Ashen Rider's strength lies in its powerful enters-the-battlefield and dies trigger, exiling any permanent, making it excellent against threats like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Emrakul, the Promised End. However, its high mana cost and vulnerability to removal are significant weaknesses, limiting its effectiveness in aggressive strategies. It shines in control and midrange decks leveraging its ability to answer various threats and provide a powerful late-game presence.

Ashen Rider is a powerful 5/5 flying Archon with a significant enters-the-battlefield and leaves-the-battlefield effect. Its high mana cost of {4}{W}{W}{B}{B} reflects its considerable power. The key mechanic is its ability to exile a target permanent whenever it enters the battlefield or dies. This means that Ashen Rider's impact is felt both offensively and defensively. You can use it to remove a problematic threat like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon when it enters, then, if it's removed from play by a board wipe such as Wrath of God, its death trigger will remove another key enemy permanent.

The "exile target permanent" clause is crucial. "Permanent" encompasses creatures, enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers, and lands. The target chosen is exiled immediately; it doesn't go to the graveyard, meaning it can't be returned by cards that typically recur from the graveyard such as Unburial Rites or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Note that the exile effect targets a single permanent; it cannot exile multiple permanents at once, even if its controller has multiple valid targets they'd like to eliminate.

There are some edge cases to consider. If Ashen Rider enters the battlefield and is immediately removed by an effect that destroys it before its enters-the-battlefield trigger resolves, only the death trigger will resolve. Similarly, if an effect removes it from the battlefield before either trigger resolves, neither trigger will resolve. The order in which triggers resolve is typically determined by the game's stack, but the exact timing of trigger resolution can be crucial in interacting with other cards, like Sudden Edict or Path to Exile. Furthermore, effects that prevent Ashen Rider from entering the battlefield will prevent the enters-the-battlefield trigger from ever resolving. For example, if Ghostly Prison is in play and Ashen Rider is cast and an effect that reduces its mana cost makes it not cost enough mana to pay then the Ashen Rider won't enter the battlefield.

Ashen Rider's strategic value lies in its potent ability to exile a permanent upon entering or leaving the battlefield, combined with its impressive 5/5 body and flying. This makes it a versatile tool for a variety of strategies. The high mana cost restricts its use to slower, more controlling decks, but the payoff is significant. Decks focused on controlling the board state and removing key threats will find Ashen Rider invaluable.

Its primary role is as a powerful board sweeper. The ability to exile a permanent upon entry is ideal for eliminating problematic permanents such as Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Blood Moon before they can significantly impact the game. Similarly, exiling a threat as it dies creates a powerful tempo swing. The flexibility of choosing which permanent to exile is crucial, allowing you to prioritize threats like troublesome enchantments, problematic creatures, or even opposing planeswalkers. This is particularly impactful against strategies that rely heavily on specific cards, such as combo decks or decks with powerful planeswalkers.

Archetypes that benefit most from Ashen Rider include control decks, particularly those utilizing black and white. Examples include Orzhov (black/white) control decks that can leverage its synergy with other exile effects like Sorin, Grim Nemesis or Strix Serenade. It can also find a home in more aggressive midrange decks, although its high mana cost might make it less ideal for those styles. In such decks, Ashen Rider could act as a powerful finisher, capable of taking over the game.

The double color requirements (2 white, 2 black) also suggest synergy with decks that can readily generate mana of both colors or produce mana efficiently, such as those using Cabal Coffers or Arcane Signet in conjunction with mana-fixing strategies.

The Ashen Rider's high mana cost necessitates a deck built around maximizing its impact and mitigating the cost. Its ability to exile a permanent both on entry and death makes it a powerful removal engine, but its vulnerability to removal before it can trigger its ability necessitates a supporting strategy. A strong control shell is a good starting point, allowing you to manipulate the board state and set up Ashen Rider's arrival for maximum effect. Cards like Wrath of God or Supreme Verdict can clear the board, preparing the way for Ashen Rider to eliminate a key threat like a planeswalker or an indestructible creature.

Synergies exist with cards that allow for creature recursion or sacrifice, maximizing the value of the exile ability. Reanimate or Living Death can bring back Ashen Rider after its death trigger, effectively doubling its removal power. Furthermore, cards that can manipulate the battlefield to ensure your opponent has a key permanent to exile upon Ashen Rider's entrance greatly increase its power. Ghost Quarter and similar land destruction spells can force an opponent to use valuable lands to maintain board presence, setting up a situation where you can exile a powerful permanent with the Ashen Rider.

To reduce the reliance on Ashen Rider alone, other powerful removal spells should be included in the deck. Path to Exile, Doom Blade, and Swords to Plowshares can handle early threats, allowing you to hold Ashen Rider for a more decisive moment. If the goal is to maximize the double-exile effect, cards like Crucible of Worlds can allow the use of land destruction repeatedly, fueling the necessity of exile effects and therefore maximizing the value of Ashen Rider. Finally, cards that protect Ashen Rider from removal spells, like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves, can be crucial in ensuring its effectiveness.

