If the copied permanent is itself a token, the token created by Mythos of Illuna copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that created it. Eon Frolicker{2}{U}{U}Creature Elemental Otter5/5FlyingWhen Eon Frolicker enters the battlefield, if you cast it, target opponent takes an extra turn after this one. Although it can at times be confusing, mutate isnt a broken mechanic. Several cards appearing in these decks let you rile up a creature, whipping it into a frenzied attack in some other player's direction. This deck has a lot of interactions and combos to help you generate advantage. Twinning Staff's last ability can copy any instant or sorcery spell you control, not just one with targets. Nethroi's triggered ability can return any combination of creatures whose powers total 10 or less. What if a Creatures Name Changes and it Refers to Itself? Mindleecher{4}{B}{B}Creature Nightmare5/5Mutate {4}{B} (If you cast this spell for its mutate cost, put it over or under target non-Human creature you own. We could sprinkle in Elementals, Nightmares, and maybe even Dinosaurs. You can choose to either add it to your hand or put it onto the battlefield. Archipelagore{5}{U}{U}Creature Leviathan7/7Mutate {5}{U} (If you cast this spell for its mutate cost, put it over or under target non-Human creature you own. When you discard a nonland card this way, Narset of the Ancient Way deals damage equal to that card's converted mana cost to target creature or planeswalker.6: You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this emblem deals 2 damage to any target.". Its mutate ability can be used when it is in the graveyard, allowing it to revive itself while triggering mutate abilities. Sudden Spinnerets can target a creature that's already untapped. If it's a legal target but Surly Badgersaur is no longer on the battlefield when the ability resolves, the target creature won't deal or be dealt damage. If the cycled card has multiple card types, you stop when you exile a card that shares any of those types. Updated Aug 30, 2022 by clydefrog0422 using our MTG Deck Builder. They mutate into the creature on top plus all abilities from under it. If you reveal a companion outside the game, for as long as it remains there, you may cast it any time it's legal to cast. If an effect begins to apply to Nascent Metamorph before it becomes a copy, that effect will continue to apply. When a mutated creature dies, do they unmutate or are they still connected? Changing Ravenous Gigantotherium's power after that time won't change how much damage is dealt. There are many powerful mutate commanders, some of which have mutate themselves to help support the strategy. This was a very cool article. A colorless card isn't monocolored. It simply merges with the target creature. )Whenever enchanted creature attacks, you create a Treasure token. If the target creature is an illegal target by the time Flame Spill tries to resolve, the spell won't resolve. Effects that reduce the generic mana cost of a spell (such as that of Umori) can't reduce that spell's colored mana requirements. Vadrok, Apex of Thunder{U}{R}{W}Legendary Creature Elemental Dinosaur Cat3/3Mutate {1}{w/u}{R}{R} (If you cast this spell for its mutate cost, put it over or under target non-Human creature you own. If that card has left your hand, Charge of the Forever-Beast deals damage based on the card's power immediately before it left your hand. Jirina's last ability gives +2/+0 to all Humans you control other than Jirina, including the Human tokens created by its triggered ability. Play Rules/Modifiers. If Cartographer's Hawk leaves the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, you can't return it to its owner's hand from its new zone. Fiend Artisan's first ability applies only while it's on the battlefield. Privacy Policy. This site is Draftsim.com. If its topmost object is a card, it's a non-token creature, even if it contains a token. The second ability represented by the "partner with [name]" keyword modifies the rules for deck construction in the Commander variant and has no function outside of that variant. Once youve successfully mutated on a creature, all the effects will go on the stack and theyll resolve even if your opponent kills a creature afterwards. Mutate represents an alternative cost. Home; Themes; Mutate; Five-Color; Five-Color Mutate Theme. If a rule or effect allows them to do so, your opponents may play lands from zones other than their hand and activate abilities of cards in zones other than their hand. If the nontoken creature leaves the battlefield before Molten Echoes's triggered ability resolves, the token that's created uses the creature's last known information from before it left. I.E. In fact, some will even be your best friend if your deck is interesting enough to get their attention. Call of the Death-Dweller{2}{B}SorceryReturn up to two target creature cards with total converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. )Whenever this creature mutates, return target creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. Exile Genesis Ultimatum. If you return two creature cards, you may put one counter on each or put both counters on one. You can use this in combination with a card like Impact Tremors for a crazy combo win! Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield don't trigger. I might add Luminous Broodmoth to this mix to really get some spice. This lets you ensure that your mutate abilities are able to stack without getting interrupted. The damage can add up, and be enough to sometimes even wipe the entire board of creatures depending on the gamestate. Lands with a basic land type have an intrinsic activated mana ability corresponding to their basic land type. Because discarding two cards is an additional cost, you can't cast Cathartic Reunion if you don't have at least two other cards in hand. The cards on this list and some of the others with mutate will truly shine when brought together with the potential commanders that also have mutate. It won't copy counters on that permanent or effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on. No you cant. The characteristics of the combined merged creature are copiable. Similarly, if a mutated creature is bounced to your hand, then all of the creatures that have mutated with that creature will also be returned to your hand. Sometimes creatures gain abilities until end of turn, but on Ikoria, these modifications are often permanent. Mutate in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards. Brokkos, Apex Of Forever is in Sultai (black/green/blue) which allows you to play some of the strongest mutate creatures. "Partner with [name]" represents two abilities. If a creature has multiple "whenever this creature mutates" abilities, its controller chooses the order for those abilities to resolve. Use the sacrificed creature's toughness as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how much life you gain. However, if the creature you mutated onto currently has summoning sickness, then the mutant creature will have it as well. You can't move only some of the counters from The Ozolith onto the target creature. Ikorias new mechanic mutate is full of promise for building compelling Commander decks. There has been a lot of speculation on how the mutate mechanic works in regards to your commander. For more information, please see our Weve yet to see the mechanic on any newly minted cards, confirming it isnt an evergreen mechanic. padding-top: 1em; Supertypes (such as legendary) and subtypes (such as Ooze) are not. It wont be good just thrown in as is; it grows in power based on how you build around it and work for it. If you discard a card as a cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, Brallin's middle ability resolves before that spell or ability but after you've chosen targets for it. Ominous Seas{1}{U}EnchantmentWhenever you draw a card, put a foreshadow counter on Ominous Seas.Remove eight foreshadow counters from Ominous Seas: Create an 8/8 blue Kraken creature token.Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.). Oops. You must tap exactly one creature to cast Swallow Whole; you can't cast it without tapping a creature, and you can't tap additional creatures. Xyris, the Writhing Storm{2}{G}{U}{R}Legendary Creature Snake Leviathan3/5FlyingWhenever an opponent draws a card except the first one they draw in each of their draw steps, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token.Whenever Xyris, the Writhing Storm deals combat damage to a player, you and that player each draw that many cards. Put the rest of the cards on the bottom of your library in a random order. (It attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.). If I mutate something on top of a Vampire, and then cast a spell that affects Vampires I control, does the mutated creature keep the Vampire type and therefore the buff? While it may be your first thought that those abilities wouldnt work if the creatures name changes because of a mutation, it actually does. For example, flying on a noncreature artifact is just strange, but hexproof on a noncreature artifact is entirely useful. A spell or ability that counters spells can still target spells with flash you cast. It won't trigger when the third or fourth card is drawn. )When you cycle Avian Oddity, put a flying counter on target creature you control. Lore Drakkis. The additional mana is produced by Kinnan, not by the nonland permanent that you tapped for mana. If there's a cost associated with having it attack, the player isn't forced to pay that cost, so it doesn't have to attack in that case either. If that creature or planeswalker would die this turn, exile it instead. If your commander isn't in the command zone (or if you're not playing the Commander variant), Netherborn Altar only makes you lose life. If Nascent Metamorph becomes a copy of a legendary card with the same name as a legendary permanent you control, you'll put one of them into its owner's graveyard. There are two ways to cast creature cards with mutate: Cast the spell for its mana cost. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Sanctuary Blade{2}Artifact EquipmentAs Sanctuary Blade becomes attached to a creature, choose a color.Equipped creature gets +2/+0 and has protection from the last chosen color.Equip {3}. Blitz of the Thunder-Raptor is still on the stack while you determine how much damage is dealt. Regardless of what other creature cards you choose as targets, you can also choose any number of creature cards with power 0 as targets. To do so, you pay its mana cost, plus two extra generic mana for each time you've cast your commander so far this game (this is commonly referred to as the 'Commander Tax'). It also gets some of the other mutate cards, like Chittering Harvester, Dirge Bat, and Mindleecher. As The Ozolith's last ability resolves, you choose whether to move the counters. The triggered ability of the "partner with" keyword still triggers in a Commander game. )Double strikeWhenever this creature mutates, it deals 4 damage to target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls and you gain 4 life. {1}, {T}: Move a counter from target permanent you control onto another target permanent. When you mutate onto an already-mutated creature you just have to choose which creature goes on top. If a creature of the chosen type dies at the same time as Species Specialist, its ability triggers for that creature. (It attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able. If this happens, the entire selection of targets is illegal and nothing is returned to the battlefield. If it's blocking, instead put two +1/+1 counters on it.Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.). Parcelbeast{2}{G}{U}Creature Elemental Beast2/4Mutate {G}{U} (If you cast this spell for its mutate cost, put it over or under target non-Human creature you own. They don't allow you to discard a card whenever you want; rather, you need some other way of discarding a card, such as a cycling ability. In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. )TrampleYou may cast Brokkos, Apex of Forever from your graveyard using its mutate ability. Mutate is a keyword that was introduced in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and somewhat resembles auras or the bestow mechanic from Theros. Nethroi, Apex of Death is an incredibly potent commander than works well in any sort of Abzan () aristocrats or graveyard deck. Mutate is an alternate casting cost that requires a target to cast, which means that a creature with shroud cant be a legal target. If the greatest power among creatures on the battlefield is shared by a creature you control and a creature you don't control, you draw a card. If they want to avoid this, then they have to destroy the creature in response to you mutating onto it. Creatures your opponents control attacking one of your opponents will cause Frontier Warmonger's ability to trigger. Will of the All-Hunter{1}{W}InstantTarget creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. You may cast creature cards exiled with Lukka's first ability as noncreature spells if a rule or effect allows you to do so. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 1x Indatha Triome. For example, Zirda may be in your starting deck even if your other permanent cards don't all have activated abilities. You can't move counters from the target creature to itself. This means that abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks won't trigger when it enters the battlefield attacking. flex-flow: row-reverse wrap; Is Mutate an Activated Ability or an Alternate Casting Cost? Card View Table View Text View Top Commanders New Cards High Synergy Cards Top Cards Creatures Instants Sorceries A mutated creature has the characteristics of whatever is on top of the pile. If this spell is copied and the effect that copies the spell allows a player to choose new targets for the copy, the number of targets can't be changed. rev2023.3.3.43278. Lets assume that Migratory Greathorn resolves. Good article, was having trouble figuring out the commander tax on mutate. They mutate into the creature on top plus all abilities under it.. Knowing what that card is becomes part of the information you have access to, just like you can look at the cards in your hand. Yidaro, Wandering Monster{5}{R}{R}Legendary Creature Dinosaur Turtle8/8Trample, hasteCycling {1}{R}When you cycle Yidaro, Wandering Monster, shuffle it into your library from your graveyard. If you don't play the exiled card, it remains exiled. Vivien lets you look at the top card of your library whenever you want (with one restriction; see below), even if you don't have priority. I like the idea of a little curve here, mutating the 4/4 body onto a mana creature, like Birds of Paradise, in order to blow up the inevitable mana rock someone has dropped. Phase Dolphin{2}{U}Creature Elemental Whale1/4Whenever Phase Dolphin attacks, another target attacking creature can't be blocked this turn. 1x Command Tower. You'll end up with a pile of cards that all represents a single creature. Solid Footing's last ability doesn't change the enchanted creature's power; it changes only the amount of combat damage that creature assigns. If another effect gives you permission to cast Brokkos from your graveyard, you may cast it for any cost associated with that permission. It doesn't matter Gavi was on the battlefield when the first card was drawn. ", A spell cast with mutate becomes a mutating creature spell. line-height: 1.1em; If Luminous Broodmoth dies after losing flying but not losing its triggered ability, its ability will trigger for itself. Winota, Joiner of Forces{2}{R}{W}Legendary Creature Human Warrior4/4Whenever a non-Human creature you control attacks, look at the top six cards of your library. All the creatures that compose the mutated pile return to the battlefield separately. Mutate color combinations. Most games youll just be mutating Nethroi with a full graveyard and popping off. You pay the costs for the exiled cards if you cast them. Whenever this creature mutates, other creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of times the creature has mutated. If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost. It uses the stack and can be responded to. Any cards named Yidaro, Wandering Monster will count. Rielle, the Everwise{1}{U}{R}Legendary Creature Human Wizard0/3Rielle, the Everwise gets +1/+0 for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard.Whenever you discard one or more cards for the first time each turn, draw that many cards. Gavi, Nest Warden{2}{U}{R}{W}Legendary Creature Human Shaman2/5You may pay {0} rather than pay the cycling cost of the first card you cycle each turn.Whenever you draw your second card each turn, create a 2/2 red and white Dinosaur Cat creature token. If the target creature you control has deathtouch, 1 damage from it is lethal. Not all of Ikoria's flora and fauna are out to get you. Our Privacy Policy. Lets take a look at some of the more crazy ones. Once a player announces that they're casting a spell, players can't try to remove Tidal Barracuda to make it so that spell couldn't be cast at that time. Zaxara, the Exemplary{1}{B}{G}{U}Legendary Creature Nightmare Hydra2/3Deathtouch{T}: Add two mana of any one color.Whenever you cast a spell with {X} in its mana cost, create a 0/0 green Hydra creature token, then put X +1/+1 counters on it. If your commander is mutated into a pile then the merged creature