Pontiff of Blight MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Cleric
Abilities Extort
Power 2
Toughness 7

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage by granting extort to all creatures, increasing your life total with each cast spell.
  2. Encourages strategic game pacing, indirectly accelerating resources through the extort mechanic.
  3. Improves spell impact, especially at instant speed, influencing the game beyond its own casting.

Text of card

Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {WB}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.) Other creatures you control have extort. (If a creature has multiple instances of extort, each triggers separately.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pontiff of Blight provides a significant benefit by granting all your creatures extort, essentially turning each spell you cast into a potential source of card advantage. This ability to potentially drain life from your opponent and place it into your life pool with every spell promotes a steady lead in the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Pontiff of Blight itself doesn’t directly produce additional mana, the extort mechanic it imparts can be seen as a form of resource acceleration. Every time you cast a spell and pay the extort cost, you’re not only affecting the life totals, but you’re also creating a situation where your opponent has fewer resources to work with, indirectly accelerating your hold over the game’s pace.

Instant Speed: While Pontiff of Blight isn’t an instant-speed spell, it enhances your entire spell repertoire. With its extort ability applied to your other spells, even those played at instant speed gain additional reach and impact, allowing you to strategically plan your moves for maximum effect during any phase of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Pontiff of Blight offers a potent ability, it requires precise board setup and can be less impactful when you’re unable to maintain a substantial creature presence on the field.

Specific Mana Cost: The specific mana combinations needed to cast this card include two black mana symbols, potentially restricting its integration into multicolored decks that have mana bases not primarily focused on black.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an extensive six mana cost to get the Pontiff on the battlefield, its deployment can be considered slow in relation to other options, possibly delaying your momentum in game scenarios where tempo is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pontiff of Blight extends its reach beyond just zombie decks, seamlessly fitting into any build that seeks to capitalize on life drain and extensive creature play. Its ability to grant extort to other creatures ensures that your board presence is always a threat, regardless of the situation.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations, particularly with cards that summon multiple creatures or generate tokens. Each new creature arriving on the battlefield with Pontiff of Blight can become an additional source of life siphoning, potentially swinging games in your favor with the right setup.

Meta-Relevance: With the constant evolution of MTG, adaptability is key. In environments where incremental life advantage and resilience are vital, Pontiff of Blight holds its own. Its synergy with life-gain strategies and the pressure it exerts makes it valuable in a diverse meta, where draining opponents can disrupt various popular deck strategies.


How to beat

The Pontiff of Blight card presents an interesting challenge with its Extort ability, enabling a player to capitalize on spells cast by draining life from their opponents. To effectively overcome Pontiff of Blight’s influence on the game, it’s crucial to disrupt this synergy. Targeted removal spells are your best bet, allowing you to take the Pontiff out of the equation before the extort triggers can accumulate too much advantage.

Consider spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile for an efficient one-for-one trade, removing it outright and hindering any life gain or loss. Additionally, make use of board wipes such as Damnation or Wrath of God to reset the playing field. Prioritizing the removal of Pontiff of Blight when setting up your plays can be the difference between victory and defeat. Counterspells also serve as a preventive measure by keeping it from hitting the battlefield in the first place. Staying one step ahead with these tactics will ensure that your opponent’s extort ambitions remain just out of reach.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive into the strategic depth of MTG with cards like Pontiff of Blight that sculpt the battlefield to your advantage. Maximizing your deck’s potential hinges on finding the perfect synergy and balance. If the art of resourceful play and life manipulation calls to you, embrace the extort mechanic for its gradual, yet powerful, impact. Enhance your MTG experience by mastering such nuanced interactions, and always stay prepared for the evolving meta. Elevate your game strategy and expand your MTG acumen with us—your next level of play awaits with valuable insights and tactics aligned with top-tier card performance.


