What does Ashling, Rekindled's transform cycle do?

It enters with a discard-then-draw trigger, then each main phase offers a chance to pay a colored mana to transform into another face — and one of those faces adds two mana of any color that can only be spent on spells with mana value four or greater, effectively ramping specifically toward the deck's top end.

What decks want Ashling, Rekindled?

An Izzet deck with a real top end worth ramping into — the restricted mana is dead if there's nothing at four mana value or more to spend it on, so it wants a deck with actual expensive spells rather than an all-low-curve list.

Is Ashling, Rekindled good as a two-drop on curve?

The loot on entry is fine value at two mana even before any transformation happens, so it's a reasonable early play in any Izzet deck — the transform sequence is the upside on top of an already playable rate.

Ashling, Rekindled — Card Spotlight

See Ashling, Rekindled's full stats and printings →

Strategies it goes well with

Ramp-to-top-end decks. The restricted mana burst is built specifically to fund four-mana-value-or-greater spells, rewarding a deck with real payoffs at the top of its curve.
Looting and graveyard decks. The initial discard-then-draw trigger fuels any deck already interested in filling its graveyard for flashback or reanimation.
Izzet spellslinger shells. A cheap, flexible two-drop that both smooths draws early and ramps toward bombs later fits naturally into a deck built around casting a lot of spells.

How it does in Commander

As the commander

It's not commander material — a two-mana value creature built to support a deck's top end is a support piece by design, not something that wants to anchor the whole 99 from the command zone.

In the 99

A flexible, low-cost include in any Izzet deck with real top-end payoffs, doing early value and late-game ramp in the same card slot.

Formats it's strong in

Decks with a real top end. The restricted mana is only as good as what it can be spent on, so a deck with genuine four-plus-mana-value payoffs gets full value from it.
Izzet spells-and-value decks. The loot trigger and flexible mana both support a deck built around casting and recasting a lot of spells.

Formats it's weak in

Low-curve, aggressive decks. With nothing at four mana value or higher, the restricted mana produced by one of its faces is simply dead.
Decks with no discard synergies. The loot trigger is fine value on its own, but a deck that actively wants discarded cards gets far more out of it.

Synergistic cards

Fact or Fiction — A classic Izzet card-selection spell that pairs naturally with the same value-and-ramp shell Ashling supports.
Aetherflux Reservoir — One example of a real four-plus-mana-value payoff the restricted mana can help cast a turn early.
Faithless Looting — Another discard-and-draw effect that stacks with Ashling's own looting for graveyard-focused decks.
Any big Izzet finisher — The card's whole value proposition depends on having something expensive worth ramping toward.

Is it worth the price?

As a recent-set card, Ashling is inexpensive and a low-risk include for any Izzet deck with a real top end — worth trying at minimal cost.

Current printings and prices →

Ashling, Rekindled