does commander damage and counts as your commander regardless of its location in the pile. Much of the talk Ive seen so far has involved Nethroi, Apex of Death (some it from me) and Illuna, Apex of Wishes, but I suspect that well see some creative builds from the community with the others as well. If there are no other players left in the game, you win the game. Whereas Bestow is more expensive due to the creature that remains, Mutate has lower costs and tends to award compounding mutations. The Comprehensive Rules also say: text that refers to the object its on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control. If you have a second Twinning Staff, copying a spell results in two additional copies. As a mutating creature spell begins to resolve, check whether its target is still legal. Activating Zirda's last ability after a creature has blocked won't remove the blocking creature from combat or cause the creature it blocked to become unblocked. Put a counter of that kind on Crystalline Giant. Gust of Wind{3}{U}SorceryThis spell costs {2} less to cast if you control a creature with flying.Return target nonland permanent you don't control to its owner's hand.Draw a card. When it comes to flash in MTG, were talking about both Flash and the flash keyword on cards. Blisterspit Gremlin{R}Creature Gremlin1/1{1}, {T}: Blisterspit Gremlin deals 1 damage to each opponent.Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, untap Blisterspit Gremlin. In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If the target spell has a variable number of targets, you can't change how many targets it has. Mutate is a keyword that lets you cast a spell for its mutate cost, placing it either under or on top of a non-Human creature. An Aura put onto the battlefield this way doesn't target anything (so it could be attached to an opponent's permanent with hexproof, for example), but the Aura's enchant ability restricts what it can be attached to. If a card in a player's deck has {X} in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0. {1}{B}, Exile Daring Fiendbonder from your graveyard: Put an indestructible counter on target creature. {1}{G}: Return target Human you control to its owner's hand. It might be the weakest of the cards on the list because its power and toughness arent compelling enough to make it the top creature, but it also doesnt have any evasion abilities. If you cast Channeled Force without paying its mana cost, you still choose a value for X and discard that many cards. Create X 1/1 white Human Soldier creature tokens, where X is the number of creatures those opponents control. Because damage remains marked on a creature until the damage is removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to Skycat Sovereign may become lethal if other creatures with flying you control leave the battlefield during that turn. Do you think its worth bringing back, or dare I say making the mechanic evergreen? Lets look at an example. It just changes when spells can be cast. Manascape Refractor has those abilities, too. Wizards of the Coast. The ability triggered whenever the creature was targeted by a spell you controlled. If you've cycled a card named Yidaro, Wandering Monster four or more times this game, put it onto the battlefield from your graveyard instead. Thanks for reading about the Mutate Mechanic. In addition to companion, the release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths brings with it a new mechanic to the metagame- mutate. Only creatures are Humans. The basics: you can cast your Commander from the Command Zone. width:700px; Reselecting which player a creature is attacking ignores all requirements, restrictions, and costs associated with attacking. Frostveil Ambush can target a creature that's already tapped. Use the exiled creature's toughness as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how much life you lose. Some cards, like Bristling Boar, refer to themselves in their oracle text. A permanent card is an artifact, creature, enchantment, land, or planeswalker card. Activated abilities contain a colon, such as Cryptic Trilobite's activated mana ability and its last activated ability. If the target player is an illegal target by the time Ukkima's last ability tries to resolve, the ability won't resolve. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other. Nightsquad Commando's ability checks only whether you declared an attacking creature during the turn. Serrated Scorpion{B}Creature Scorpion1/2When Serrated Scorpion dies, it deals 2 damage to each opponent and you gain 2 life. Once you announce that you're casting Tentative Connection, no player may take actions until the spell has been paid for. You can still cast creatures with Mutate for their normal casting cost if it suits you better. However, effects based on any alternative or additional costs that were paid for the original spell are copied as though those same costs were paid for the copy. If you discard a card as a cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, Rielle's triggered ability resolves before that spell or ability but after you've chosen targets for it. You can also play Brokkos as one of the 99. The converted mana cost of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was. Id want to do something with Increasing Vengeance copying a big X-spell, which weve cast off the top of the library with help from Melek, Izzet Paragon. If the top card of your library changes while you're casting a spell, playing a land, or activating an ability, you can't look at the new top card until you finish doing so. If the creature stops being a creature, loses its abilities, or loses its +1/+1 counters, it will continue to be monstrous. Some one said no but some one else said it doesn't Target. If an effect copies a card rather than a spell (such as that of God-Eternal