Remorseful ClericHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

This creature has two primary roles. First, as a 2/1 with Flying, it can chip away at an opponent's life total or block evasive threats. Second, it serves as a 'rattleclaw' piece of graveyard hate. By sacrificing it, you target a single player and exile every card currently in their graveyard. Because the ability does not require tapping, it can be used the same turn it enters the battlefield.

How It Resolves Step by Step

When you choose to activate the ability, you first announce it and put it on the stack. You must pay the cost, which is sacrificing Remorseful Cleric itself; this means the creature is in the graveyard before the ability even resolves. You then choose a target player. If the ability resolves, that player exiles all cards from their graveyard. If the player somehow gains hexproof in response, the ability will fail to resolve.

Common Mistakes

A common error is waiting too long to activate the ability. Since the sacrifice is a cost, you cannot use the ability and then expect to use the Cleric for something else, like a sacrifice effect from another card, in response. Additionally, remember that it exiles a 'target player's' graveyard, not all graveyards. You can even target yourself if you need to remove your own cards from the game for any reason.

When to Play It

Remorseful Cleric is best played early to apply pressure or held in hand until an opponent commits a key card to their graveyard. In matchups against reanimator or delve strategies, having this on the board forces your opponent to play differently, as they know their graveyard can be exiled at instant speed.

Interaction examples

Early Game Setup

Esper Sentinel

On turn one, you play Esper Sentinel to tax your opponent's noncreature spells. On turn two, you follow up with Remorseful Cleric. This creates a board where your opponent is punished for casting spells and cannot rely on their graveyard to recover spent resources, as the Cleric stands ready to exile them.

Flying Offense and Defense

Ornithopter of Paradise

If you have Ornithopter of Paradise on the battlefield, you can use its mana to help cast Remorseful Cleric. Both creatures have Flying, allowing you to bypass ground blockers. If your opponent tries to kill your Ornithopter of Paradise with a spell that relies on the graveyard (like a spell with Undergrowth), you can sacrifice the Cleric in response to exile their graveyard and potentially weaken their spell.