The third day of Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020 spoilers are underway and with them is Bishop of the Exalted, providing lifegain and tokens to an M20 Angel deck.
Set to release on July 12 and digitally via MTG Arena on July 2, MTG Core Set 2020 contains 280 new and reprinted cards. The current themes established through M20 spoilers so far include Elements, Burn, and Angels. Dropping today is a human cleric whose primary ability is to provide life within an Angel deck.
Bishop of the Exalted
Exalted was a previous Magic: The Gathering mechanic which gave other angels plus one/plus one. With the M20 Bishop of the Exalted, the mechanic is replaced with two static abilities that provide tokens and lifegain.
Bishop of the Exalted supports an Angel deck by providing four life points to a player every time an angel enters the battlefield. Ironically, there isn’t any specific text which says the angel can’t be a token. When combined with Divine Visitation, Bishop of the Exalted gives Angel decks a huge boost in power.
Related: MTG Angels receive life-gaining power through M20 Angel of Vitality
Divine Visitation (Guilds of Ravnica) turns tokens entering the battlefield into four/four white angel tokens instead. With Bishop of the Exalted’s second static ability, a one/one flying spirit token is created when an angel dies. Divine Visitation, however, turns that one/one spirit into a four/four flying angel.
While the return of the Exalted mechanic would have been a plus, Bishop of the Exalted is a decent addition towards the M20 angel spoilers and an Angel deck in Standard or Commander.
Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020 releases July 12 and has a pre-release event running July 5-6. Digital players will get full early access to the M20 set via MTG Arena and Magic Online July 2.
