Qarsi High Priest MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Cleric
Abilities	Manifest
Released	2015-01-23
Set symbol
Set name	Fate Reforged
Set code	FRF
Power	0
Toughness	2
Number	80
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Viktor Titov

Key Takeaways

Qarsi High Priest transforms lesser creatures into threats at instant speed, adding surprise elements to gameplay.
Demands sacrifice and specific mana, which could be expensive and limit inclusion in diverse decks.
Enhances decks focused on creature control and the graveyard, showing strong combo potential and meta relevance.

Text of card

, , Sacrifice another creature: Manifest the top card of your library. (Put that card onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)

"Hear me, nameless, and obey."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Qarsi High Priest offers a unique form of card advantage by turning your lesser creatures into manifested top cards, potentially turning dead draws into unexpected threats.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana, the Priest’s ability to transform expendable creatures into something more valuable primes your board for more potent plays, effectively accelerating your resource utility.

Instant Speed: The activation of Qarsi High Priest’s ability can be done at instant speed, providing strategic flexibility during the game. This allows players to wait until the most opportune moment during their opponent’s turn to alter the battlefield and surprise opponents with sudden shifts in board presence.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Qarsi High Priest demands you to sacrifice another creature as part of its activation cost. This can be a steep price to pay, particularly in creature-focused decks that rely heavily on their board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring one black mana, the High Priest’s ability is color-specific. This limits its flexibility, making it less useful in multicolored decks that might struggle with mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the activation cost being high considering the effect, there might be more mana-efficient options for creating creatures or utilizing death triggers within the same mana range.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Qarsi High Priest can be a dynamic addition to decks that leverage the sacrifice mechanic, adeptly fitting into black-centered strategies that capitalize on creature control.

Combo Potential: This card holds the potential to combo with self-recurring creatures, enabling a continuous engine to manifest powerful creatures at a reduced cost.

Meta-Relevance: Considering decks that thrive on graveyard interaction and board presence, Qarsi High Priest can become increasingly pertinent in metas where small creatures are abundant and can be converted into greater threats.

How to beat

Qarsi High Priest presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to turn creatures into formidable manifest tokens. One effective tactic against this card is prioritizing the elimination of small creatures that could be transformed. Creature removal spells, like Fatal Push or Path to Exile, are great at dispatching these targets before the High Priest can utilize them.

Counterspells also play a crucial role, as they can prevent the High Priest from ever entering play, thus stopping them from ever getting its engine running. Strategic use of removal and timing it right is essential in both disrupting your opponent’s game plan and maintaining board control.

Drawing from the vast pool of available strategies in Magic: The Gathering, prioritizing threat assessment and efficient removal will greatly enhance your ability to overcome the challenges posed by Qarsi High Priest. It’s about understanding the key moments to disrupt your opponent’s plays, ultimately leading your deck to victory.

Cards like Qarsi High Priest

Qarsi High Priest offers a nuanced role in deck strategies that revere creature sacrifice within Magic: The Gathering. This modest one-drop cleric fits into the extensive realm of sacrifice outlets, sharing a kinship with cards like Viscera Seer. While both cards allow for creature sacrifice, the High Priest demands a higher cost but yields a more impactful outcome: a Manifest token that could later turn into a full-fledged creature, diversifying your battlefield presence.

Expanding comparisons, Carrion Feeder is another one-mana creature with a sacrifice ability. Unlike Qarsi High Priest, the Feeder grows stronger with each creature sacrificed, becoming a dire threat. However, it lacks the surprise factor of manifesting unknown cards which can alter the course of play uniquely.

In the grand tapestry of Magic: The Gathering, Qarsi High Priest stands out for players who desire to weave hidden potential into their gameplay. Its sacrifice-driven mechanic, partnered with the element of surprise, gives it a distinctive place in the array of cards that tempt you to trade the creatures you control for potentially greater rewards.

Cards similar to Qarsi High Priest by color, type and mana cost

Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions

Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Qarsi High Priest MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged, 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 Qarsi High Priest and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Qarsi High Priest has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2014-11-24	A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected.
2014-11-24	Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2014-11-24	At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to.
2014-11-24	Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.
2014-11-24	Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.
2014-11-24	If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends.
2014-11-24	If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost.
2014-11-24	Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down.
2014-11-24	The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a converted mana cost of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics.
2014-11-24	There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up.
2014-11-24	Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.
2014-11-24	Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card.
2014-11-24	You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on).