Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant // Phoenix, Warden of Fire 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
When Joshua enters, discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards.,
: Exile Joshua, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery. (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.) I, II — Rising Flames — Phoenix deals 2 damage to each opponent. III — Flames of Rebirth — Return any number of target creature cards with total mana value 6 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. Exile Phoenix, then return it to the battlefield (front face up). Flying, lifelink
Complete guide
Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant is a versatile Boros commander that cycles through your deck and eventually transforms into a powerful Saga Phoenix. This double-faced card offers both card selection and a recurring reanimation engine that resets itself for repeated value.
Filtering and Transforming
When Joshua enters the battlefield, you can discard zero, one, or two cards to draw that same amount. This helps fill your graveyard with targets for its later stages. To access the back face, Phoenix, Warden of Fire, you must pay five mana and tap Joshua at sorcery speed. This exiles him and brings him back as a Saga enchantment creature.
The Saga of the Phoenix
As the Phoenix, Warden of Fire enters, it gains its first lore counter and deals 2 damage to each opponent. It does this again on Chapter II. At Chapter III, you target any number of creatures in your graveyard with a combined mana value of 6 or less. After they return, the Phoenix exiles itself and returns as Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant, ready to start the cycle over.
Mana Values and Rules
While on its back face, the Phoenix is an Enchantment Creature with Flying and Lifelink. Importantly, the mana value of this permanent is always 3, derived from its front face. If a card in your graveyard has {X} in its cost, X is considered 0 when calculating the total mana value for the Chapter III ability.
When to Activate
Since the transformation ability is a sorcery, you cannot use it as a combat trick or in response to a removal spell on your opponent's turn. Use it when you have established a graveyard full of utility creatures or when you need the Lifelink provided by the Phoenix to stabilize your life total.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneWith Roaming Throne on the battlefield naming 'Human' or 'Wizard', Joshua's entry ability triggers twice. You can discard up to two cards and draw that many for the first trigger, then repeat the process for the second, allowing you to dig four cards deep into your library.
Solemn SimulacrumIf Solemn Simulacrum (mana value 4) is in your graveyard when Chapter III of Phoenix, Warden of Fire resolves, you can return it to the battlefield along with other creatures totaling 2 more mana (such as two 1-mana creatures). The Simulacrum will trigger to find a land, and then the Phoenix returns to the battlefield as Joshua, allowing you to discard and draw immediately.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant // Phoenix, Warden of Fire
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The back face of a nonmodal double-faced card usually has a color indicator that defines its color.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
A token that is created as a copy of a double-faced permanent or a double-faced card in another zone is a double-faced token. It will have both the front face and back face of whatever object it's copying. If it's copying a double-faced permanent whose back face is up, the token will enter with its back face up. It can transform if instructed to do so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Each face of a nonmodal double-faced card has its own set of characteristics: name, types, subtypes, abilities, and so on. While a nonmodal double-faced permanent is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's currently up. The other set of characteristics is ignored.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a nonmodal double-faced card is the mana value of its front face, no matter which face is up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
A nonmodal double-faced card enters with its front face up by default, unless a spell or ability instructs you to put it onto the battlefield transformed or allows you to cast it transformed, in which case it enters with its back face up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a card in your graveyard has
in its mana cost, X is 0 for the purpose of determining its mana value.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
In the Commander variant, a double-faced card's color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered. For example, Cecil, Dark Knight's color identity is black and white, since its front face is black and its back face has a white color indicator.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
You can choose to discard no cards when Joshua's first ability resolves. If you do, you won't draw any cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
Each nonmodal double-faced card in this release is cast face up. In every zone other than the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of its front face. If it is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's up; the other face's characteristics are ignored.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
If you are instructed to put a card that isn't a double-faced card onto the battlefield transformed, it will not enter at all. In that case, it stays in the zone it was previously in. For example, if a single-faced card is a copy of Crystal Fragments, it will be exiled during the resolution of its second ability and remain in exile.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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