Vona's Hunger 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
Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) Each opponent sacrifices a creature of their choice. If you have the city's blessing, instead each opponent sacrifices half the creatures they control of their choice, rounded up.
Complete guide
Vona's Hunger is a powerful black instant that punishes opponents for going wide with creatures. By harnessing the power of the City's Blessing, you can shift from removing a single threat to wiping out half of your opponents' forces.
Understanding Ascend
The Ascend keyword checks if you control ten or more permanents, including lands and tokens. If you meet this requirement as Vona's Hunger resolves, you gain the City's Blessing for the remainder of the game. This happens before the sacrifice effect is checked, so the spell can satisfy its own condition if you reach ten permanents during its resolution.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, the game checks if you have the City's Blessing or if you currently control ten permanents to grant it to you. Next, if you do not have the blessing, each opponent chooses one creature to sacrifice. If you do have the blessing, each opponent calculates half the creatures they control, rounding up, and chooses that many. Finally, all chosen creatures are sacrificed simultaneously.
Strategic Timing
Because Vona's Hunger is an instant, it is best used during an opponent's combat phase or at the end of their turn. If you are close to ten permanents, you can use effects that generate tokens or play lands to ensure the 'Ascend' trigger is successful. Remember that once you have the City's Blessing, you never lose it, even if your permanent count drops below ten later.
Common Mistakes
A common error is forgetting that players choose their own creatures to sacrifice. You cannot target a specific creature with this spell. Additionally, remember that rounding up means if an opponent has three creatures, they must sacrifice two of them. Lastly, 'Ascend' on a spell only checks for the blessing during the spell's resolution, not when it is cast.
Interaction examples
Deadly DisputeSuppose you have nine permanents and cast Vona's Hunger. An opponent responds with a spell to destroy one of your permanents. In response, you can cast Deadly Dispute, sacrificing a creature to draw cards and create a Treasure token. If the Treasure and your new cards bring your permanent count back to ten before Vona's Hunger resolves, you will successfully gain the City's Blessing and force the larger sacrifice.
Deadly RollickWhen you cast Vona's Hunger with exactly ten permanents, your opponents might try to remove one of your permanents so you don't get the City's Blessing. If you have your commander out, you can cast Deadly Rollick for free to exile an opponent's creature. While this doesn't help your permanent count, it ensures that even if you miss the blessing, the opponent's board is further depleted by the combination of exile and sacrifice.
City's BlessingIf you resolved Vona's Hunger earlier in the game while you had ten permanents, you gained the City's Blessing. Even if your board is later wiped and you control only three lands, casting a second copy of Vona's Hunger will still trigger the 'half of all creatures' sacrifice effect because the City's Blessing remains with you for the rest of the game.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Vona's Hunger
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
When Vona’s Hunger resolves, first the player whose turn it is (if that player is an opponent) chooses which creature or creatures they will sacrifice, then each other opponent in turn order does the same, then all chosen creatures are sacrificed at the same time. Players will know choices made by earlier players when making their choices.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· 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 of your permanents. The city’s blessing isn’t a permanent itself and can’t be removed by any effect.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· 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.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a spell with ascend, you don’t get the city’s blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city’s blessing.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· 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 one, then cast Golden Demise, you won’t have the city’s blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· 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.
No other card is named in this ruling.
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Meta decks with Vona's Hunger
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