Nils wants a deck that makes attacking it too costly, so opponents fight each other. It also suits a deck that plays small creatures that make life hard for opponents.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness2 / 2
RarityRare
At the beginning of your end step, for each player, put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature that player controls.
Each creature with one or more counters on it can't attack you or planeswalkers you control unless its controller pays , where X is the number of counters on that creature.
Picked for what they do in Nils's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Nils'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.Open the full glossary
explain how Nils 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 Coast16 Apr 2021
All counters on a creature are considered when determining the value of X, not only +1/+1 counters.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
For each player, choosing a target creature that player controls is optional.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
Your opponents can choose not to pay to attack with a creature with one or more counters on it that attacks "if able." If there's no other player or planeswalker to attack, the creature simply doesn't attack.
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 glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.PillowfortPillowfort decks make attacking you so costly or unappealing that opponents attack each other instead. Cards like Ghostly Prison make a player pay mana for every creature that attacks you, buying time for your own plan.Open the Pillowfort pageRattlesnakeDiscourages attacks rather than preventing them, making an attack expensive or unappealing enough that opponents pick somebody else. Named for a rattlesnake's warning: the point is to be left alone. Propaganda, Sphere of SafetyOpen the Rattlesnake pageAttack TaxCharges opponents mana to attack you, or stops them attacking at all. Because it sits on a permanent, it keeps working every turn rather than answering one attack. Propaganda, Ghostly PrisonOpen the Attack Tax pageHatebearsHatebears decks play cheap creatures that each carry a rule making life harder for opponents, such as spells costing more. Each one is small, but together they slow the whole table down while they attack.Open the Hatebears pageHatebearA cheap creature, costing 3 mana or less, with a rule that slows everyone else down. Spells cost more, things enter tapped, or players cannot do something. It is the community's word for it, and a deck of them is a Hatebears deck. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Drannith Magistrate, Collector OupheOpen the Hatebear pageGroup Slug / PunisherDeals damage or drains life from every opponent at once, or forces a choice where each option hurts. It usually sits on a permanent and fires over and over rather than doing it a single time. ManabarbsOpen the Group Slug / Punisher pageGroup SlugGroup Slug decks hurt every player at the table at once, then make sure they can survive the pain better than anyone else. Typical cards make each player take damage or lose life whenever they draw, cast a spell or tap a land for mana.Open the Group Slug page
Send Us Feedback
What works, what's confusing, what you wish the site did. We read every one.
Not signed in? That is fine. We only keep what you write.
Optional. We only use it to reply to you.
Can we use Google Analytics cookies?
They show us which pages help people. No ads.
Privacy Policy
, where X is the number of counters on that creature.
Open the full glossary