Kefnet), this doesn't cause an additional copy to be created. Great job. I dont mind doing a little work, but that seems like jumping through too many hoops. This is different from effects that say "If you do . If it stops being a copy of that object and then becomes a copy again later, the link is lost. Bonder's Ornament{3}Artifact{T}: Add one mana of any color. You must reveal exactly one card to cast Charge of the Forever-Beast; you can't cast it without revealing a card, and you can't reveal additional cards. You won't have to pay an additional {3}. Mutate is one of the coolest and most fun mechanics Ive played with in all of Magic. Cards printed in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths draft boosters and theme boosters, as well as the Buy-a-Box promo card, will be included in the Standard format. {T}: Kelsien deals 1 damage to target creature you don't control. If it's not, the spell ceases to be a mutating creature spell. You won't have the option to put a card on the bottom of your library. Commander is where mutate gets even trickier so its doubly important to be well researched and understand the mechanic. If a merged creature is put into a library, its owner chooses the relative order of those cards. Once Souvenir Snatcher has snatched a noncreature artifact, you'll continue to control that artifact if it becomes an artifact creature. Put a +1/+1 counter on Pako for each noncreature card exiled this way. Tentative Connection is unaffected if you no longer control a creature with menace after you've cast it. .decklist-database-area a.deck-button br{ If the second target creature can't block the first target creature for any reason (such as being tapped), then it doesn't block. (If this creature isn't monstrous, put X +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous. Animar, Soul Of Elements is a fantastic mutate commander as it offers free protection for itself. The Ozolith{1}Legendary ArtifactWhenever a creature you control leaves the battlefield, if it had counters on it, put those counters on The Ozolith.At the beginning of combat on your turn, if The Ozolith has counters on it, you may move all counters from The Ozolith onto target creature. If your other commander has somehow ended up in your library, you can find it. Get his insights and latest list. (Until your next turn, those creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.). This action doesn't use the stack. You can decide to assign combat damage to the defending player or planeswalker even if the blocking creature has protection from green or other damage prevention effects applying to it. You choose whether to put the card into your hand or onto the battlefield after seeing what the card is. In this casual, multiplayer format, you choose a legendary creature to serve . in that players may take actions after you've paid mana but before damage is dealt. The target tapped creature will be exiled even if the creature you tapped leaves the battlefield or becomes untapped before Swallow Whole resolves. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery. If the method I used to take it stated that the creature returns to their owner at the end step, is it then ignored, because Ive mutated it and its on the bottom? For example, if a permanent spell costs {X}{W}, you could cast it with X as 1 but not as 2. Mutate is also great because it helps you manage the creature types of things on your board; let's say you have an elf on the board, and you want to cast a second. If an effect begins to apply to Crystalline Resonance before it becomes a copy of another permanent, that effect will continue to apply. Cast the spell for its mutate cost. Sanctuary Lockdown{2}{W}EnchantmentHumans you control get +1/+1. Whenever you cast a creature spell, Animar will get a +1/+1 counter and will discount all creatures by one generic mana for each counter Animar, Soul Of Elements has. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If you choose new targets for the target spell, the new targets must be legal. Nothing can happen between the two, and no player may choose to take actions. Why? Or is the effect spesefically linked to Illunas mutate cost? Exuberant Wolfbear's power and toughness are unaffected when the target Human takes on those values. The cards are returned to that library in a random order. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.). The "Card-Specific Notes" sections contains answers to the most important, most common, and most confusing questions players might ask about cards in the set. Thanks! If an effect such as that of Ravenous Gigantotherium asks you to divide damage among targets, you must divide the unmodified damage before doubling it. If you cast a spell "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. Spend this mana only to activate abilities. You'll still shuffle your library if you haven't cycled Yidaro four times this game. Your post contains the name of one or more mechanics from Ikoria. How does Infinite Reflection work with Commander and commander damage? It the creature can't attack any of those players but could otherwise attack, it must attack an opposing planeswalker (controlled by any opponent) or a player who goaded it. This effect can't reduce the mana in that cost to less than one mana. Tom Anderson April 8, 2020 Design. Zirda, the Dawnwaker{1}{r/w}{r/w}Legendary Creature Elemental Fox3/3Companion Each permanent card in your starting deck has an activated ability. Toothy, Imaginary Friend and Pir, Imaginative Rascal fit right into the theme as well (although Pir is a Human and cant be mutated). Put a trample counter on it. After activating Vivien's last loyalty ability, the delayed triggered ability it creates will put a creature card onto the battlefield before the creature spell that caused the ability to trigger resolves.