Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
Last Modified 01.10.2024
Today we will learn how to count lands, revisit characteristic-defining abilities (CDA), and discuss type-changing effects..
Oracle Text:
Legendary Creature — Elemental
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of lands you control.
Nontoken creatures you control are Forest lands in addition to their other types.
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild is a legendary creature. Therefore, according to the legend rule, when a second object named “Ashaya, Soul of the Wild” enters your control, you must choose which one to keep on the battlefield and which one to send to the graveyard. For a brief moment, they will count each other and get larger, which can be important in very rare cases for certain static abilities.
Ashaya's first ability
Ashaya counts all lands you control, regardless of whether they have any other card types.
Additionally, due to her second ability, Ashaya counts herself. This means that even if there are no lands under your control when Ashaya enters the battlefield, she will still be a 1/1.
This ability falls under characteristic-defining abilities (CDA). Their main distinction from regular static abilities is that they function in any zone.
Furthermore, if multiple effects are affecting Ashaya, setting her power and/or toughness to specific values, the CDA will apply first.
Finally, there are copying effects that do not copy CDAs.
If a cunning opponent exiled Ashaya with Duplicant, then as long as Ashaya remains in exile, the Duplicant will grow larger with each land you control.
If Ashaya, Soul of the Wild is part of a mutated creature, her ability determines its power and toughness.
The Scarab God's ability does not copy CDA that determine power and toughness. By exiling Ashaya, you will get a 4/4 token.
Ashaya's ability continuously checks the number of lands you control and instantaneously adjusts its power and toughness values based on that count. This is always important to keep in mind:
The second ability of Ashaya
This ability of Ashaya grants all of your creatures (including herself) an additional card type of Land and the subtype Forest. Along with the basic land type, all these creatures gain the inherent mana ability “{TAP}: add {G}.”
Since the ability includes a tap symbol in its cost and belongs to a creature, you cannot activate it if the creature has summoning sickness.
Note that this ability of Ashaya only functions while she is on the battlefield and affects only non-token creatures you control that are on the battlefield.
Therefore, you cannot:
- Search for creature cards with effects that allow you to find lands (like Wooded Foothills);
- Return a creature from the graveyard with effects that return lands (like from the Loam);
- Cast creatures as lands.
However, your creatures become legal targets for spells or abilities that target [nonbasic] lands and fall under effects that affect lands.
The second ability of Field of Ruin can target not only your nonbasic lands but also creatures.
The opposing Archon of Emeria affects all your nonbasic lands and, thanks to Ashaya, all your creatures as well.
If you did not sacrifice Ashaya as the creature for Smallpox, you can choose a creature-land as the land to sacrifice.
Before Ashaya, Soul of the Wild enters the battlefield, Llanowar Elves have one mana ability, the activation of which triggers the mana ability of Kenrith, the Returned King. As a result, you gain {GG}.
After Ashaya enters the battlefield, the type line of Llanowar Elves reads “Creature Land — Elf Druid Forest,” and the Elves gain an additional mana ability that produces green mana. However, activating both of the Elves' abilities is not possible, as you must tap the Elves to pay for each one, and you cannot tap them twice. Kenrith no longer recognizes the mana gained from the Elves because they have become lands. Now, you can only produce {G} from the Elves.
The best friends of Ashaya
The trigger from the Bear Umbra untaps all your lands and all creatures, including Ashaya, Soul of the Wild.
Any permanent with Landfall will receive a bonus from the entry of both lands and creatures onto the battlefield.
Terra Eternal will make your opponents' lives unbearable.
Ashaya’s worst nightmare
Crumble to Dust can seriously thin out your stock of good creatures.
All your creatures lose all abilities, including Ashaya. Details below.
In the case of Armageddon, you will lose not only lands but also creatures.
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild and Blood Moon
The effect of Blood Moon is dependent on the effect of Ashaya's second ability because the number of objects affected by Blood Moon is determined by Ashaya's effect. Conversely, Ashaya's effect does not depend on Blood Moon. Therefore, regardless of the order in which these cards enter the battlefield, Ashaya's effect will apply first. This means that all non-token creatures will first gain an additional card type, Land, and subtype Forest, along with the mana ability to produce green mana, and then Blood Moon will turn them into Mountains.
Blood Moon affects all nonbasic lands, including Ashaya herself:
- Loss of Abilities: They lose ALL abilities generated by their text and those gained from copy effects.
- Gaining Land Type: They gain the type Mountain and the mana ability to produce red mana.
By losing all abilities, Ashaya becomes a 0/0 creature, because her first ability no longer exists, and therefore cannot determine her power and toughness. In cases where the values are undefined, we default to zero.
Thus, if there are no effects increasing Ashaya's toughness, she will be put into the graveyard, regardless of how many basic Forests you control. In this case, your creatures cease to be lands, and Blood Moon no longer affects them.
If Ashaya is under the influence of any effects that increase her toughness, she will remain on the battlefield, and all your creatures, due to Blood Moon, will have only one ability — the mana ability of Mountains.
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild loses all abilities
If a cunning opponent has removed your Ashaya's abilities with Turn to Frog, then Ashaya's effect, which makes all your creatures lands, begins to apply in layer 4 (type changes), while the ability generating this effect is removed in layer 6 (losing all abilities). According to rule 613.6, the effect of a removed ability continues to function. Therefore, all other creatures remain Lands and Forests, while Ashaya becomes a blue Frog with 1/1 stats without any abilities. She still remains a land Forest but has no abilities, including the ability to produce green mana.
Evil Presence affects Ashaya in the same way as Blood Moon: Ashaya loses her abilities, becomes a 0/0, and leaves the battlefield.
Lignify is more merciful to Ashaya: it changes her creature type and removes her abilities, but it sets her power and toughness to 0/4.
Living Terrain does not affect Ashaya’s abilities, but its effect (7b) is applied after Ashaya’s ability effect (7a). Ashaya will be a 5/6.
Translated by ChatGPT
Let's say an opponent attacks with a 4/4 creature, and you block with a 5/5 Ashaya. After combat, the opponent cunningly destroys one of your lands. The 4 damage becomes lethal, and Ashaya will be destroyed as soon as state-based actions are checked.