Patriarch's Bidding MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Patriarch’s Bidding offers massive card advantage by reviving an entire creature type from the graveyard.
  2. Strategically demanding, it requires proper graveyard stocking and a specific mana base to utilize effectively.
  3. Pivotal for tribal themed decks, enabling game-changing combos and resilient against board wipes.

Text of card

Each player chooses a creature type. Each player returns all creature cards of a type chosen this way from his or her graveyard to play.

"Family plots are so convenient." —Cabal Patriarch


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Patriarch’s Bidding is a powerful engine for rebuilding your battlefield. With its ability to return all creatures of a chosen type from your graveyard to the battlefield, this card can turn the tides by amassing a formidable army in a single turn.

Resource Acceleration: By resurrecting key creatures, you effectively accelerate your resources without spending additional mana. This synergy creates a dynamic shift in the game, allowing for more tactical plays and a faster route to victory.

Instant Speed: Though Patriarch’s Bidding isn’t at instant speed, its sorcery speed neatly integrates into your main phase, granting you immediate board presence and the opportunity to leverage your newly revived creatures’ abilities without delay.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Patriarch’s Bidding can be a game-changer by bringing back multiple creatures from the graveyard, it requires a strategic setup. Players must ensure they have a graveyard stocked with creatures to make the most of its effect, which is not always a given scenario. An empty or poorly stacked graveyard diminishes its potential value.

Specific Mana Cost: This card needs a specific mana combination to cast, including one black and two generic mana. Decks without a strong black mana base may struggle to meet the casting requirements, especially under pressure or mana screw situations, limiting its inclusion to black-centered or two-color decks with adequate mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Patriarch’s Bidding is costlier compared to some other reanimation spells. This high mana demand can be cumbersome in the early game when players might prefer to deploy threats or set up defenses rather than saving mana for a potentially big late-game play.


Reasons to Include Patriarch’s Bidding in Your Collection

Versatility: Patriarch’s Bidding is a unique choice for decks that harness a variety of creature types or operate across different themes. It offers a powerful mass reanimation tactic for tribal strategies, allowing players to bring back all creatures of a chosen type from their graveyard to the battlefield.

Combo Potential: Known for its explosive interactions, this card can instantly turn the tide of a game when combined with creatures that have impactful enter-the-battlefield or death triggers. It serves as a cornerstone for combos that can overwhelm opponents with one sweeping move.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games tend to stretch into the later turns, Patriarch’s Bidding can offer an unparalleled resurgence. As decks that rely on graveyard synergies or face frequent board wipes continue to make waves in the meta, this card proves its worth by reviving entire armies at a critical moment.


How to beat

Patriarch’s Biding is a potent tool in Magic: The Gathering, allowing players to bring back creatures from their graveyard and potentially sway the course of the game. To counteract this card, players need to adopt strategies that disrupt graveyard mechanics. Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void are effective as they exile cards instead of sending them to the graveyard, nullifying the Biding’s potential to resurrect a legion of creatures.

Another successful approach is to use instant-speed removal spells like Tormod’s Crypt or Relic of Progenitus when your opponent casts Patriarch’s Biding. This way, you can zap the graveyard in response, ensuring that when the spell resolves, there are no creatures to return. It’s also wise to maintain pressure on your opponent, keeping their graveyard clear of creatures with cards like Scavenging Ooze or Bojuka Bog throughout the match.

In essence, while Patriarch’s Biding can create dramatic comebacks, a strategic approach with the right cards can effectively neutralize its power, maintaining control over the graveyard and, ultimately, the match. Understanding these interactions and preparing your deck to handle such threats can enhance your gameplay and improve your win rate against decks that rely on graveyard synergies.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive into the depths of strategic gameplay with Patriarch’s Bidding, a card that can summon a legion of creatures with the utterance of a single phrase. For those who revel in the intricacies of MTG, this card exemplifies the cunning plays that can flip the script on any match. If your deck thrives on tribal sinergies and graveyard tactics, this magical gem is waiting to be the ace up your sleeve. Expand your collection and knowledge with us, and discover how to weave this powerful sorcery into your winning narrative. Let’s explore the full potential of Patriarch’s Bidding together.


