Zurgo Helmsmasher wants a deck that piles armor and magic onto one creature and attacks with it. It also suits a deck that turns its opponents against each other.
Mana cost
White, Black, Red ()
Power / toughness7 / 2
RarityMythic
Haste
Zurgo attacks each combat if able.
During your turn, Zurgo has indestructible.
Whenever a creature dealt damage by Zurgo this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Zurgo.
Picked for what they do in Zurgo Helmsmasher's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Zurgo Helmsmasher'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 Zurgo Helmsmasher 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 Coast20 Sep 2014
Each time a creature dies, check whether Zurgo had dealt any damage to it at any time during that turn. If so, Zurgo's ability will trigger. It doesn't matter who controlled the creature or whose graveyard it went to.
Wizards of the Coast20 Sep 2014
If Zurgo enters the battlefield before the combat phase, it will attack that turn if able. If it enters the battlefield after combat, it won't attack that turn and will usually be available to block on the following turn.
Wizards of the Coast20 Sep 2014
If, during your declare attackers step, Zurgo is tapped or is affected by a spell or ability that says it can't attack, then it doesn't attack. If there's a cost associated with having Zurgo attack, you aren't forced to pay that cost, so it doesn't have to attack in that case either.
Wizards of the Coast20 Sep 2014
You still choose which player or planeswalker Zurgo Helmsmasher attacks.
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 glossaryWBRPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, B for black, R for red.VoltronVoltron decks load one creature, usually the commander, with Equipment and Auras until it can win by attacking on its own. In Commander, a player dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the game loses, so one huge commander can knock a player out.Open the Voltron pageVoltron CommanderA legendary creature that can carry the whole game plan by itself. It protects itself, grows with what is attached to it, or rewards attacking alone. The deck piles Auras and Equipment onto it and wins with commander damage, since 21 or more combat damage from one commander knocks a player out. Named for the toy robot built from smaller pieces. Zurgo Helmsmasher, Uril, the Miststalker, Sigarda, Host of HeronsOpen the Voltron Commander pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters pagePoliticsPolitics decks turn opponents against each other, making their creatures attack someone else or letting the whole table vote. Goad is the most common tool: a goaded creature must attack, and must attack someone other than you if it can.Open the Politics pageForced CombatForces creatures to attack, or decides who they attack, often with goad. In multiplayer it points other people's creatures at each other instead of at you. Bident of Thassa, Toski, Bearer of SecretsOpen the Forced Combat page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters 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 page
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