A classic, these and rathi trappers and 1000yr elixers are a decent combo i use with good effect.
darkerthought7
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This card can often put the game at a standstill. I got 2 of these in a fat pack, gave them to a friend who plays black (because I won't touch the things), and now regret that decision. I'll have an armada of flying blue creatures not attacking because they are cowering in fear of this card. I Essence Scatter/Unsummon whenever possible...
thelittleupsman
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
four of him is a staple in my black deck
MetalCrisis
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(4 votes)
It's Shagrath!
atticusfear
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(3 votes)
just got my fourth assassin and also got Garruk Wildspeaker today. trying to make a deck that could combine the two types of cards
Genetic9
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(6 votes)
Royal Assassin kicks twice as much ass :D
Chromatone
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Put a whispersilk cloak on him for some real flavorful annoyance! This card shuts down Exalted decks.
Saxophonist
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
He looks like someone who would be with the Orzhov Syndicate to me.
RJTheDestroyer
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Such a good card to have for making your opponent(s) scared to attack.
iondragonx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Tap-Dance of Death! Bring back the Icy Manipulator!
SocialExperiment
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy and a reasonably strong Protean Hydra will pretty much be all the defense you need (if the Hydra doesn't work for you, consider Wall of Denial). This guy stops anything that doesn't have vigilance or protection from black, and the Hydra stops anything that isn't able to kill it in one turn (since it just gets bigger). Still, it was fun playing against this card and suddenly playing a couple of Serra Angels, that threw my opponent off balance.
inmypants22
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
i once killed a 82/82 grizzly bear with this
PaladinOfSunhome
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is awesome and a good punishmet for any tought attacking cards.
4.0
djpraiseadelik
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Four Royals, Four Gatekeeper of Malakir's, and Four Vampire Nighthawk in a monoblack deck=Tier 1 pwnage. He's the reason that monoblack control decks can become very effective.
Alex123321
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
if u play with this card u will know wat it feels like 2 use noob
nammertime
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(6 votes)
In Soviet Russia, tapped creatures destroy Royal Assassins!
Like Birds of Paradise, He could have been a reprint in the Ravnica set as part of the Dimir guild.
Gezus82
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this card. Its so simple and efficient. It's not one of those that screams "build around me! build around me" instead it calmly taps you on the shoulder and says: "you know you can use me in just about any deck"
Snaxme
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Same flavor text as the Alpha version :D
ESUpin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of the original cards that has survived until today.
LivingFoul
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
amazing card!!! got a pair in my black/green....could "stalemate" games for those with no direct damage cards...love pulling them out my graveyard with my Undertaker and wiping out creatures that i use Paralize on...they are kinda flawed against my personal straight red deck i put together to answer the beating my friend gave me with a few assassins he was using.
AXER
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Annoying mofo to go up against. Can only rely on big numbers against his punk a**.
Tobolococo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
BLACK CONTROL,use four of these guys on my vamp deck, i know they are human assassins but i cant resist to these card, in fact i also use them in my other black deck, i just move them from one deck to the other depending on which deck i will be playing at the FNM.
very usefull card, your opponents will just attack with their expendable creatures or not attack at all, if they take one out of the table with a path, put down another one and watch them cry. i dont recommend putting down more than two at a time, you just need one to scare your opponents, two just in case but if you put down the four( if you get the four in hand) then they play wrath of god or planar cleansing or whatever, and they clear you up, in my vamp deck, no way to bring them back, on my mono-black not vamp there are alternatives like rise from the grave.
one of my personal favorite cards, every time i have it played against me, it hurts.
love you doble ass
VoidedNote
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
With this and Sleep you can wipe out your opponent's two strongest creatures. Shame its so weak, any damage will kill it. And it can't do anything to creatures with vigilance either.
JaxsonBateman
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
It's amazing that this doesn't see constructed play. Of course, I don't know what I'd take out of Jund or Vamps to put it in, but really, for 3 mana you have potentially reusable spot removal that *must* be dealt with - which means that one of your other creatures is going to get let off the hook.
While it's by no means a very competitive deck, I've been using 4 in a mono black aggro deck I've been playing around with. It's a great defensive tool, and also does a fantastic job of getting rid of my Abyssal Persecutors once I've dropped the opponent below 0.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How can you not rate this card a 5?
Tezz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this card makes me want to play black so i did, with a discard deck
when an opponent declares an attacker, it gets tapped. can you instantly kill it before doing any combat damage?
Sironos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Use this guy with alluring siren, possibly with a regen creature to absorb the dmg, like sheep to the slaughter >:)
This guy is like a nuclear missile, he never has to be used to have an effect, the sheer fear he provides by his presence works wonders.
