Crovax, Ascendant Hero MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Noble
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Card advantage emerges with Crovax’s ability to dodge removal and offer repeat plays.
  2. Boosts friendly creatures, potentially quickening victory with efficient power trades.
  3. Crovax’s instant speed return adds dynamic play to adapt to ever-changing board states.

Text of card

Other white creatures get +1/+1. Nonwhite creatures get -1/-1. Pay 2 life: Return Crovax, Ascendant Hero to its owner's hand.

Crovax was destined for an angel's curse, but one warped timeline saw the noble redeemed.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crovax, Ascendant Hero can return to its owner’s hand, offering repeatable protection against removal and providing ongoing value throughout the game. This built-in resilience grants players card advantage as opponents will often need to use multiple resources to deal with it definitively.

Resource Acceleration: Not directly a source of resource acceleration, Crovax nevertheless indirectly contributes to a quicker game state by boosting your creatures’ power. This can translate to more efficient trades and damage, moving you closer to victory and potentially reducing the need for other cards to achieve the same board impact.

Instant Speed: While Crovax itself isn’t an instant, its ability to return to the hand is usable at instant speed. This flexibility allows players to adapt to the board state dynamically, potentially saving Crovax from board wipes or targeted removal that often occur on the opponent’s turn. By leveraging the timing of this ability, you can optimize your strategy and better protect your key creatures.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Crovax, Ascendant Hero doesn’t require you to discard cards, it asks for a significant sacrifice when leaving the battlefield. You’ll need to think twice before summoning this legendary being, as its departure means placing it on top of the library instead of the more advantageous graveyard – potentially disrupting the flow of your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Harnessing the power of Crovax demands a specific color combination, predominantly white mana. This can be restrictive as it requires a heavy white mana base, leaving less room for a diversified mana pool and potentially making your deck more vulnerable to color screw.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding a total of six mana with four being white, Crovax’s summoning is not for the faint-hearted. In the fast-paced world of MTG, allocating such resources might mean falling behind tempo to where lower-cost alternatives could provide a swifter impact on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Crovax, Ascendant Hero offers flexibility in deck building, excelling in mono-white or multicolored decks focusing on life gain, soldier synergies, and control strategies. His ability to pump other white creatures and reduce the power of opponents’ creatures makes him valuable across various game situations.

Combo Potential: This legendary creature also shines when paired with cards that capitalize on creature buffs or utilize life totals as a resource. His return-to-hand ability protects him from removal and provides repeated benefits each time he’s played.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where aggro decks are prevalent, Crovax can be a game-changer, creating an imposing board presence that slows down the enemy’s assault while boosting your own. His enduring relevance in formats like Commander makes him a solid addition to collections geared towards long-term playability and tactical depth.


How to beat

Crovax, Ascendant Hero is a renowned powerhouse in Magic: The Gathering, influencing both the battlefield and morale with its commanding presence. As a planeswalker with a range of abilities designed to fortify your own creatures while weakening opponents’, tackling this card requires strategic finesse. One effective approach is to deploy removal spells that can bypass Crovax’s protective abilities, such as those that force a player to sacrifice a creature, since these aren’t impeded by its power-increasing effects.

Another tactic involves utilizing counter spells to prevent Crovax from entering the battlefield in the first place. This preemptive method can save you from having to deal with its game-altering abilities altogether. Additionally, playing cards that strip away the abilities of creatures can render Crovax far less intimidating, turning the tide of battle swiftly in your favor. Lastly, because Crovax can return to its owner’s hand, having consistent pressure and threats on the board ensures that the mana investment to replay Crovax can be cumbersome for your opponent, giving you an upper hand in the long run.


Cards like Crovax, Ascendant Hero

Crovax, Ascendant Hero holds a unique position among white creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. This legendary creature echoes the grandeur of other iconic white cards such as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Both of these cards share the ability to significantly buff your own creatures while weakening your opponent’s, though Elesh Norn does so in a more potent, albeit costlier way.

Another comparable card is Linvala, Keeper of Silence. Linvala is also celebrated for controlling the battlefield but focuses on negating the abilities of opposing creatures rather than altering their power and toughness like Crovax. Furthermore, Crovax provides the flexibility of self-bounce to preserve your key strategies, a utility Linvala lacks.

In assessing the powerful effects of white legendaries in MTG, Crovax, Ascendant Hero offers a versatile approach to enhancing your army and maintaining board presence. While it might not exert as formidable control as Elesh Norn or Linvala in certain scenarios, its resilience and duality in affecting all creatures make it a formidable option worth considering for player decks.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - MTG Card versions
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - MTG Card versions
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crovax, Ascendant Hero MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Crovax, Ascendant Hero and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Crovax, Ascendant Hero Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2007-02-02 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Pete Venters.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-02-02Planar ChaosPLC 32003normalblackPete Venters
22021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 152015normalblackPete Venters

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crovax, Ascendant Hero has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-03-19 Because damage remains marked on a creature until the damage is removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to white creatures may become lethal if Crovax leaves the battlefield during that turn, and nonlethal damage dealt to nonwhite creatures may become lethal if Crovax enters the battlefield during that turn.
2021-03-19 Crovax’s last ability can be activated only while it’s on the battlefield.
2021-03-19 If Crovax, Ascendant Hero stops being white, it gives itself -1/-1.
2021-03-19 If a second Crovax, Ascendant Hero comes under your control, you’ll put one into its owner’s graveyard due to the “legend rule” at the same time that any creatures getting -2/-2 are put into their owner’s graveyard for having 0 or less toughness.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks