Since a player loses the game if they have ten poison counters, Skithiryx doesn’t need that much help compared to many other commanders. However, spamming combat tricks aren’t unheard of either. Skithiryx decks generally focus on powering up their commander, typically in a Voltron style. With these abilities, Skithiryx can come down early and instantly take out a third of a player’s life with poison and dodge their removal too. Not only that, but I can pay one black mana to give it haste until the end of turn, and I can pay two black to regenerate it. One of the best commanders with the regenerate keyword action, Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is an impressive 4/4 creature with flying and infect. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon – Commander Regenerate Although building a competitive “regenerate tribal” deck will be impossible, specific individual regenerate cards are still powerful and do see competitive play.
However, all isn’t lost if you still want to use this mechanic. Because so few regenerate cards are still competitive, buying old booster backs to get them is a waste of time and money. So, if you want to get regenerate cards, you should buy them individually or trade for them where possible.
Because of this restriction, most regenerate cards are underpowered by today’s standards. However, since it’s a retired mechanic, you won’t find cards printed with the ability nowadays. Regenerate is most commonly found in green, black, and white. Similarly, ninjutsu allows you to flash in Ink-Eyes when it’s least expected. With regenerate, you can always protect Ink-Eyes from destruction and keep landing those devastating hits. Two hits can swing the game in your favor and massively buff your board state.ĭoing all this is only possible with Ink-Eyes’ extraordinary abilities, though. Even a single hit from Ink-Eyes is disruptive. Whenever Ink-Eyes deals combat damage to your opponent, you can take a target creature card from that player’s graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. However, you might find some cards with this text in non-premier sets, primarily for flavor reasons. Still, now it doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. Initially, this addition was a way to nerf regenerate and make cards more powerful. The niche this keyword action once filled has been replaced by the text “gain indestructible until end of turn,” which has appeared on cards from Kaladesh onward.ĭue to regenerate being retired, you won’t find cards with “can’t be regenerated” in premier sets either. Since Oath of the Gatewatch, there haven’t been any new regenerate cards printed, and there probably never will be. However, with updated rules, regenerate became a shield you activated pre-emptively to prevent a creature from being destroyed in the future. Originally, regenerate was an ability you activated in the damage step to save a creature from dying where it would otherwise take lethal damage. Rules changes also altered the flavor of regenerate, which made it harder to design cards with the action. In Kaladesh, regenerate was finally retired as a keyword.Īlthough it began as an iconic keyword action, the rulings around regenerate quickly become overcomplicated and difficult for newer players. It appeared regularly in almost all sets until Oath of the Gatewatch, when its evergreen status was revoked. Initially, it was an evergreen keyword action. Regenerate has been a keyword action since Alpha. If you click a link and buy something, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Hi! This post may contain affiliate links to online stores. If it is in combat, I remove it from combat too. Instead, I tap the creature and reset the amount of damage it has taken this turn. If it would be destroyed by damage or a card ability or whatever, it isn’t. Whenever I regenerate a creature, that creature gets a “shield” against being destroyed for the rest of the turn. Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules, 701.15. “Regenerate”. Instead, tap it, remove all damage from it, and remove it from combat. The next time this creature would be destroyed this turn, it isn’t. What do the Magic: The Gathering regenerate rules say? This article looks at what regenerate does in MTG with rules and examples, the best regenerate cards, and covers an interesting regenerate deck idea! Boon of Erebos MTG regeneration card illustration. Regenerate prevents a creature from being destroyed on that turn. Regenerate is a Magic: The Gathering ability.