The 30 Best Bestow Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 26, 2024

Kestia, the Cultivator | Illustration by Zezhou Chen

Theros was defined by its enchantment creatures. From the mighty gods to the cycle of Archetypes to the rare Heliod, God of the Sun cleric tokens, enchantment creatures are unavoidable on this plane. Two mechanics emerged as part of this enchantment theme.

The first, constellation, just rewarded you for playing the card type: enchantments. The second, bestow, generated advantage in more subtle ways. Let’s dive right in and see why!

What Are Bestow Cards in MTG?

Baleful Eidolon | Illustration by Min Yum

Bestow is an alternate casting cost ability that exclusively appears on enchantment creatures. Bestow X means you can cast that spell “bestowed” for X, its bestow cost. If you do, the spell becomes an aura enchantment and gets the “enchant creature” ability.

You choose a target for the aura spell and the bestowed card enters the battlefield enchanting that creature. When that aura becomes unattached (typically from that creature dying), it loses its bestowed quality and becomes an enchantment creature again, losing the aura subtype and enchant creature ability.

This is a very long-winded way to say that bestow creatures can enchant a creature like an aura and then become a creature again when they die.

#30. Observant Alseid

Observant Alseid lets your Voltron commander go to town in combat, and stay up to discourage attacks during all the other turns that happen before your next beginning phase. If you've got three opponents, it's OK to place more value on being able to block, and so the vigilant representative for bestow has got you covered.

#29. Leafcrown Dryad

Depending on the creature you bestow, Leafcrown Dryad can give you a chance against those dragons, angels, and sphinxes flying around Commander tables. And if they run little flying tokens you can start gobbling them up. A strong reach creature is often undervalued, yet in EDH you often have 3x the potential attackers than in a 1v1 game. Don't sleep on Leafcrown and the ability to make a huge stop sign for fliers.

#28. Flitterstep Eidolon

More and more saboteur abilities are printed every set, so to ensure you've got at least one creature that can slip through defenses is a job for Flitterstep Eidolon. The power boost is welcome since the commander damage difference between six and seven power is quite significant. You never know when you'll catch an opponent with no answer for an unblockable creature.

#27. Nimbus Naiad

Nimbus Naiad makes a decent late-game play and helps your large creatures push lethal damage through the air. Sometimes opponents simply can't block flying or run out of flying attackers, and that's when you swoop in with this nymph for some flying pressure.

#26. Mogis's Warhound

Mogis's Warhound grants +2/+2 for three mana but effectively goads the enchanted creature into attacking each turn. It’s an aggressive aura that can push a lot of damage through before it's permanently removed as one of the cheaper bestow cards.

You definitely want to bestow the Warhound for maximum value.

#25. Gnarled Scarhide

There are only five 1-mana bestow cards, and Gnarled Scarhide isn’t the best. A 2/1 that can’t block is typical for a black uncommon, but bestowing that downside onto the enchanted creature is hardly worth it at four mana.

You can enchant your opponent’s creature to prevent it from blocking in a pinch… if you’re willing to give it +2/+1 as well.

#24. Trickster's Elk

You want to say Trickster's Elk is like removal, and granted, switching off the busted activated abilities on a key creature is impactful in a singleton format, just make sure you don't care about your opponent controlling a non-flying 3/3 because you might accidentally improve an opposing creature with +1/+1 counters.

#23. Nyxborn Unicorn

Learning Magic from a Nyxborn Unicorn is hardly the strangest thing in MTG. I really love my mentor creatures to have more stats, so the +2/+2 really helps mentor function.

#22. Crystalline Nautilus

Crystalline Nautilus is one of only two nautilus creatures in Magic. It grants a +4/+4 buff with the downside of also giving the illusion-style sacrifice ability to its target. You’ll get a replacement creature when the enchanted one inevitably dies, and that’s all fair for five mana.

You could use the Nautilus offensively, enchanting an opponent’s creature to make it easier to kill.

#21. Ghostblade Eidolon

You’d normally see a 1/1 with double strike cost about two mana (see: Fencing Ace), so Ghostblade Eidolon comes in at a little too expensive. The six mana for the enchantment and extra body is still pretty steep compared to something like Battle Mastery.

#20. Spiteful Returned

Spiteful Returned is one great way to guarantee two damage makes it past your opponent’s blockers. Coming back as a 1/1 means it’s not much of a threat and might die when it attacks, but that’s an okay trade-off at its 4-mana bestow cost.

#19. Nyxborn Shieldmate

The 1/2 Nyxborn Shieldmate is fair value for a common at one mana. Bestowing for three mana isn’t bad either, and it doesn’t come with a downside. The soldier is best in decks that need to keep enchantments on the battlefield.