Cards like Pontiff of Blight

Pontiff of Blight stands out as a unique card within the pantheon of Magic: The Gathering. This black creature card is comparable to cards like Soul Warden for its ability to impact life totals, but with a distinct advantage: it grants every black spell you cast with extort, allowing you to extract value and chip away at your opponent’s life while bolstering your own. Extort, as found on Thrull Parasite, lets you pay a small cost to achieve a life-gain effect upon casting spells.

Another card worth mentioning is Crypt Ghast. While not identical, it shares a similar space by accentuating the power of black mana and acts as a catalyst in your deck. Both Crypt Ghast and Pontiff of Blight amplify your mana’s impact, but the latter turns each spell into potential life swings. Lastly, Vizkopa Guildmage operates in synergy with life-gain effects but through an activated ability rather than a static one, like Pontiff of Blight. It lacks the same reach in affecting all your spells but can prove devastating with its second ability, making your life gain into direct opponent life loss.

Although each card provides a method for leveraging life in your favor, Pontiff of Blight’s ability to turn every black spell into a weapon of life manipulation is unparalleled, establishing its unique position in deckbuilding strategies designed to exploit the extort mechanic.

Soul Warden - MTG Card versions
Thrull Parasite - MTG Card versions
Crypt Ghast - MTG Card versions
Vizkopa Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Soul Warden - Exodus (EXO)
Thrull Parasite - Gatecrash (GTC)
Crypt Ghast - Gatecrash (GTC)
Vizkopa Guildmage - Gatecrash (GTC)

Cards similar to Pontiff of Blight by color, type and mana cost

Nightmare - MTG Card versions
Demonic Hordes - MTG Card versions
Ihsan's Shade - MTG Card versions
Necrosavant - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Lancer - MTG Card versions
Face of Fear - MTG Card versions
Wire Surgeons - MTG Card versions
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Chittering Harvester - MTG Card versions
Crossway Troublemakers - MTG Card versions
Anurid Murkdiver - MTG Card versions
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Nefashu - MTG Card versions
Twisted Abomination - MTG Card versions
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Deathcurse Ogre - MTG Card versions
Yawgmoth Demon - MTG Card versions
Ascendant Evincar - MTG Card versions
Bog Hoodlums - MTG Card versions
Helldozer - MTG Card versions
Nightmare - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
Demonic Hordes - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Ihsan's Shade - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Necrosavant - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Dakmor Lancer - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Face of Fear - Odyssey (ODY)
Wire Surgeons - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Grave Titan - Fallout (PIP)
Chittering Harvester - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Crossway Troublemakers - Crimson Vow Commander (VOC)
Anurid Murkdiver - Onslaught (ONS)
Gempalm Polluter - Legions (LGN)
Nefashu - Scourge (SCG)
Twisted Abomination - Scourge (SCG)
Iname, Death Aspect - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Deathcurse Ogre - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Yawgmoth Demon - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Ascendant Evincar - Tenth Edition (10E)
Bog Hoodlums - Lorwyn (LRW)
Helldozer - Planechase (HOP)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pontiff of Blight MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze and Commander 2014, 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 Pontiff of Blight and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Pontiff of Blight Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2013-05-03 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by Seb McKinnon.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-05-03Dragon's MazeDGM 272003normalblackSeb McKinnon
22014-11-07Commander 2014C14 1552015normalblackSeb McKinnon
32019-02-15RNA Guild KitGK2 332015normalblackSeb McKinnon
42021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 1082015normalblackSeb McKinnon
52022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 7682015normalblackSeb McKinnon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pontiff of Blight has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-04-15 The amount of life you gain from extort is based on the total amount of life lost, not necessarily the number of opponents you have. For example, if your opponent's life total can't change (perhaps because that player controls Platinum Emperion), you won't gain any life.
2013-04-15 The extort ability doesn't target any player.
2013-04-15 You may pay {W/B} a maximum of one time for each extort triggered ability. You decide whether to pay when the ability resolves.

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