Ocelot Pride 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
First strike, lifelink Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) At the beginning of your end step, if you gained life this turn, create a 1/1 white Cat creature token. Then if you have the city's blessing, for each token you control that entered this turn, create a token that's a copy of it.
Complete guide
Ocelot Pride is a powerhouse one-drop that rewards players for gaining life and reaching the city's blessing. This feline creature not only establishes an early board presence but also offers an explosive end-step trigger that can double your token production. Whether you are playing a life-gain strategy or a token-heavy deck, understanding its ascend and replication mechanics is key to victory.
Token Multiplication and Ascend
Ocelot Pride features the Ascend keyword, which checks if you control ten or more permanents. A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including lands and tokens. Once you hit ten permanents while Ocelot Pride is on the battlefield, you obtain the city's blessing for the remainder of the game. Even if your permanent count later drops below ten, the blessing stays. This is crucial because its end-step ability significantly upgrades once you have it, allowing you to copy every single token that entered the battlefield under your control during that turn.
Step-by-Step Resolution
At the beginning of your end step, the game checks if you gained life at any point during your turn. If you did, the ability triggers. First, you create a 1/1 white Cat creature token. Second, the game checks if you have the city's blessing. If you do, the ability identifies every token you control that entered the battlefield this turn—including the 1/1 Cat you just made—and creates a token that is a copy of each of them. Note that these copies are created using the 'copiable values' of the original tokens, ignoring counters, damage, or temporary effects.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is thinking Ocelot Pride must be on the battlefield when the life gain occurs; it does not. As long as you gained life earlier in the turn and Ocelot Pride is on the battlefield when the end step begins, the ability triggers. Another misconception involves the city's blessing check. If the 1/1 Cat token created by the first part of the ability is your tenth permanent, you will immediately get the city's blessing before the second part of the ability resolves, ensuring you get the extra copies.
When to Play It
Because it costs only one white mana, Ocelot Pride is an ideal turn-one play to start chip damage with lifelink. However, its true value shines in the mid-to-late game once your board is wide. It is most effective when you have other ways to generate tokens, as it will copy any token that entered that turn, not just Cat tokens. Save your life-gain effects for your turn to ensure you trigger its ability as often as possible.
Interaction examples
Ocelot Pride
CatYou attack with Ocelot Pride, and its lifelink causes you to gain 1 life. At the beginning of your end step, the ability triggers. You create a 1/1 white Cat creature token. If you do not have the city's blessing, the ability ends here, and you simply keep your new Cat.
Esper Sentinel
Ornithopter of ParadiseSuppose you control nine permanents, including Ocelot Pride, Esper Sentinel, and Ornithopter of Paradise. During your turn, you gain life. At your end step, Ocelot Pride creates a Cat token. This token is your tenth permanent, so you immediately get the city's blessing. The ability then sees you have the blessing and checks for tokens that entered this turn. It finds the Cat token you just created and creates a second copy of it.
If you already have the city's blessing and you cast a spell that creates three 0/2 Ornithopter of Paradise tokens, and you gain life that turn, Ocelot Pride's end-step ability will trigger. It first creates a 1/1 Cat token. Then, because you have the blessing, it looks at all tokens that entered this turn: the three Ornithopters and the new Cat. It creates a copy of all four, leaving you with two new Cats and six total Ornithopter tokens for the turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Ocelot Pride
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Once you have the city's blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all your permanents. The city's blessing isn't a permanent itself and can't be removed by any effect.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren't permanents.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you control ten permanents but don't control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don't get the city's blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of two, then cast Ocelot Pride, you won't have the city's blessing.
Card named in this ruling
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the "legend rule" or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city's blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
Card named in this ruling
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Ascend on a permanent isn't a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can't respond to you getting the city's blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can't respond before you get the city's blessing.
Card named in this ruling
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Ocelot Pride doesn't need to have been on the battlefield when you gained life. For example, if a creature with lifelink deals combat damage on your turn and you cast Ocelot Pride during your second main phase, its last ability will trigger at the beginning of your end step.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If the creature token created by Ocelot Pride's last ability is your tenth permanent, you'll get the city's blessing before the ability would check to see if you have the city's blessing.
Card named in this ruling
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Ocelot Pride's last ability doesn't target any of the tokens.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
Each of the token copies you create copies the original characteristics of the token it's copying as stated by the effect that created that token. The newly created token doesn't copy whether the original token is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it, whether it has any Auras and/or Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that changed its power, toughness, types, color, and so on.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
If the original token is copying something else, the token copy you create will use the copiable values of the original token. In most cases, it will be a copy of whatever the original token is copying. If it's copying a permanent or card with
in its mana cost, X is 0.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of tokens you create will trigger when they enter the battlefield. Any "As [this permanent] enters the battlefield" or "[This permanent] enters the battlefield with" abilities of the tokens will also work.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating three token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get
. - 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers three times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Anointed Procession + Mondrak, Glory Dominus
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Mondrak, Glory Dominus + Exalted Sunborn
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Elspeth, Storm Slayer + Exalted Sunborn
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Anointed Procession + Exalted Sunborn
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Mondrak, Glory Dominus + Elspeth, Storm Slayer
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Anointed Procession + Elspeth, Storm Slayer
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
Satya, Aetherflux Genius + Ocelot Pride + Exalted Sunborn + Bard, King of Dale
- 1Declare Satya as an attacker. Satya triggers, creating four token copies of Ocelot Pride that are tapped and attacking and causing you to get .
- 2If you don't have the city's blessing, the Ocelot Pride token gives you the city's blessing.
- 3At the beginning of your end step, Satya triggers four times, and each Ocelot Pride you control triggers once.
- 4Resolve the first Ocelot Pride trigger, causing you to create three 1/1 Cat creature tokens if you gained life this turn, and then causing you to create three token copies of each creature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn, and then causing you to create a token copy of each noncreature token that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
- 5Repeat step 4 for each remaining trigger.
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