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Azlask, the Swelling Scourge

Azlask, the Swelling Scourge

Legendary Creature — Eldrazi

Azlask wants a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back. It also suits a deck that slows the whole table down with rules everyone must follow.

  • Mana cost3 generic
  • All five colors ()
  • Power / toughness2 / 2
  • RarityMythic

Whenever Azlask or another colorless creature you control dies, you get an experience counter.

whiteblueblackredgreen: Creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of experience counters you have. Scions and Spawns you control gain indestructible and annihilator 1 until end of turn.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Azlask, the Swelling Scourge

Picked for what they do in Azlask's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Azlask's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Azlask, the Swelling Scourge

explain how Azlask works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 7 Jun 2024

All experience counters are identical, no matter how you got them. For example, the last ability will count experience counters that you got from the first ability, from another ability, from proliferating, and so on.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Jun 2024

Annihilator abilities trigger and resolve during the declare attackers step. The defending player sacrifices the required number of permanents of their choice before they declare blockers. Any creatures sacrificed this way won't be able to block.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Jun 2024

If a creature with annihilator is attacking a planeswalker, and the defending player chooses to sacrifice that planeswalker, the attacking creature continues to attack. It may be blocked. If it isn't blocked, it simply won't deal combat damage to anything.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Jun 2024

The value of X is determined only once, as Azlask's last ability resolves.

4 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Azlask, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWUBRGPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, B for black, R for red, G for green. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.SacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageDeath TriggerTriggers when a creature dies, whether it is this creature, one of yours or an opponent's. These are the cards that pay you in an Aristocrats deck: something else makes creatures die, and these decide what you get each time. Blood Artist, Solemn SimulacrumOpen the Death Trigger pageCounter ManipulationAdds, moves or multiplies counters already on permanents. It works on any kind (+1/+1, loyalty, charge), so the same card can serve very different decks. Karn's Bastion, Doubling SeasonOpen the Counter Manipulation pageStat ScalingA creature whose power and toughness count something, so it grows as the game goes on. It might count lands you control or cards in your graveyard. Craterhoof Behemoth, Psychosis CrawlerOpen the Stat Scaling pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick pageAggroAggro decks play cheap creatures early and attack every turn, trying to knock opponents out before their bigger plans come together.Open the Aggro pageOverrunMakes your whole team bigger at once, usually with trample or another way past blockers. It turns a big group of creatures into a winning attack. Craterhoof Behemoth, Akroma's WillOpen the Overrun page