Kinsbaile Aspirant 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
As an additional cost to cast this spell, behold a Kithkin or pay. (To behold a Kithkin, choose a Kithkin you control or reveal a Kithkin card from your hand.) Whenever another creature you control enters, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Complete guide
Kinsbaile Aspirant is a low-cost creature that rewards you for having a Kithkin-heavy deck or a bit of extra mana. This Kithkin Citizen is an excellent addition to decks that favor aggressive strategies and frequent creature deployment. With its ability to grow stronger whenever allies join the battlefield, it can quickly become a significant threat.
What it Does
Kinsbaile Aspirant is a 1/1 creature for a base cost of one white mana, but it comes with a choice. To cast it, you must pay an additional cost: either "behold" a Kithkin or pay two generic mana. Beholding a Kithkin involves either choosing a Kithkin you already control on the battlefield or revealing a Kithkin card from your hand. Once it is on the battlefield, it has a triggered ability that gives it +1/+1 until end of turn whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control.
How it Resolves Step by Step
When you announce you are casting Kinsbaile Aspirant, you first choose how to pay the additional cost. If you choose to behold a Kithkin card from your hand, that card stays revealed until Kinsbaile Aspirant leaves the stack (either by resolving or being countered). If you choose to behold a Kithkin on the battlefield, you simply designate one you control. Once the spell resolves and enters the battlefield, any future creature entering under your control triggers its ability. These triggers go on the stack and, when they resolve, provide a temporary +1/+1 buff until the end of the current turn.
Common Mistakes
A common mistake is forgetting that 'beholding' is a casting requirement, not an enters-the-battlefield trigger. If you cannot pay the generic mana and do not have a Kithkin to behold, you cannot cast the spell at all. Additionally, remember that the revealed card for the behold cost must actually have the 'Kithkin' creature type on its type line; cards that simply feature Kithkin in the art or name do not count unless they have the specific subtype.
When to Play It
Kinsbaile Aspirant is best played in 'White Weenie' or tribal Kithkin decks where the additional cost is easily mitigated. It shines when followed by multiple low-cost creatures or token generators, allowing it to swing for high amounts of damage early in the game. Because the buff is temporary, it is most effective during your pre-combat main phase to maximize its impact during the combat phase.
Interaction examples
Ornithopter of ParadiseYou have Kinsbaile Aspirant on the battlefield. During your main phase, you cast Ornithopter of Paradise. When the Ornithopter enters the battlefield, Kinsbaile Aspirant's triggered ability goes on the stack. Once it resolves, Kinsbaile Aspirant becomes a 2/2 until the end of the turn, while you now have a new creature capable of producing mana.
Esper SentinelIf you control Kinsbaile Aspirant and cast Esper Sentinel, the Sentinel's entry triggers the Aspirant's ability, making the Aspirant a 2/2. This combination provides both an aggressive body and a way to tax your opponent's noncreature spells, forcing them to pay more mana or let you draw cards based on the Sentinel's power.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Kinsbaile Aspirant
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect refers to a "[subtype] card," it refers only to a card that has that subtype. For example, Glen Elendra's Answer creates a Faerie token and features a Faerie in its art, but it isn't a Faerie card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a cost to cast a spell includes revealing a card, that card remains revealed from the time the spell is announced until the time it leaves the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a card in your hand is already revealed (perhaps because it was revealed to pay a cost of a spell that's still on the stack or due to the effect of a card like Telepathy), you may reveal it again to pay the cost of another spell or ability that requires you to reveal a card from your hand.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Kinsbaile Aspirant
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