Scapeshift+Valakut combo

Modern forum

Posted on Nov. 29, 2012, 12:22 p.m. by Wabbbit

How does this combo work? Like I get that you search for mountains and they all enter and you somehow win. I just want to know what is going on when you do that. How exactly does it work?

UniTheDino says... #2

You grab 5+ Mountain s and a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle with Scapeshift (usually won't need more than 5 because of Shock and Fetchlands). All the Mountains "see" each other enter the battlefield and thus trigger Valakut's ability multiple times and deals a ton of damage to your opponent. You should win on the spot.

November 29, 2012 12:37 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #3

Whenever multiple permanents enter the battlefield simultaneously, they all "see" each other ETB. Therefore, if you Scapeshift your land base and find multiple Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle s and several Mountain s (such that you control at least six total Mountain s), your Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle s will each trigger for each Mountain you Scapeshift ed.

November 29, 2012 12:40 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #4

How exactly does it "see" the other mountains. Don't you need 5 other mountains? So wouldn't 5 enter, then all the lands past the first five would trigger?

November 29, 2012 12:41 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #5

The key is that since Scapeshift puts everything onto the battlefield simultaneously, there's a large mass of Mountain s on the battlefield at the time Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle would trigger from them entering. Because of this the condition checked by the "intervening if" clause for each potential trigger ("if you control at least 5 other Mountains") turns up true for all of them, and the triggers are put onto the stack. If that condition is still true at the time those triggers start resolving (hopefully it is), then you deal a bunch of damage to your opponent.

Because objects that enter the battlefield at the same time can see each other, this will also work if one or more of the lands you got with Scapeshift is a Valakut (provided you have enough total Mountains, that is).

November 29, 2012 12:42 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #6

So if I have a valakut out already and find five mountains, would it trigger 5 times?

November 29, 2012 12:42 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #7

So my field is a valakut and no other mountains. I Scapeshift and sac 5 lands and search for 5 mountains. How many times does valakut trigger? I just want to clarify :).

November 29, 2012 12:44 p.m.

UniTheDino says... #8

It will trigger 5 times.

November 29, 2012 12:45 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #9

So 15 damage? That seems way better then I thought xD.

November 29, 2012 12:46 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #10

No to that last question. Because each Valakut trigger depends on having 5 other Mountains, you need to have a total of 6.

November 29, 2012 12:47 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #11

So search for 6. Then that's 15 damage per valakut.

November 29, 2012 12:48 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #12

Or 18. I think I understand now.

November 29, 2012 12:49 p.m.

UniTheDino says... #13

It does say "other Mountains". Never noticed that.

November 29, 2012 12:49 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #14

Some players use Prismatic Omen to make it a little easier (because it makes Valakut count as a Mountain as well).

November 29, 2012 12:51 p.m.

zandl says... #15

Yeah. You'd have to have 6 total Mountain s (or more) to trigger Valakut.

If you just sacrificed 6 lands and had, like, 2 Valakuts out (the turn after Primeval Titan ), you can deal 36 to whatever you want.

November 29, 2012 6:26 p.m.

cartwheelnurd says... #16

they can "see" each other the same way a blood artist will trigger during a board wipe such as Day of Judgment

December 5, 2012 1:17 p.m.

legacylister says... #17

if it says 5 other mountains you'd need to sac 8 lands for a victory

August 1, 2014 2:13 a.m.

zandl says... #18

August 1, 2014 2:32 a.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #19

If you're going to bother digging up a 2 year old topic, please read it.

August 1, 2014 9:49 a.m.

I seriously wonder how these topics make their way back. Do people go looking for threads to necro? It makes no sense to me...

August 1, 2014 12:36 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #21

The Search function brings up whatever a person is searching for. Ignore the timestamps, and everything else follows naturally.

August 1, 2014 2:36 p.m.

This discussion has been closed