Priest of the Wakening Sun 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
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may reveal a Dinosaur card from your hand. If you do, you gain 2 life., Sacrifice this creature: Search your library for a Dinosaur card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Complete guide
Priest of the Wakening Sun is a versatile one-drop that bridges the gap between early game survivability and late-game consistency for Dinosaur decks. By rewarding you for holding prehistoric power in your hand and offering a way to tutor for your best threats, it ensures you stay in the fight until the big scales hit the table.
A Consistent Life Engine
The first ability of Priest of the Wakening Sun triggers at the beginning of your upkeep. As it resolves, you have the option to reveal a Dinosaur card from your hand; if you do, you gain 2 life. You don't have to choose which card to reveal—or even decide if you will reveal one—until the ability is actually resolving, giving you time to respond to the trigger if needed.
The Tutoring Sacrifice
Later in the game, the Priest can be sacrificed for five mana to search your library for any Dinosaur card. This is an activated ability that includes sacrificing the Priest as part of the cost. Once the ability is activated and the cost is paid, the Priest is in the graveyard, and you will search your library, reveal the chosen Dinosaur, put it into your hand, and then shuffle.
Common Mistakes
It is important to remember that 'Dinosaur card' refers specifically to the creature subtype. You cannot reveal a spell that features Dinosaurs in the art or name if it doesn't have the Dinosaur type line. Additionally, you cannot reveal multiple cards to the same upkeep trigger to gain more than 2 life; the ability checks for a single revelation per resolution.
Timing and Strategy
Since the upkeep trigger doesn't check for a Dinosaur until resolution, you can respond to the trigger by generating mana to activate a card-draw effect. If you draw a Dinosaur before the Priest's trigger finishes, you can then reveal that new card to gain the life.
Interaction examples
Esper SentinelIf your opponent casts an instant during your upkeep in response to the Priest's trigger, Esper Sentinel may trigger. If you draw a Dinosaur card from the Sentinel's effect, you can then reveal that specific Dinosaur card as the Priest's trigger resolves to gain your 2 life.
Ornithopter of ParadiseTo activate the Priest's search ability, you need two White mana and three generic mana. You can tap Ornithopter of Paradise to produce one of the required White mana sources, helping you reach the high activation cost to tutor for your game-ending Dinosaur.
With only Priest of the Wakening Sun on the battlefield and a Dinosaur in hand, you gain 2 life every turn for free. If you find yourself in a late-game situation with excess mana, you can sacrifice the Priest to replace itself with the most powerful Dinosaur in your deck, ensuring you never run out of threats.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Priest of the Wakening Sun
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect refers to a “[subtype] spell” or “[subtype] card,” it refers only to a spell or card that has that subtype. For example, March of the Drowned is a card that benefits Pirates and features Pirates in its illustration, but it isn’t a Pirate card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You don’t choose whether to reveal a Dinosaur card from your hand until the triggered ability of Priest of the Wakening Sun resolves. You may respond to the triggered ability by taking an action to get a Dinosaur card into your hand, such as activating its second ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
While resolving Priest of the Wakening Sun’s triggered ability, you can’t reveal multiple Dinosaur cards to gain more life.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
You can reveal the same Dinosaur card for multiple Priests of the Wakening Sun or for the same one over multiple turns.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Priest of the Wakening Sun
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