost spells that trigger the phoenix’s return. Being proactive and countering the phoenix’s enabler spells denies the recursive threat they post. Additionally, direct exile effects from cards like Path to Exile or Leyline of the Void ensure that the phoenix doesn’t get an opportunity to rise from the ashes. Managing your removal and keeping pertinent counterspells for critical turns can turn what seems like an eternal threat into a manageable challenge.

In summary, while Spellpyre Phoenix can be a daunting card to face, employing graveyard control tactics, smart counterspell usage, and exile effects can help keep this mythical creature in check, enhancing the strategic depth of your MTG gameplay.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spellpyre Phoenix MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2020, 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 Spellpyre Phoenix and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spellpyre Phoenix has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-04-17	If you somehow cycle a card, return it to your hand, and cycle it a second time in one turn, Spellpyre Phoenix’s last ability counts each time you cycled it and returns to your hand.
2020-04-17	Some cards with cycling have an ability that triggers when you cycle them, and some cards have an ability that triggers whenever you cycle any card. These triggered abilities resolve before you draw from the cycling ability.
2020-04-17	Spellpyre Phoenix’s last ability checks the entire turn. Cards you cycled before Spellpyre Phoenix was put into your graveyard count.
2020-04-17	Triggered abilities from cycling a card and the cycling ability itself aren’t spells. Effects that interact with spells (such as that of Cancel) won’t affect them.
2020-04-17	You can cycle a card even if it has a triggered ability from cycling that won’t have a legal target. This is because the cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. This also means that if either ability is countered (with Disallow, for example), the other ability will still resolve.