Historically, errata were extremely rare events reserved as a last resort to fix broken MTG cards and mechanics. The Companion errata is perhaps the most infamous of all, nerfing a mechanic that was taking over Magic at every level. Similarly, Cascade had to receive an errata after double-sided cards began to break the mechanic. More often than not, however, errata are a lot smaller, impacting single cards instead of entire mechanics.
Nowadays, with so many MTG cards coming out, small errata tend to appear now and then to fix some problems that slipped through the cracks. Occasionally, a card makes it to print that doesn’t function as Wizards of the Coast intended. Fortunately, these errors are generally fixed right away in spoiler season.
That said, these MTG errata usually happen to unnoteworthy commons or uncommons that would otherwise be a bit too powerful in Limited. This time, a surprise MTG errata has been announced for Ashling, the Limitless, the face Commander of Dance of the Elements.
MTG Ashling, the Limitless Errata
Ashling, the Limitless is an incredibly powerful Commander when you take full advantage of its Evoke abilities. Not only does Ashling provide a potential discount for all your Elementals, but its triggered ability grants a second round of ETB effects. This can wreak havoc with the new cycle of massive Elementals coming in Dance of the Elements, like Impulsivity.
As Ashling currently reads, however, you aren’t just limited to Evoking Elemental creatures into play. You can also Evoke noncreature Kindred spells like Ashling’s Command. Since instants and sorceries never enter the battlefield, the sacrifice trigger of an Evoked card would never go on the stack. As cool as this interaction would be, Evoke isn’t intended to be used with instants and sorceries, so an Errata to Ashling is needed.
Replying to an answer about the interaction on Bluesky, MTG designer Matt Tabak revealed that an errata for Ashling, the Limitless will be coming in the Lorwyn Eclipsed release notes. According to Tabak, “Ashling is getting an update to its wording to function only with Elemental permanent spells.” This will prevent players from Evoking Kindred instants and sorceries, bringing Ashling in line with its intended use.
Fortunately, for those looking forward to Ashling, the Limitless, this won’t change the card’s function too much. Outside of a few specific use cases, Ashling will still be an incredibly powerful five-color Elemental Commander. This change does, notably, prevent an infinite combo between Ashling, the Limitless and Ashling’s Command, but the instant still has plenty of infinite combo potential.
Despite the minor impact on Ashling’s playability, players aren’t a fan of this errata since it is undeniably a nerf to the Commander. That said, Evoking an instant or sorcery is something unprecedented in Magic: The Gathering. If allowed, this unintended interaction could create a slippery slope to something much scarier in the future.
Stick with us at mtgrocks.com: the best place for Magic: The Gathering coverage!