The Ancient One
Mana Cost:
Type: Legendary Creature — Spirit God
Oracle Text:
Descend 8 — The Ancient One can't attack or block unless there are eight or more permanent cards in your graveyard.
{2}{U}{B}: Draw a card, then discard a card. When you discard a card this way, target player mills cards equal to its mana value.
Power/Toughness: 8/8
Rarity: mythic
Prints: View all prints (2) →
Expansion: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Price ( USD): $2.64
USD: $2.64 · EUR: €1.23
Public Decks Using This Card
No public decks are currently using this card.
Character Background
The Ancient One reads like a late-game UB value engine and mill finisher: a mythic 8/8 Spirit God that must be "awakened" by eight or more permanents in your graveyard, so the card best supports control/value and grindy combo builds rather than straight aggro or tempo. Thematically it feels like a god empowered by buried artifacts and lands, demanding sacrifices of the battlefield to finally move; mechanically you want to stall early, amass sacrificed permanents (land sacrifice, token drips, or artifact sacrifices) and then flip it into an unstoppable attrition clock. Its activated draw‑then‑discard is both hand sculpt and a repeatable mill trigger — deliberately discard high mana‑value cards to mill opponents for huge chunks. Deckbuilding tip: run sacrifice outlets (e.g., Viscera Seer style effects), some big‑cost deadweight or reanimation targets to discard for massive mill, plus protection (bounce, counters, removal) while you reach Descend 8. This is best cast as a control/value finisher that won’t race early aggression but ends games once set up.
Generated using gpt-5-mini · Updated at 2026-05-16 13:40:43 UTC