We continue our foray into Kamigawa block this week with a mechanic that appeared on the Patron cycle in Betrayers of Kamigawa. These five creatures were playable at instant speed, but only if you made an offering.
What is Offering?
Offering comes into play when you cast a card that has it, although it can also modify the timing with which you can cast that spell. If you use offering, you can cast these creatures as though they had flash. To do so, you sacrifice a creature of the specified type — so in the case of Patron of the Nezumi, you’d sacrifice a Rat. In addition to letting you cast the Patron at instant-speed, you also get a discount on the mana you need to cast it, equal to the mana cost of the creature you sacrificed. Offering doesn’t just allow you to save on generic mana — you can save on colored mana as well.
A few notes on offering:
- Sacrificing a creature to offering as part of casting the spell. Your opponent can’t respond by killing the creature; you’ll have already sacrificed it.
- You can only sacrifice one creature for each instance of offering.
- Offering doesn’t mitigate any effects that would prevent you from casting a creature.
- You can sacrifice a token or any other creature with no mana cost to pay for offering. You’d have to pay full price for the Patron, but you’d still get the “cast at instant-speed” part of the effect.
Offering is a bit of an oddball tribal mechanic, but it can allow for some very tricky plays. Check out the full cycle of cards with offering, and consider adding them to your decks!