#18. Indebted Spirit

Accumulate the tokens with Indebted Spirit and tell me that extra fliers on the board are too much. Chances are afterlife gives you a necessary blocker, other times you get spirits so that you can break stalemates.

#17. Glyph Elemental

The balanced and fair cost to cast Glyph Elemental, lead me to wonder how it ended up in white, and not green. The 2-mana investment does mean you can find a great rate of power to go along with your landfall strategy.

#16. Spirespine

Spirespine is great! If you’re looking to kill the enchanted creature, that is. It works as an inverse-Gnarled Scarhide in another edge case and can be used as, well, let’s call it “interesting” removal for your opponent’s creatures.

#15. Baleful Eidolon

Baleful Eidolon is a little overcosted at two mana for a 1/1 with deathtouch. That statline usually costs only one black except you’re paying for the versatility to bestow it for an even less-valuable five mana.

There’s no denying that this Eidolon runs expensive, but getting a guaranteed creature after trading in combat can be useful in Limited formats.

#14. Thassa's Emissary

Thassa's Emissary has one of the most expensive bestow costs and is a strong bestow card. The drawing ability and +3/+3 should be valued at about five mana in blue (compared to Drake Umbra or Illusionary Armor), so the extra mana for a body that sticks around makes this card a great value.

It also generates consistent value by drawing a card every turn or forcing difficult decisions in combat.

#13. Celestial Archon

Celestial Archon is another fairly playable bestow rare. Five mana for a 4/4 with two abilities is already pretty good, but bestowing for seven really makes it valuable. Seven mana puts the Archon at the top end of bestow costs, but the threat comes after enchanting a creature can usually finish out a game.

#12. Detective's Phoenix

What a sight to behold and my how the tables have been turned from the first bestow card's costs. One red plus collect evidence make Detective's Phoenix quite worth it when you can consistently attack with a recurable, flying, and hasty beater.

#11. Hopeful Eidolon

Hopeful Eidolon also saw play in the Standard of its day. +1/+1 and lifelink for four mana aren’t what you’d typically expect from an aura, but replacing itself with another 1/1 lifelinker makes this a valuable enchantment.

#10. Hypnotic Siren

Hypnotic Siren might not seem like much, but look closer: It’s a 1-mana 1/1 with flying, which was incredibly valuable in the meta of its day. It was only sparingly cast for its bestow cost, instead making the ideal target for future auras.

#9. Boon Satyr

Boon Satyr is a good card absent its bestow ability. A 4/2 with flash for three mana is great value, and bestowing it for two more is undoubtedly worth it.

Consider a green removal spell when your opponent attacks too early, or use it as a pseudo-haste effect and end their turn by dropping this or enchanting a creature. It’s a great beater for its mana and deserves a spot in many enchantment decks to this day.

#8. Herald of Torment

A 3/3 flier for three mana is easily one of the most valuable bestow creatures. For just two more, Herald of Torment gets you an extra body when you bestow it. This makes it one of the better bestow rares available.

#7. Nighthowler

Nighthowler bestows +1/+1 for each creature card among all graveyards. It mostly sees play in mill-based Commander decks as an extra copy of the Bonehoard effect. Four mana makes it comparable to lhurgoyfs in terms of value, so this sits on the strong side of bestow effects.

#6. Chromanticore

Chromanticore is the only 5-color bestow card, a 4/4 with keyword soup that gives its enchanted creature said soup. Seven mana for its bestow cost is very expensive, but any 5-color deck already runs mana-fixing and -ramping abilities to combat this.

#5. Eidolon of Countless Battles

The crème de la crème of bestow cards is Eidolon of Countless Battles. Ethereal Armor mixed with Pennon Blade that replaces the creature it enchants, and it only costs four mana? This is one of the flat-out best enchantment creatures there is.

This is even more powerful in a bestow deck since all those auras you control stick around as creatures when they’d normally be removed.

#4. Nyxborn Hydra

You might have spotted a hydra head in a game of Magic before, and Nyxborn Hydra isn't too crazy in terms of abilities. Reach and trample are important, and X number of +1/+1 counters is basically standard hydra procedure, but I love that the counters go onto the card while it's an aura, then still count when it becomes a creature. Here's the bottom line, it's the first common hydra outside of an Un-set. I sense a Pauper all-star.

#3. Triton Wavebreaker

Yes, red has a better 1-drop prowess creature, but blue has access to more and arguably better noncreature spells. I'd call the silver set symbol on Triton Wavebreaker a drawback since it can't be put into Pauper decks. This merfolk wizard essentially gives you two cheap prowess beaters and helps ensure your storm of spells get put to good use.