Ashen Rider's high mana cost significantly restricts its viability across various formats. Its power level, however, makes it a potent tool where it can be successfully cast.

In Standard, the eight-mana cost is prohibitive. Few Standard decks can consistently generate this much mana across two colors, especially white and black, without significantly impacting their curve and consistency. While exiling a problematic permanent is powerful, the high cost makes it an unreliable inclusion, unless a dedicated ramp strategy supports it.

Historic offers slightly more promise. The card pool is larger and contains more consistent ramp strategies that might support such a heavy cost. However, even in Historic, the competition is fierce, and exiling a single permanent, while strong, may not be enough to justify Ashen Rider's steep mana cost compared to other powerful Historic cards. Its ability might be strong against strategies heavily reliant on a few key permanents, such as Urza, Lord High Artificer decks, but it’s vulnerable to removal spells before it can resolve.

Commander is where Ashen Rider truly shines. The higher mana curve and greater ability to ramp into expensive cards make its eight-mana cost less of a burden. Its ability to exile a problematic permanent upon entering the battlefield or dying can significantly disrupt opponents' strategies. Furthermore, its high power and toughness make it a respectable threat even if its ability is countered. The card is particularly strong in decks that can abuse its death trigger, potentially using Phyrexian Altar or similar effects to repeatedly exile problematic permanents. While not a staple in every Commander deck, Ashen Rider provides a powerful, if somewhat expensive, tool for controlling the board and interacting with powerful permanents.

Ashen Rider's enters-the-battlefield and death triggers offer powerful disruption in a variety of situations. One impactful scenario involves facing a board saturated with problematic permanents. Imagine a late-game situation where your opponent controls a Triumph of the Hordes, generating a massive army, and a Champion of Ronom significantly boosting their creatures' power. Playing Ashen Rider exiles either the Champion, negating the power boost and significantly weakening the army, or the Triumph itself, removing the army's source entirely. The 5/5 flying body also provides immediate offensive pressure, further pressuring your opponent.

Another scenario highlights Ashen Rider's utility as a reactive element. Suppose your opponent casts a powerful planeswalker like Elspeth, Sun's Champion and begins generating tokens. While you might lack the immediate removal to deal with Elspeth, Ashen Rider's triggered ability on death allows you to respond by exiling the planeswalker after it has created its tokens. This gives you a powerful removal option even in response to a card you may have otherwise lacked the tools to deal with immediately. It's a strategic play that forces your opponent to consider the value of their planeswalker against the threat of its immediate exile.

Finally, a clever use of Ashen Rider's ability is its value as a tempo play in a control-style matchup. Consider a situation where you and your opponent are locked in a stalemate, each with few permanents on the board. Playing Ashen Rider, exiling a key land, or a potent enchantment like Ghostly Prison, disrupts your opponent's plan, buying valuable time and setting up future advantage. Then sacrificing it to Phyrexian Altar for a significant mana gain, further expanding your tempo play.

Ashen Rider, a powerful Archon with a striking color combination, first appeared in the 2x2 set, a supplemental product notoriously known for its powerful and sometimes problematic cards. Its high mana cost of {4}{W}{W}{B}{B} immediately signaled its potential as a late-game powerhouse. The combination of flying and the potent ability to exile a target permanent upon entering or leaving the battlefield made it a highly sought-after card in various formats. This effect, offering removal versatility irrespective of whether it's a creature or a planeswalker like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, is a key element defining Ashen Rider’s impact.

Its ability to act as both proactive and reactive removal was crucial. Unlike many other removal spells, Ashen Rider's exile effect wasn't temporary; permanents banished by Ashen Rider stayed out of the game, circumventing strategies relying on graveyard recursion, a factor significantly relevant against decks featuring cards like Collected Company or Griselbrand. The sheer power level, coupled with its high mana cost, created a unique strategic niche, influencing deck building in both constructed and limited formats.

Reprints of Ashen Rider have been infrequent, reflecting its potent effect. Its absence from major core sets speaks volumes about its power level and the potential for disruption in the balance of established archetypes. The scarcity of reprints likely contributed to maintaining its value and desirability among collectors and players. Its absence has also meant that the metagame has adjusted without the consistent pressure of readily accessible Ashen Rider copies. The card remains a powerful option, frequently seen in Commander and other casual formats where its cost is less of a limiting factor. Its impact, therefore, remains relevant despite its rarity in competitive play.

