Obscura Ascendancy
Enchantment
Whenever you cast a spell, if its mana value is equal to 1 plus the number of soul counters on this enchantment, put a soul counter on this enchantment, then create a 2/2 white Spirit creature token with flying.
As long as there are five or more soul counters on this enchantment, Spirits you control get +3/+3.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BUW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Streets of New Capenna
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #23752
Obscura Ascendancy turns every noncreature spell into a free scry-and-token engine, then closes the game when you've stacked enough counters — all for three mana across three colors. The payoff is real, but the Esper color requirement and the need to cast spells consistently make it a build-around, not a free inclusion.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Obscura Ascendancy actually lives — the longer game gives it time to accumulate counters, and the singleton format makes its enchantment-tutor synergy with commanders like Zur the Enchanter uniquely efficient. In Pioneer and Modern it's legal but effectively unplayed; the three-color cost and slow payoff can't compete with faster win conditions in those formats, and the token it produces doesn't scale against the threats you'll face. Legacy and Vintage have the same problem with interest rather than legality — no competitive shell wants a three-mana enchantment that needs five or more spell triggers before it closes a game. Stick to Commander, where the 40-life clock and multiplayer card advantage loops let Obscura Ascendancy do what it's actually designed to do.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Obscura Ascendancy is firmly bulk — you're paying almost nothing for a card with a real combo ceiling in the right shell. Bulk rares with narrow color requirements tend to stay cheap, so don't expect this to spike unless a new Esper commander pushes it into mainstream builds.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.