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For most of its history, blue wasMagic: The Gathering’s least capable color when it came to combat. The thought was that blue was so much better at spellcrafting that it didn’t need to be good at sending creatures into combat, and so the best blue critters merely supported a blue mage’s spell-slinging.
Years later, Magic became far more combat-focused, so Wizards of the Coast tried to amplify a blue mage’s ability to compete with prowess, a keyword that makes creatures larger the more noncreature spells you cast. This guide will tell you how prowess works and how to get the most out of it.
How Prowess Works
Prowess is an ability that triggerswhenever a noncreature spellis cast and provides the creature with the prowess keyword+1/+1 until end of turn.
The exact wording is, “Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.”
Prowess canonly appear on creaturesas its ability is only relevant to creatures. It’s also only found on red, white, or blue creatures as it was originally a keyword associated with the Jeskai Way faction in Khans of Takir.
Since then, prowess has become a rare but highly desirable keyword.It provides blue creatures with a relevant combat trick, turning cheap draw spells (such as Brainstorm or Ponder) into power and toughness for any creature with the prowess keyword.
While prowess isoften at its best when paired with instants, the keyword will trigger whenever a noncreature spell is cast. This includes enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers, battles, and sorceries.
An enchantment creature or artifact creature willnottrigger prowess. The spell cannot have the word creature anywhere in its type. Prowess will also only trigger once per spell regardless if there are multiple noncreature typings in a single spell.
How To Make The Most Out Of Prowess
Casting multiple spells will trigger prowess multiple times—once for each spell. This makes prowess best used in decks with few creatures but multiple cheap spells that also replace themselves by drawing additional cards.
Brainstorm, Opt, Gitaxian Probe, and Consider are greatto pair with creatures that have the prowess keyword. Sorceries such asPeek, Ponder, Preordain, Portent, and Serum Visionsare less useful as they can’t be used as combat tricks, but still good for providing prowess creatures with a boost before combat.
Keeping a handful of these cheap spells (commonly referred to as cantrips) can allow you to pump a prowess creature’s power before castingSlip Through Space or Enter the Enigma to make it unblockable—a nasty surprise.
Another great way to leverage the power of prowess is tomake it the kill card in an infinite combo. The combo doesn’t even need to do anything—all you need to do is cast a noncreature spell infinitely to give a creature with prowess infinite power and toughness until end of turn.
One potential combo is Retraction Helix, Zephyr Scribe, and any zero-cost artifact. Simply keep bouncing and replaying the zero-cost artifact to give your prowess creature whatever power and toughness you wish.
Prowess is also one of the few keyword abilities that stacks. If a creature somehow gets prowess multiple times, each instance of the keyword will trigger separately. For example, Monastery Swiftspear would get two instances of prowess if Bria, Riptide Rogue is on the board, so casting Brainstorm would give Monastery Swiftspear +2/+2 until end of turn.
It’s also worth noting thatprowess isn’t the only ability that triggers when a noncreature spell is cast. Cards like Murmuring Mystic, Sprite Dragon, Third Path Iconoclast, and Guttersnipe are excellent additions to any deck that focuses on non-creature spells.
Prowess is alsogreat to pair with spells that havethe flashback abilityas you may essentially cast the same spell twice.
The Best Cards With Prowess
There are currently73 cards with prowess in Magic, and while we can’t talk about all of them, we can certainly highlight a few standouts.
Many of these creatureshave already been highlighted in our previous list here, butMonastery Mentor, Harmonic Prodigy, and Soul-Scar Mage all deserve special mention. The first produces tokens, the second doubles triggered abilities (including prowess), and the third pairs extremely well with burn spells.
Monastery Swiftspear is often the bedrock of any prowess-themed deckfor its extreme efficiency. Bedlam Reveler is great for when you’ve already expended your hand, and Elsha Of The Infinite can make an incredible commander.
But perhaps not as goodBria, Riptide Rogueof the Bloomburrow expansion. This Otter Rogue can double the number of prowess triggers while also making a creature unblockable.Narset, Enlightened Exilesimilarly doubles up on prowess triggers but also lets you cast noncreature spells from your graveyard.
Two uncommons deserve some mention.Curious Homunculustaps for mana to fuel instants and sorceries, and eventually turns intoVoracious Reader, a much larger creature with prowess that reduces the cost of instants and sorceries.Stormcatch Mentorsimilarly reduces the cost of sorceries and instants by one generic mana while also having prowess and haste.
And finally,Ral, Crackling Witmight not be a creature with prowess, but his planeswalker abilityproduces 1/1 blue and red Otter creature tokens that have prowess. He also has other highly useful abilities for any prowess-themed deck.
