Enlightened Ascetic

Creature — Cat Monk

When this creature enters, you may destroy target enchantment.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
common
Set
The List
Price
$0.23
EDHREC rank
#12695
Buy on TCGplayer
Enlightened Ascetic card art
Enlightened Ascetic enters, destroys an enchantment, and leaves the battlefield clean — no activation, no mana sink, just immediate value stapled to a Cat body. In Arahbo, the First Fang lists that want every creature to pull double duty, that combination of tribe and effect is exactly the rate they're paying for.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Arahbo, the First Fang

Arahbo, the First Fang

53.9% of decks · synergy 0.53

Arahbo, the First Fang wants every Cat to matter beyond just attacking, and Enlightened Ascetic delivers enchantment removal on a creature that triggers the commander's own power-doubling abilities — so the body earns its slot twice.

02

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

34.6% of decks · synergy 0.34

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah builds on a Cat-heavy creature base, and Enlightened Ascetic fills the enchantment-hate slot without spending a non-creature spell slot, keeping the creature density that Ajani's token and pump lines demand.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander
legacy
modern
pioneer
standard
vintage
pauper
oathbreaker

Enlightened Ascetic is a reasonable role-player in Commander, where enchantments like Rhystic Study and Smothering Tithe are everywhere and a Cat body has real tribal upside in the right list. Outside Commander, it rarely competes — Pauper has more efficient options for enchantment removal that don't need a creature body attached, and in Modern or Legacy the effect simply isn't close to good enough for the formats' speed. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander logic in miniature: if your planeswalker cares about Cats or creatures entering, Enlightened Ascetic pulls its weight; otherwise, there's a better spell for the slot.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.23 bulk tier

At $0.23, Enlightened Ascetic is bulk — buy a playset without thinking about it. Demand is narrow enough that the price won't move meaningfully unless a Cat-tribal precon pushes it into wider circulation.

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Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.