Duskdale_Wurm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Royal assassin kicks twice as much butt/ass. Lol. Anyways Royal a. s. s. a. s. s. i. n rocks.
3.5/5
Ventrisor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Combine this with Blinding Mage and you have a winner
I love this card. A 3-drop show-stopper, like many have pointed out. The group I play with has very little removal, and things like Doom Blade can't touch him.
To those who were wondering, or those who were doing it wrong (Tezz asked a question, and Sironos implied he wasn't operating it right), when your opponent declares an attack, he taps his or her creature(s). Since "Declare Attackers" can be "responded to," you can use Royal Assassin to take out anything you want. Annihilator, Mage Slayer, Lord of Shatterskull Pass, and other such cards still take their effect, but you can still blast a few people.
Yes, he's a 1/1, and yes he's easily targeted for things, but in the end, you paid 3 for a single card that can keep an army at bay. Throw in cards like Pestilent Kathari, and you have a defense that no one with bother you over.
tantallum99
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this guy is great. yes, susceptible to removal, but he only costs 3. 4.5/5
cats_and_me
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is probably one of the creature that benefits the most from Thousand-Year Elixir, because your opponent doesn't get to untap.. Also, you get to destroy two different tapped creatures for only four mana! :)
divine_exodus
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
CMC/power/toughness ratio: not too good. he has a weak body, and if your opponent makes you attack or block with him, watch out. He's extremely formidable with shroud, or you may want to boost up his P and T with unholy strength or something. His cmc is not too high, so he should see play early. Always a good thing.
Creature type/Rarity: he definately deserves this rare status. His creature type is a bit weak, but then again, as a vampire he would be extremely broken and probably have to be a mythic to compensate for that. I'm glad they brought him back though.
Ability: Woah. His tap ability is very dangerous. Easy to combo with many cards, from spells like sleep to artifacts that tap creatures. Your opponent acts much more cautiously with this guy out, and throw in a few wall of frosts to get complete board domination. The downside is, if your opponent attacks, and you tap the royal to kill the creature your opponent attacked with, your opponent could lay a narcolepsy or something to that effect on you. Hence the importance of shrouding him as mentioned earlier.
Final score: A solid 5/5. He influences the way your opponent will play, and the upsides greatly outweigh the bad. A great card in any black deck.
Comments (39)
4.0
very usefull card, your opponents will just attack with their expendable creatures or not attack at all, if they take one out of the table with a path, put down another one and watch them cry. i dont recommend putting down more than two at a time, you just need one to scare your opponents, two just in case but if you put down the four( if you get the four in hand) then they play wrath of god or planar cleansing or whatever, and they clear you up, in my vamp deck, no way to bring them back, on my mono-black not vamp there are alternatives like rise from the grave.
one of my personal favorite cards, every time i have it played against me, it hurts.
love you doble ass
While it's by no means a very competitive deck, I've been using 4 in a mono black aggro deck I've been playing around with. It's a great defensive tool, and also does a fantastic job of getting rid of my Abyssal Persecutors once I've dropped the opponent below 0.
so i did, with a discard deck
when an opponent declares an attacker, it gets tapped. can you instantly kill it before doing any combat damage?
This guy is like a nuclear missile, he never has to be used to have an effect, the sheer fear he provides by his presence works wonders.
3.5/5
To those who were wondering, or those who were doing it wrong (Tezz asked a question, and Sironos implied he wasn't operating it right), when your opponent declares an attack, he taps his or her creature(s). Since "Declare Attackers" can be "responded to," you can use Royal Assassin to take out anything you want. Annihilator, Mage Slayer, Lord of Shatterskull Pass, and other such cards still take their effect, but you can still blast a few people.
Yes, he's a 1/1, and yes he's easily targeted for things, but in the end, you paid 3 for a single card that can keep an army at bay. Throw in cards like Pestilent Kathari, and you have a defense that no one with bother you over.
Creature type/Rarity: he definately deserves this rare status. His creature type is a bit weak, but then again, as a vampire he would be extremely broken and probably have to be a mythic to compensate for that. I'm glad they brought him back though.
Ability: Woah. His tap ability is very dangerous. Easy to combo with many cards, from spells like sleep to artifacts that tap creatures. Your opponent acts much more cautiously with this guy out, and throw in a few wall of frosts to get complete board domination. The downside is, if your opponent attacks, and you tap the royal to kill the creature your opponent attacked with, your opponent could lay a narcolepsy or something to that effect on you. Hence the importance of shrouding him as mentioned earlier.
Final score: A solid 5/5. He influences the way your opponent will play, and the upsides greatly outweigh the bad. A great card in any black deck.