Cards like Patriarch's Bidding

Patriarch’s Bidding is a powerful sorcery in Magic: The Gathering that lets players revive any number of creatures of a chosen creature type from their graveyard. A comparable card is Living Death, which has both players exchange their graveyard creatures with creatures on the battlefield. Unlike Patriarch’s Bidding, Living Death affects all creatures and can be more disruptive to an opponent’s game plan. Another analogue is Rise of the Dark Realms, which allows a player to put all creatures from all graveyards onto the battlefield under their control, an effect with significantly more impact but at a much higher mana cost.

Command the Dreadhorde is a different yet similar spell, where a player can select any number of creatures or planeswalkers from any graveyards, sacrificing life equal to the total mana cost of the chosen cards, allowing for a very flexible but potentially costly resurrection. Lastly, Agadeem’s Awakening can also reanimate multiple creatures, but its cost is linked to the creatures’ mana values and it’s limited to just your own graveyard.

While there are several resurrection options in the game, Patriarch’s Bidding distinguishes itself with its tribal-centric approach, offering a unique advantage in creature type-focused decks and proving to be an exceptional card for reanimating armies of the dead.

Living Death - MTG Card versions
Rise of the Dark Realms - MTG Card versions
Command the Dreadhorde - MTG Card versions
Living Death - Tempest (TMP)
Rise of the Dark Realms - Magic 2014 (M14)
Command the Dreadhorde - War of the Spark (WAR)

Cards similar to Patriarch's Bidding by color, type and mana cost

Reign of Terror - MTG Card versions
Soul Shred - MTG Card versions
Living Death - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Unrest - MTG Card versions
Final Punishment - MTG Card versions
Soul Feast - MTG Card versions
Sever Soul - MTG Card versions
Aether Snap - MTG Card versions
Dance of Shadows - MTG Card versions
Brainspoil - MTG Card versions
Head Games - MTG Card versions
Promise of Power - MTG Card versions
Rise from the Grave - MTG Card versions
Incremental Blight - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Plague - MTG Card versions
Spread the Sickness - MTG Card versions
Monomania - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Revelation - MTG Card versions
Crux of Fate - MTG Card versions
Fugue - MTG Card versions
Reign of Terror - Mirage (MIR)
Soul Shred - Portal (POR)
Living Death - The List (PLST)
Beacon of Unrest - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Final Punishment - Scourge (SCG)
Soul Feast - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Sever Soul - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Aether Snap - Commander 2014 (C14)
Dance of Shadows - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Brainspoil - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Head Games - Tenth Edition (10E)
Promise of Power - Commander 2014 (C14)
Rise from the Grave - Zendikar Rising Commander (ZNC)
Incremental Blight - Archenemy (ARC)
Dakmor Plague - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Spread the Sickness - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Monomania - Magic 2012 (M12)
Diabolic Revelation - Magic 2013 (M13)
Crux of Fate - Commander 2017 (C17)
Fugue - Tempest Remastered (TPR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Patriarch's Bidding MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught and World Championship Decks 2003, 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 Patriarch's Bidding and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Patriarch's Bidding Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2002-10-07 and 2021-06-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-10-07OnslaughtONS 1611997normalblackBen Thompson
22003-08-07World Championship Decks 2003WC03 we1612003normalgoldBen Thompson
32003-08-07World Championship Decks 2003WC03 pk161sb2003normalgoldBen Thompson
42021-06-18Modern Horizons 2MH2 2752015normalblackIlse Gort

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Patriarch's Bidding has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-06-18 Any player may choose a creature type that's already been chosen. Doing so won't affect which creature cards are returned to the battlefield.
2021-06-18 Each player may choose any creature type, even if they don't have any creature cards of that type in their graveyard.
2021-06-18 The player whose turn it is chooses a creature type first, followed by each other player in turn order. Then, all creature cards that have one or more of the chosen types are returned to the battlefield at the same time.
2021-06-18 You must choose a creature type, such as Elf or Shaman. You can't choose other card types such as artifact or supertypes such as legendary.

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