Kumena's Awakening MTG Card


Kumena's Awakening - Rivals of Ixalan
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment
Abilities Ascend
Released2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set nameRivals of Ixalan
Set codeRIX
Number42
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byZack Stella

Key Takeaways

  1. Extra draws from Kumena’s Awakening offer strategic hand size enhancement, favoring meticulous game plans.
  2. Mana specificity and higher cost present hurdles for multi-colored decks and budget-efficient strategies.
  3. Versatile in varied metagames, Kumena’s Awakening could be pivotal to your deck’s resource engine.

Text of card

Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) At the beginning of your upkeep, each player draws a card. If you have the city's blessing, instead only you draw a card.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Kumena’s Awakening enhances your hand size step by step by allowing an extra draw during your upkeep, which can be decisive in outmaneuvering opponents. Over several turns, this incremental advantage can stack up, keeping your options flexible and overwhelming.

Resource Acceleration: By ensuring that you consistently draw into your land drops or action spells, Kumena’s Awakening indirectly accelerates your resources. It aids in maintaining the momentum necessary to execute your strategy without running dry on critical plays.

Instant Speed: Despite not being an instant itself, this enchantment rewards players who control their game tempo, cooperating well with instant-speed interactions by refilling the hand regularly. This means you can interact on your opponent’s turn without worrying about depleting your hand.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Kumena’s Awakening allows each player to draw an additional card during their upkeep which could lead to discarding if your hand size exceeds the maximum limit. This can be counterproductive if your strategy relies on maintaining a large hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for Kumena’s Awakening is specific to blue mana with a double blue requirement, making it a less flexible option for decks that run multiple colors or those that cannot consistently produce blue mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including two that must be blue, Kumena’s Awakening has a higher investment compared to other draw engine options. Decks might prefer cards with a lower cost or those that offer immediate card draw without the Ascend threshold.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kumena’s Awakening offers a steady stream of card draw, making it a versatile addition to your deck. Whether you’re running control to maintain board presence or looking to outpace your opponent in resources, this enchantment can be a powerful engine.

Combo Potential: This card shines in decks that exploit card advantage for combo setups. With each upkeep, you’re one step closer to assembling the right pieces for an unstoppable combination that leaves your opponents on the back foot.

Meta-Relevance: Constantly evolving metagames call for adaptable cards. Kumena’s Awakening consistently provides value in matches where grinding out advantages is key to victory, ensuring its relevance in a variety of competitive environments.


How to beat

Kumena’s Awakening is an intriguing enchantment in MTG that provides consistent card advantage to the controller as long as they have the City’s Blessing. To outmaneuver this card, key tactics involve disruption and removal strategies. Instant-speed enchantment removal cards are paramount to handle Kumena’s Awakening effectively. Cast Out or Naturalize can dismantle it before yielding significant value to your opponent.

Another approach centers on countering Kumena’s Awakening itself. For a blue player, holding up mana for a Negate or a Disallow can prevent the enchantment from hitting the battlefield altogether. Yet, if it does slip through, creature-based pressure can force a player to use their resources defensively, making the value of the card advantage less impactful as they grapple with threats on the board.

Moreover, leveraging faster, more aggressive strategies can prove successful. By prioritizing a swift beatdown approach, you can close out the game before the card draw from Kumena’s Awakening becomes a decisive factor. In essence, incorporating efficient removal, strategic counters, and applying offensive pressure are effective ways to thwart the advantages granted by Kumena’s Awakening.


BurnMana Recommendations

Whether you’re a seasoned planeswalker or a novice mage, integrating Kumena’s Awakening into your arsenal can be a game-changing move. This card promises a fresh draw each turn, fostering a well-stocked hand primed for strategic dominance. If you’re eyeing an edge in your next duel, consider how steady card advantage could tip the scales. Finesse your deck with this enchantment to ensure those critical plays are always within reach. Curious how this can unlock new victory avenues? Join our community of enthusiasts and deepen your MTG knowledge, mastering strategies that leverage cards like Kumena’s Awakening for triumph.


Cards like Kumena's Awakening

Kumena’s Awakening stands out in the realm of card advantage sources in Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with cards like Dictate of Kruphix, both offering a consistent draw boost. Yet, what sets Kumena’s Awakening apart is its Ascend mechanic, triggering a potential transformation into a non-conditional draw engine once the city’s blessing is achieved. Dictate of Kruphix lacks this, offering an equal benefit to each player with no additional conditions.

Moving along, we see Coastal Piracy, which shares a thematic link, rewarding card draws but specifically through combat damage to an opponent. Kumena’s Awakening bypasses the need for combat, providing a more straightforward approach to drawing cards. Lastly, we have Rhystic Study, a popular choice that capitalizes on opponents’ actions, allowing you to draw when they cast spells unless they pay extra. In contrast, Kumena’s Awakening grants card advantage independently of your opponents’ plays.

When comparing these cards, it’s clear that Kumena’s Awakening brings a unique blend of conditional and eventual guaranteed benefits. It can elevate your strategy in Magic: The Gathering by smoothly integrating with decks that can reliably attain the city’s blessing.

Dictate of Kruphix - MTG Card versions
Coastal Piracy - MTG Card versions
Rhystic Study - MTG Card versions
Dictate of Kruphix - Journey into Nyx Promos (PJOU)
Coastal Piracy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Rhystic Study - Prophecy (PCY)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kumena's Awakening MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan, 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 Kumena's Awakening and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kumena's Awakening has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-01-19 A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren’t permanents.
2018-01-19 Ascend on a permanent isn’t a triggered ability and doesn’t use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can’t respond to getting the city’s blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can’t respond before you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19 If you cast a spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city’s blessing.
2018-01-19 If you control ten permanents but don’t control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of one, then cast Golden Demise, you won’t have the city’s blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
2018-01-19 If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the “Legend Rule” or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city’s blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
2018-01-19 Once you have the city’s blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your permanents. The city’s blessing isn’t a permanent itself and can’t be removed by any effect.
2018-01-19 Some cards have triggered abilities that check if you have the city’s blessing, but don’t use an intervening “if” clause. These abilities trigger regardless of whether you have the city’s blessing and check whether you do only as they resolve.

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