#2. Springheart Nantuko

With a cost this low, there's no reason not to bestow Springheart Nantuko upon another creature worth copying. Who you ask might be worthy of this enchanting card? You're creative enough to think beyond bugs because I got as far as Living Hive, Hornet Queen, and forget about the math, but stick with the landfall theme and make more copies of Scute Swarm.

#1. Kestia, the Cultivator

Commander 2018 gave us the a cool legendary bestow creature, Kestia, the Cultivator. Kestia is the perfect leader for any enchantment EDH deck since it rewards you for auras and the subsequent enchantment creatures they become.

I would’ve liked to see Kestia with another ability to grant to the creature it’s bestowed on, but it generates a lot of value regardless.

Best Bestow Payoffs

Enchantments have access to a lot of support in Magic, and many hail from the same block as the bestow cards.

There’s nothing better than the humble enchantress effect. Eidolon of Blossoms is a thematic choice for your deck full of Nyxborn creatures while Setessan Champion makes a great target for your bestowed auras. Hero of Iroas has the pleasure of being a payoff and enabler since bestowing a card onto this hero costs less and pumps it up.

Hateful Eidolon is an inverse of this effect, instead drawing cards when your bestowed auras turn back into creatures.

Grim Guardian can slowly chip away at your opponents’ life totals as you play enchantments. Then there are also a ton of options to capitalize on all those enchantments staying on the field. Ethereal Armor is a great 1-drop, and Sage's Reverie refills your hand after you’ve bestowed all your gifts to your creatures.

Modern Horizons III did some good to the bestow ability and brought in more cards that care about modified creatures as another avenue to give this strategy some legs.

When Is A Bestow Card Considered An Aura? And When Is It a Creature?

The bestow ability turns the card into an Enchantment – Aura, and then the bestowed card loses its aura subtype and regains the creature card type when it becomes unattached. Bestow creatures are auras when cast for their alternate bestow cost and remain auras until they become unattached. They cease to be auras as they resolve if their target becomes illegal (for example, if it’s Murdered in response).

Does Bestow Count as a Noncreature Spell?

Sometimes. Bestow cards are either a creature spell or an aura spell while on the stack, never both. It’s an enchantment in either case, but it’s only a noncreature spell when cast as an aura.

What Happens When a Bestowed Creature Dies?

When the creature a bestow card enchants dies, the bestow card stays on the battlefield and becomes an enchantment creature, losing its aura type and the enchant creature ability.

It’s important to note that the “bestowed” quality refers to the card with bestow, not the card that’s enchanted by the bestowed aura. This is an almost meaningless point, but you could bring it up if you’d like to be pedantic.

What Happens if the Bestow Target Dies Before the Aura Resolves?

Unlike other aura spells, the bestowed card enters the battlefield as an unattached creature if the target of the enchant creature ability is no longer legal when the spell resolves. It also loses the aura type before it resolves (in case you’re running something like Chishiro, the Shattered Blade).

What Happens If I Copy The Bestow Card?

If you copy a bestow card that is an aura, a token copy of the bestowed card is created and attached to a new creature, in Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief‘s case, it would need to become attached to itself.

Why Is Bestow So Expensive?

The real value of bestow is that it saves you from being hit with the ol’ 2-for-1. Enchanting a creature just to watch it die the next turn to a single Doom Blade hurts a lot.

In Limited environments (and certain Constructed ones), bestow compensates you with another body after the enchanted creature is destroyed. Modest advantages like this are the stars of competitive gameplay. Forcing another removal spell keeps your opponent from pulling too far ahead.

And it’s not wrong to point out you’re paying for the versatility of each card. You have the choice of whether you need a creature or an aura. A minor advantage, but an advantage nonetheless.

Sure, early bestow cards came on the slow side compared to umbra / totem armor or Elephant Guide. But the creature’s ability to keep the traits of the aura make it a fair trade-off.

Wrap Up

Crystalline Nautilus | Illustration by Brad Rigney

Bestow doesn’t always get the love it deserves. It's a subtle way to generate advantage, saving you from being 2-for-1’d and shining in Limited and formats with small card pools. It wasn’t a defining mechanic in the Standard of its hey-day. I want to see the mechanic expand with more diversity to shine in EDH and have it slot well into broader enchantment-themed decks.

What do you think? Should another card be bestowed the top spot? Is bestow over costed for its value? What do you think bestow cards are missing? Let me know in the comments or over on the Draftsim Twitter.

Thank you for reading and have a great time!