Chancellor of the Spires MTG Card


Chancellor of the Spires - New Phyrexia
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Phyrexian Sphinx
Abilities Flying,Mill
Released2011-05-13
Set symbol
Set nameNew Phyrexia
Set codeNPH
Power 5
Toughness 7
Number31
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byNils Hamm

Key Takeaways

  1. Wields opponents’ instant or sorcery cards, converting their tools into your game-winning plays.
  2. Demands hefty blue mana but compensates with flexibility and potential board-control acceleration.
  3. Particularly shines in blue control and mill decks, elevating its repeated value during gameplay.

Text of card

You may reveal this card from your opening hand. If you do, at the beginning of the first upkeep, each opponent puts the top seven cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. Flying When Chancellor of the Spires enters the battlefield, you may cast target instant or sorcery card from an opponent's graveyard without paying its mana cost.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chancellor of the Spires offers a unique twist on card advantage by allowing you to cast an instant or sorcery card from an opponent’s graveyard without paying its mana cost. This effectively can turn your opponent’s resources against them and can yield unexpected benefits in your favor, making it a valuable addition in matches that tend to have powerful spells in graveyards.

Resource Acceleration: While Chancellor of the Spires doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, the ability to utilize an opponent’s spell for free works as a form of resource acceleration. By not spending your mana on a potentially game-changing play, you are effectively increasing the number of spells you can cast on your turn and accelerating your board presence.

Instant Speed: Chancellor of the Spires interacts with instant speed spells in opponent’s graveyards, which can be a critical strategic advantage. While the Chancellor itself does not have flash, the ability to cast opponent’s instant spells during your main phase can sometimes replicate the same sudden impact that playing at instant speed offers, enabling disruption of your opponent’s strategies at pivotal moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Chancellor of the Spires doesn’t directly require discarding, but its ability necessitates having spells in opponent’s graveyards to be effective. This reliance can be limiting since efficient graveyard management by opponents diminishes its value.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a demanding color commitment, asking for three blue in its seven total mana cost. Its inclusion, therefore, heavily leans towards blue-centric or mono-blue decks, potentially limiting its versatility across varied deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The seven mana cost is steep, even by powerful creature standards. Considering the current meta and alternatives available, there may be more cost-effective creatures that can be played earlier in the game or offer more flexible abilities for less mana.


Reasons to Include Chancellor of the Spires in Your Collection

Versatility: Chancellor of the Spires offers a unique versatility in gameplay. Its ability to cast instant or sorcery cards from opponents’ graveyards means it can adapt to a wide range of situations. This card introduces unexpected elements during play, making it a valuable addition to any blue control or mill deck.

Combo Potential: This card shines in comboing with other cards that fill the graveyard, maximizing the potential spells you can cast. With decks focused on milling or graveyard recursion, Chancellor of the Spires’ ability can become a repeatable source of value, potentially swinging the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where players rely on powerful instants and sorceries, Chancellor of the Spires can turn the tides by using their strategies against them. Its relevance grows in games where strategic recursion of key spells from graveyards can disrupt opponents’ plans and provide you with additional resources.


How to beat

Chancellor of the Spires presents an interesting challenge on the battlefield. Recognized for its ability to bring back an instant or sorcery card from an opponent’s graveyard, this creature can turn the tides of a game by replaying powerful spells. To counter this powerful effect, it’s essential to manage graveyard interactions carefully. Employing graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt can effectively neutralize the Chancellor’s impact by exiling the graveyard content it would target.

Alternatively, instant-speed removal spells are effective tools as well, allowing you to remove the Chancellor before it can leverage its potent ability. By using spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile, you can exile Chancellor of the Spires permanently. Keep in mind, though, that it’s crucial to time these spells strategically, preventing your opponent from gaining an advantage from the Chancellor’s triggered ability upon hitting the field.

Strategizing your plays to minimize the power of the Chancellor’s ability is also a smart move. Playing lower impact spells or ones that are not as beneficial when cast a second time helps weaken this creature’s effect. While it’s a powerful card, a well-considered approach can help you maintain the upper hand against Chancellor of the Spires.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into MTG is a journey full of twists and surprises, much like what Chancellor of the Spires brings to the game. By flipping the power of your opponent’s spells in your favor, this card breathes fresh strategy into a blue player’s arsenal. Whether it’s harvesting the graveyards for hidden gems or deploying the right counters, every match is an opportunity to outwit your adversary. Improve your skills and find your perfect playstyle by joining a community that’s just as passionate about MTG as you are. Expand your collection, optimize your deck, and get ready to dominate the battlefield. Learn more with us and make each duel count.


Cards like Chancellor of the Spires

Chancellor of the Spires stands as a unique figure in the pantheon of powerful cards for Magic: The Gathering players, especially those drawn to reanimation strategies. This flying sphinx mirrors the functionality of cards like Spelltwine, which allows players to cast spells from graveyards. While Chancellor requires a significant mana investment, its body provides both an offensive and defensive asset once it hits the battlefield. Conversely, Spelltwine, though costing less mana, doesn’t leave behind a creature to contend with adversaries.

Diluvian Primordial is another analogous card with a similar graveyard interaction capability. Like Chancellor of the Spires, it exiles an instant or sorcery card from each opponent’s graveyard when it enters the battlefield and lets you cast those cards without paying their mana costs. However, it differs from the Chancellor by being a one-time effect rather than a repeatable one triggered by each attack. This makes Diluvian Primordial a burst of value whereas Chancellor of the Spires could potentially provide ongoing advantage each turn.

When evaluating Chancellor of the Spires against its counterparts, it’s the card’s inherent potential to turn every combat phase into a strategic play of graveyard manipulation that underscores its unique position. Its combination of aerial power and recursive spell-casting make it a formidable choice for MTG enthusiasts.

Spelltwine - MTG Card versions
Diluvian Primordial - MTG Card versions
Spelltwine - MTG Card versions
Diluvian Primordial - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chancellor of the Spires MTG card by a specific set like New Phyrexia, 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 Chancellor of the Spires and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chancellor of the Spires has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2011-06-01 If the card has any mandatory additional costs, then you must pay them in order to cast the spell.
2011-06-01 If you are unable to cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, the card remains in its owner’s graveyard.
2011-06-01 If you reveal more than one Chancellor of the Spires from your opening hand, each opponent will put the top seven cards of their library into their graveyard that many times (for a total of fourteen, twenty-one, or twenty-eight cards).
2011-06-01 The instant or sorcery card you target with the enters-the-battlefield triggered ability is cast as part of the resolution of that ability. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type are ignored. Other restrictions, such as “Cast
-his card] only during combat,” are not.
2011-06-01 You may pay additional costs, such as kicker costs, of the instant or sorcery card.
2021-03-19 A player’s “opening hand” is the hand of cards the player has after all players have taken mulligans. If players have any cards in hand that allow actions to be taken with them from a player’s opening hand, the starting player takes all such actions first in any order, followed by each other player in turn order. Then the first turn begins.

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