Magic: The Gathering set to receive incredible Prowess support with Monastery Mentor in March of the Machine

Arriving in under a month, Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming expansion will reward spell-heavy decks with Monastery Mentor. March of the Machine is expected to be the conclusion to the current ongoing MTG storyline, which means that the biggest weapons on both sides of the multiverse war will be unveiled. Although the Phyrexians have many powerful otherworldly forces to bring to bear against all realms, these people won’t go down without a fight.

Monastery Mentor is one such ally that's fighting against Elesh Norn. Spell-heavy decks are fun, but they often require some form of additional damage to make their win conditions reliable. Thanks to this card featuring the keyword Prowess, it’s going to be easier than ever for spell decks to flood the board with creatures that also grow in strength when you cast non-creature spells.

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Monastery Mentor is an incredible new card for Magic: The Gathering’s March of the Machine expansion

Originally printed in Fate Reforged, this popular Eternal format card is returning to the Standard meta in Magic: The Gathering. Printed back in 2015, this Prowess card allowed players to create more creatures that had Prowess attached to them as well.

For those who aren't familiar with Monastery Mentor or the Prowess ability, here’s what it does. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, creatures with Prowess gain +1/+1 until the end of the turn. In the past, cards like Monastery Swiftspear have been iconic Prowess creatures and were the key to defeating other players.

Monastery Mentor in Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Monastery Mentor

• Mana Value: 2W
• Type: Human Monk
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• Keyword: Prowess
• Stats: 2 power, 2 toughness
• Ability: Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 white Monk creature token with prowess.

Interestingly, what makes Monastery Mentor stand out in Magic: The Gathering isn’t his stats, which are pretty standard for his Mana Value and ability. Essentially, anytime you cast a noncreature spell, you'll gain another monk token with Prowess. Although they're only 1/1 creatures, they'll be buffed whenever you cast spells.

There are many useful ways to use this creature, with perhaps the best option being Boros Aggro. This could be the creature that wins the game for you, popping a variety of buffs to keep it alive and constantly building up an army. However, this isn’t the only use for it.

Knight Tribal is likely to make a comeback as well, thanks to the new Teferi battle card. It will need a few ways to build up an army, and since it’s likely going to be Esper Control as well, you’ll have plenty of spells to cast. Furthermore, you can use this in White/Black aggro decks, with removal/buff spells.

Monastery Mentor will be available for players to crack open on April 21, 2023, when the March of the Machine expansion officially releases for the Magic: The Gathering card game.