Pride of Conquerors MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Ascend
Released	2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set name	Rivals of Ixalan
Set code	RIX
Number	17
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tomasz Jedruszek

Key Takeaways

Boosts game pace by strengthening creatures, potentially shortening the number of turns to win.
Instant-speed usage allows for pivotal combat surprises and advantage swings in your favor.
Requires careful board management to avoid overextension and maximize the ascend feature.

Text of card

Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. If you have the city's blessing, those creatures get +2/+2 until end of turn instead.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pride of Conquerors has the potential to turn the tide of the game by bolstering your entire board with an immediate power and toughness boost. When paired with other token generators, this card maximizes the value of each creature you control, effectively multiplying your offensive capabilities and creating overwhelming advantage on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Although Pride of Conquerors doesn’t directly provide mana, it can act as a form of resource acceleration. By applying a significant buff to your creatures, it enhances their ability to quickly close out a game. This can accelerate your victory, saving you turns and mana you might otherwise spend deploying additional threats or removing obstacles.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Pride of Conquerors allows for unexpected combat math alterations, catching an adversary off guard during the heat of battle. It can be a game-changer when defending against an incoming attack, or when used right before your own attack phase for a sudden boost, effectively creating a surprise swing in life totals in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Pride of Conquerors does not have a discard requirement, it requires a significant amount of permanents to activate its ascend feature, potentially leaving you overextended on the board and vulnerable to sweepers.

Specific Mana Cost: Pride of Conquerors has a specific mana cost requiring white mana, which could be restrictive for multicolor decks lacking sufficient mana fixing capabilities.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a card that offers a temporary boost in power and toughness, its two mana cost can be steep, especially when other spells might provide a more permanent solution or greater impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pride of Conquerors provides an instant boost in power and toughness, thereby fitting seamlessly into a variety of deck archetypes, notably token strategies and white weenie builds that aim to swarm the battlefield with creatures.

Combo Potential: With the ascend mechanic, it has great synergy with cards that increase the number of permanents you control, maximizing its potential to give your creatures a significant bump in power when you achieve the city’s blessing.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame that favors aggressive or go-wide strategies, Pride of Conquerors can unexpectedly tip the scales during combat, turning a seemingly even board state into a decisive victory. It’s especially potent in matchups where a sudden increase in your board’s power and toughness can outpace your opponent’s defensive capabilities.

How to beat

Pride of Conquerors can be a game-changer in MTG, turning an unassuming army into a formidable force with its city’s blessing. To effectively counter this card, it’s essential to disrupt your opponent’s board state before they achieve the critical mass of permanents required. Targeted removal spells can keep their creature count low, reducing the potential power boost Pride of Conquerors provides.

Board sweepers like Wrath of God or Damnation are particularly potent, as they can clear the board, setting your opponent back. It’s also wise to keep counter spells handy for when your opponent tries to play Pride of Conquerors. This preemptive strategy can prevent them from capitalizing on a bolstered army. Lifegain decks may also help you withstand the onslaught from a pumped-up crew, giving you a buffer and more time to turn the game in your favor.

In sum, overcoming Pride of Conquerors involves strategic removal, timing your board wipes, and possibly incorporating life-gain tactics. By keeping your opponent’s creature count in check and having answers ready for when they cast powerful support spells, you can maintain control and ultimately tilt the victory scale your way.

Cards like Pride of Conquerors

Pride of Conquerors is a notable card in Magic: The Gathering, serving as a powerful boost in creature-focused strategies. It finds company with fellow pump spells like Inspired Charge, which also provides a universal +2/+1 to your creatures. However, Pride of Conquerors edges ahead when the city’s blessing is achieved, granting a significant +2/+2, a marker of superior power in critical moments compared to Inspired Charge’s consistent but lower buff.

Charge is another counterpart in this category, costing less mana but offering a more modest power increase of only +1/+1 without the additional upside. Unbreakable Formation stands as another intriguing alternative, equipping your creatures with indestructibility as well as a +1/+1 bump if cast during your main phase. Though it provides a defensive edge, it doesn’t quite match the offensive surge that Pride of Conquerors can deliver under the right conditions.

Choosing between these options depends on the deck’s mechanics and the player’s style, highlighting Pride of Conquerors as an excellent choice for those who can consistently assemble a formidable squad and secure the city’s blessing, turning this card’s potential into a game-winning play.

Unbreakable Formation - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pride of Conquerors 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 Pride of Conquerors and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pride of Conquerors has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-01-19	A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren’t permanents.
2018-01-19	How Pride of Conquerors affects your creatures is determined at the time it resolves. If you don’t get the city’s blessing until later in the turn, your creatures still only get +1/+1.
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	Pride of Conquerors affects only creatures you control at the time it resolves. Creatures you begin to control later in the turn won’t get a bonus.