How Ascend Works in Magic the Gathering (MTG)
In MTG, Ascend is a new keyword that was introduced in Rivals of Ixalan and has more cards associated with White, Blue, and Black. In order for the ability to activate, you need to control 10 or more permanents. Owning 10 or more permanents does not automatically ascend you, however, as you need a card with the ascend ability for it to trigger and grant the City’s Blessing.
Ascend always checks the current game state; it does not use the stack and cannot be responded to. Having a land on the battlefield with Ascend like Arch of Orazca, constantly checks for your permanents. If it is your 10th permanent, your opponent cannot respond to it and you get the City’s Blessing as it enters the battlefield. Casting a spell with Ascend – like Vona’s Hunger, for example – can be interacted with by bouncing a permanent or destroying one in response to the spell. On cast, if a creature is bounced in response, bringing you down to 9 permanents in total, you no longer get the bonus effect of having the city’s blessing and you’re forced to sac a creature yourself.
Once you Ascend and have the city’s blessing, you keep it for the rest of the MTG game. Unlike the Monarch ability, more than one player can have the city’s blessing at a time. For now, it’s a race to the top of Orazcain Magic the Gathering. Will you be the first to be blessed?
That’s all there is to Ascend in MTG! If you need any more help with Magic the Gathering, leave a comment down below and we’ll do our best to help you out!
This post was originally authored by Alex Cruz.
