Oketra's Attendant MTG Card
2017-04-28 - Number 22
2017-04-28 - Number 9
2020-08-13 - Number 28
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Bird Soldier |
| Abilities | Cycling,Embalm,Flying |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Embalm turns Oketra’s Attendant into a recurring threat, even after it’s been dealt with once.
- Flexible in offense and defense, its flying ability lets it serve as both attacker and blocker.
- Though having a high mana cost, it is a compelling choice in creature-focused strategies.
Text of card
Flying Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) Embalm (, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a white Zombie Bird Soldier with no mana cost. Embalm only as a sorcery.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Oketra’s Attendant provides significant edge in the late game with its Embalm ability. Once in the graveyard, it can be brought back as a token, effectively granting you another creature without losing a card from your hand. This capability allows you to maintain card superiority over your opponents, keeping the threats coming even after your creature has been dealt with initially.
Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly generating mana or Treasure tokens, Oketra’s Attendant aids in resource acceleration by being a versatile blocker or aggressor. Its flying ability means it can deter or bypass a wide range of creatures, helping to preserve your life total and other resources for a stronger mid to late-game presence.
Instant Speed: While Oketra’s Attendant cannot be cast at instant speed itself, the Embalm mechanic can be utilized on your turn or during your opponent’s turn, essentially granting you the surprise element similar to casting a creature at instant speed. This flexibility can greatly impact the timing and rhythm of the game, allowing you to adapt to the fluid strategies of each match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Oketra’s Attendant necessitates an additional action to engage its cycling ability, leading to the potential loss of valuable cards from your hand. This can be detrimental when your hand is already depleted or if the card being discarded has higher utility than the benefits gained from cycling.
Specific Mana Cost: Deploying Oketra’s Attendant requires a precise combination of mana, including two white symbols, which can be restrictive. This specific need can present a challenge in multicolored decks that might struggle to consistently produce the required white mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost demanding five mana, Oketra’s Attendant sits at a higher threshold on the mana curve. While its embalm ability provides additional versatility, players might find other creatures or spells that deliver similar or better benefits for a lower investment, making it a less favorable choice in mana-efficient strategies.
Reasons to Include Oketra’s Attendant in Your Collection
Versatility: Oketra’s Attendant can adapt to various deck archetypes with its ability to cycle for new cards or act as a resilient threat thanks to embalm, ensuring you always have a presence on the battlefield.
Combo Potential: The embalm ability on Oketra’s Attendant opens up synergistic plays with graveyard strategies, providing additional ways to get creatures on the field or benefit from death and reanimation spells.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Oketra’s Attendant rises as a valuable asset. Its flying attribute and solid stats give an edge against many ground-based boards common in various meta setups.
How to beat
Confronting Oketra’s Attendant in Magic: The Gathering can certainly test a player’s strategy. This formidable card boasts flying and the resilience of embalm, allowing it to come back from the graveyard as a token. In order to effectively counter this recursive threat, players must consider a plan that circumvents typical destruction.
One of the most effective strategies includes the use of exile removal spells such as Path to Exile or Final Payment, which can permanently remove Oketra’s Attendant from the game, thereby preventing it from returning via its embalm ability. Additionally, employing graveyard disruption cards like Scavenging Ooze or Leyline of the Void can ensure that the Attendant doesn’t get a second life as a token.
Understanding the dynamic of your deck against resilient creatures is crucial. In this case, rather than focusing solely on dealing damage or destroying the creature, emphasis should be on removals that offer a more permanent solution to the threat posed by Oketra’s Attendant.
Cards like Oketra's Attendant
Oketra’s Attendant stands proud among the creatures in Magic: The Gathering with its unique embalm mechanic. Its closest relatives in the game include creatures like Sacred Cat, adorned also with the embalm trait. The Attendant, however, outshines the Cat with its superior power and flying ability. Nevertheless, Sacred Cat demands less mana and might fit better in a deck that operates on speed and efficiency.
Anubis Monitor is another creature that shares the embalm trait with Oketra’s Attendant, yet these two have different roles on the battlefield. The Monitor adds versatility with its option to cycle for a new card, potentially smoothing your mana curve or helping you find key components mid-game. Despite this, Oketra’s Attendant’s power as a flyer makes it a formidable opponent in the skies.
Considering the various qualities of these embalm creatures, Oketra’s Attendant has a defined place among Magic: The Gathering’s arsenal of cards. Its ability to return as a zombie after death makes it resilient, while its aerial prowess provides a strategic advantage in battles above the ground.
Cards similar to Oketra's Attendant by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Oketra's Attendant MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Amonkhet, 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 Oketra's Attendant 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 Magic products
Printings
The Oketra's Attendant Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by Lake Hurwitz.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 22 | 2015 | normal | black | Lake Hurwitz | |
| 2 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 9 | 2015 | token | black | Lake Hurwitz | |
| 3 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 28 | 2015 | normal | black | Lake Hurwitz |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Oketra's Attendant 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 |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Oketra's Attendant card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | For each card with embalm, a corresponding game play supplement token can be found in some Amonkhet booster packs. These supplements are not required to play with cards with embalm; you can use the same items to represent an embalmed token as you would any other token. |
| 2017-04-18 | The token copies exactly what was printed on the original card and nothing else. It doesn’t copy any information about the object the card was before it was put into your graveyard. |
| 2017-04-18 | The token is a Zombie in addition to its other types and is white instead of its other colors. It has no mana cost, and thus its converted mana cost is 0. These are copiable values of the token that other effects may copy. |
| 2017-07-14 | If a spell or ability puts a creature card with embalm into your graveyard during your main phase, you’ll have priority immediately after that spell or ability resolves. You can activate the creature card’s embalm ability before any player can exile it with an effect, such as that of Crook of Condemnation, if it’s legal for you to do so. |
| 2017-07-14 | Once you’ve activated an embalm ability, the card is immediately exiled. Opponents can’t try to stop the ability by exiling the card with an effect such as that of Crook of Condemnatnion. |
