Combos Browse all Suggest
Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planar Constructed | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Tiny Leaders | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Rules Q&A
- If I used donate to give my opponent my Force of Nature, and then cast Spirit Link on that creature, would I get 8 life if/when Force of Nature directly deals my opponent 8 damage because they can't come up with 4 green mana??
- When token names are the same as actual CARD names?
- Psychic Possession - giving control to another player
- Transfer of cumulative upkeep counters with donate
- Multiplayer Thragtusk, Donate, Concede?
Donate
Sorcery
Target player gains control of target permanent you control.
sergiodelrio on
The Best Deck Ever Made?
2 months ago
Seriously tho, Balaam__ is correct here.
"Gain control" does not mean what you think it means.
There are different ZONES in a magic game. One of them is the battlefield, another one is the stack. "Gain control" effects can only refer to objects in those zones (one exception: gaining control of another player ala Mindslaver)
An effect that COULD give access to your sideboard cards would have to be worded so that it includes the words "outside the game" (like Wish or Spawnsire of Ulamog). Cards do not naturally move inside or outside the game (or the sideboard) unless an effect specifacally states that and "outside the game" is also not a zone.
Permanents and "Permanent CARDS" are not the same. "Permanents" can specifically only refer to objects on the battlefield. In all other zones and in the sideboard those are "Permanent Cards" (Seed of Hope is one examle).
Under any circumstances, an effect that would bring a card from outside the game into the game would refer to the card as "(optional type specification like: Artifact, Permanent, blue, instant, Eldrazi) CARD" as seen in a Scryfall search here.
The way Brand is worded it can only (1) give you control of your own stuff on the battlefield (which in most cases is completely doing nothing), or (2) give you your stuff back that an opponent stole or got Donated or you exchanged with them (Spawnbroker and other cards could have done that), just like Balaam__ explained.
Don't you think a 1 mana spell that can slam any 15 cards on the table (or you can also cycle for , lol) would have been a format staple, or immediately banhammered???
"(am I the only one wondering why people don't use this more)?" - Yes, since it sadly does not work like that.
All I can tell you now is to not get discouraged by that. Happened to me before, happened to others before, prominently happened to MTG deckbuilding legend Patrick 'The Innovator' Chapin before (Link to StarCityGames article), and it will happen again. Move on, there are many other combos remaining to be found. Cheers!
WilldelaRoche on
Sharing is caring
2 months ago
This deck only have Delaying Shield, Illusions of Grandeur, Nine Lives and Statecraft that need to be donated to work, so I think that both Donate and Harmless Offering are too expensive to have in the deck for only those cases.
To donate those and other permanents I already have Coveted Falcon, Bazaar Trader
+
Starfield of Nyx
(so the goblin can also donate enchantments), Puca's Mischief
and Shifting Grift.
legendofa on Tiers of card badness
7 months ago
Not all "bad" cards are created equal. As I see it, just like how there's build-around good cards, really good cards, and must-include cards, there's several tiers of cards that don't quite measure up.
At the top, there's the weird cards. These cards have unique effects. They're generally useful and/or interesting, but make lots of demands for deckbuilding and have no redundancy. Spellweaver Helix, Riku of Two Reflections, and Leyline of the Guildpact are some examples. Good for casual play and for "trying to make work".
Next is the draft fodder. Good if you don't have anything better, but easily replaceable. These cards get functionally reprinted a lot, and are usually pretty straightforward. I would put Cancel, Shock, and Alabaster Host Sanctifier as examples. You won't be ashamed to use them in Limited, and they work well as starters for a new collection, but they get outclassed quickly.
Next, and the first tier I would call truly bad cards, are the very inefficient cards and the cards that just don't do anything. They're significantly overcosted, or there's many better options. These cards might still be technically useful, or at least not actively harmful, but they can't compete with anything else. Mudhole, Razor Boomerang, and Aven Trooper go here.
Finally, there's the worst of the worst. The cards that actively hurt you and make it harder to play the game. If you put them in a deck, you're either trying to meme or you're going to Donate them. Alabaster Leech, Soldevi Steam Beast, and Goblin Elite Infantry fall into this group.
This is subjective and a continuum, so there's a lot of room to arrange individual cards. I've been reading Mark Rosewater's articles on bad cards, and designing Nihilist decks (example here), and there's been some forum discussion on what cards are worth using and which aren't. So it's been on my mind recently.
Neotrup on Hive Mind / Donate interaction
8 months ago
Because Donate targets, it can only target something they controlled when they make the copy. That said, because Hive Mind says they may choose new targets, they are allowed to leave the target unchanged. Since it's targeting one of your permanents, the target will be illegal on resolution.
legendofa on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …
8 months ago
I personally see a distinction between downsides and restrictions. Both are ways to limit the utility of the card, but downsides give you an outsized effect for the cost, but it actively hinders or harms you, while a restriction limits when or how the effect can be used.
Like, Volcanic Spite doesn't have a downside because it can't hurt players. That's a restriction. Similarly, the "activate only one per turn" clause isn't a downside because it doesn't actively hurt you or prevent you from playing. It simply limits how it can be used.
A couple of downside examples would be Steel Golem, which prevents you from casting any more creature spells, or Demonic Pact, which gives you lots of resources, but will cause you to straight up lose eventually.
Basically, if you would want to Donate it to an opponent, it's a downside. If you want to keep it but use it more often, it's a restriction. If it simply costs too much (Ember Shot) it's inefficient.
Max_Hammer on
Rakdos Santa Deck
1 year ago
Bronze Bombshell is one you missed. (: Also, you might wanna make it Grixis for the fact that there's plenty of blue gift cards. Donate and Jon Irenicus, Shattered One are two prime examples. Also, cut one of your copies of Blim, most of the time having 4 legendries is too much and you'd be better off just including more efficient draw.
Squee_Spirit_Guide on
UBR Trix - Premodern
1 year ago
I just absolutely love this! Illusions of Grandeur and Donate was one of the first combo decks I made and I still love it! The Burning Wishes to tutor from the sideboard is really nice as well. My decks never had anything so sophisticated :)