Ashen Rider's flavor text perfectly captures the card's design. The name itself evokes imagery of a celestial being touched by death or destruction, a fallen angel perhaps, wielding power even in its demise. The mana cost reflects this duality, demanding both white and black mana, suggesting a blend of angelic power and destructive force. The artwork should ideally reflect this conflict – a magnificent archon, perhaps bearing scars or wreathed in ash, demonstrating a visually compelling balance between the light and dark aspects of the card. Its 5/5 body and flying ability establish it as a powerful threat, fitting for a rare card. The ability to exile a target permanent both upon entry and death further underscores this duality, representing both proactive aggression and lingering, destructive power even in defeat. This ability is reminiscent of Wrath of God, but offers a more targeted and flexible approach; unlike the board wipe, it can remove problematic permanents like indestructible creatures or planeswalkers that would otherwise survive. The card's high mana cost balances its power level and ensures that it doesn't become overly oppressive. Within the hypothetical "2x2" set, assuming this represents a set focused on duality or conflicting forces, Ashen Rider would be a thematic cornerstone, embodying the clash between life and death, light and darkness, creation and destruction. It sits comfortably amongst cards which explore similar conflicting themes. For example, the card could find a home alongside cards that represent the destructive force of black mana but also utilize white's capacity for cleansing or purification, creating interesting deckbuilding synergies.

The Ashen Rider, with its hefty mana cost of {4}{W}{W}{B}{B}, is not considered budget-friendly. Its high mana cost makes it difficult to consistently play in most decks without significant support, impacting its overall value for its cost. This puts it at a disadvantage compared to other cards which provide similar or better effects at a reduced mana cost. Several alternatives offer comparable or even superior removal options without the same mana commitment.

For example, Wrath of God offers board wipes, albeit at a slower speed than Ashen Rider's immediate exile effect. While it doesn't exile permanents individually, it can be much more efficient in certain matchups. Alternatively, cards like Doom Blade or Go for the Throat provide targeted removal at a significantly lower cost, although they are limited to creatures. Even planeswalkers, such as Sorin, Grim Nemesis, offer removal capabilities at a variable cost, usually lower than the Ashen Rider's consistent cost. Depending on your deck's needs and strategy, many cheaper options offer impactful removal.

Ashen Rider's enters-the-battlefield and leaves-the-battlefield abilities offer surprising flexibility beyond simple removal. Its high mana cost necessitates careful consideration of its deployment, but strategic use can yield significant advantages. The ability to exile a permanent both on entrance and death allows for powerful interactions with cards that care about permanents entering or leaving the battlefield.

For example, Reanimate or similar effects can be used to repeatedly leverage Ashen Rider's death trigger. By bringing it back from the graveyard, you can exile another problematic permanent. This creates a reusable removal engine, especially effective against persistent threats like indestructible creatures or planeswalkers. The interaction with Phyrexian Reclamation offers a similar strategy, albeit at a higher mana cost.

The versatility of exiling also extends beyond simply removing threats. Exiling a key land from an opponent can disrupt their mana development, while exiling a crucial enchantment or artifact can cripple their strategy. This ability to target any permanent means Ashen Rider isn't limited to dealing with creatures.

Furthermore, the exile effect bypasses protection from spells or abilities. While other removal spells might be negated by such effects, Ashen Rider's ability remains unaffected, making it a valuable tool against otherwise resilient permanents. This is particularly potent against decks relying heavily on protection effects. Consider the value of exiling a Platinum Angel or a well-protected planeswalker.

Finally, consider the timing implications. Ashen Rider's entrance trigger happens before other effects triggered by the arrival of a new creature. This allows you to remove a troublesome creature or artifact before your opponent can react, denying potential responses or counterspells. Conversely, its death trigger will always resolve unless something prevents the trigger itself from happening.

Common Mistakes with Ashen Rider

A frequent mistake is misjudging the timing of Ashen Rider's exile effect. Players sometimes forget that the exile trigger happens when the creature enters the battlefield, not after. This means if you are using it in response to something, you need to be prepared to sacrifice it to get the effect. Using Ashen Rider to exile a threat only to have it die before it even deals damage to your opponent doesn't get you very far. Consider this if you're using it in response to a threatening Giant Spider or other powerful but easily removed creature.

Another common error involves failing to consider the opponent's responses. Exiling a problematic permanent is strong, but only if you're certain your opponent can't simply replace it, potentially with a better permanent or an immediate response that negates your action. For example, if your opponent has a Reanimate effect in hand, exiling their Grave Titan might still leave them ahead. Conversely, exiling a key component of their combo may not be as effective if they have another card that accomplishes the same goal. Carefully consider the board state and your opponent's likely plays before activating Ashen Rider's ability.

Finally, some players overvalue Ashen Rider's death trigger. While the double exile effect is powerful, it's vital to remember that sacrificing a 5/5 creature to exile a single permanent is only worthwhile in specific scenarios. If the board state doesn't require such a drastic measure, it might be better to play it defensively or proactively in another way, conserving the significant mana cost. Remember, if you are able to remove a high priority threat with the arrival of the Ashen Rider, its sacrifice may not be as impactful.