Aven Initiate — ruling 1

If a spell or ability puts a creature card with embalm into your graveyard during your main phase, you'll have priority immediately after that spell or ability resolves. You can activate the creature card's embalm ability before any player can exile it with an effect, such as that of Crook of Condemnation, if it's legal for you to do so.

Aven Initiate — ruling 2

Once you've activated an embalm ability, the card is immediately exiled. Opponents can't try to stop the ability by exiling the card with an effect such as that of Crook of Condemnation.

Aven Initiate — ruling 3

For each card with embalm, a corresponding game play supplement token can be found in some Amonkhet booster packs. These supplements are not required to play with cards with embalm; you can use the same items to represent an embalmed token as you would any other token.

Aven Initiate — ruling 4

The token copies exactly what was printed on the original card and nothing else. It doesn't copy any information about the object the card was before it was put into your graveyard.

Aven Initiate — ruling 5

The token is a Zombie in addition to its other types and is white instead of its other colors. It has no mana cost, and thus its mana value is 0. These are copiable values of the token that other effects may copy.

Aven Initiate : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Aven Initiate is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.

Official card text

Flying Embalm (, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a white Zombie Bird Warrior with no mana cost. Embalm only as a sorcery.)

How it works : Aven Initiate

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1July 14, 2017· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell or ability puts a creature card with embalm into your graveyard during your main phase, you'll have priority immediately after that spell or ability resolves. You can activate the creature card's embalm ability before any player can exile it with an effect, such as that of Crook of Condemnation, if it's legal for you to do so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2July 14, 2017· Wizards of the Coast
Once you've activated an embalm ability, the card is immediately exiled. Opponents can't try to stop the ability by exiling the card with an effect such as that of Crook of Condemnation.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3April 18, 2017· Wizards of the Coast
For each card with embalm, a corresponding game play supplement token can be found in some Amonkhet booster packs. These supplements are not required to play with cards with embalm; you can use the same items to represent an embalmed token as you would any other token.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4April 18, 2017· Wizards of the Coast
The token copies exactly what was printed on the original card and nothing else. It doesn't copy any information about the object the card was before it was put into your graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5April 18, 2017· Wizards of the Coast
The token is a Zombie in addition to its other types and is white instead of its other colors. It has no mana cost, and thus its mana value is 0. These are copiable values of the token that other effects may copy.
No other card is named in this ruling.