Mtg: Summoning Sickness Explained

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An in-depth overview of Magic: The Gathering’s summoning sickness
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Summoning Sickness is one of the rare rules in Magic: The Gathering that isn’t included on any card. Basically, the rule says any creature that comes onto the battlefield cannot attack or tap on the turn it enters the battlefield (so long as it doesn’t have Haste). We’ll break down how the rule works and answer all of the niche interactions and rule questions you might have.

Summoning Sickness 101

Summoning Sickness is a rule in Magic: The Gathering that says creatures can’t attack or tap on the turn they’re played. In other words, a creature has to be under your continuous control for a full turn before you can use it to its fullest ability. Notably, Summoning Sickness only impacts creatures.

Section 1 of 6:

What is Summoning Sickness?

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  1. Essentially, an entire turn must pass until your creatures can be attacked or tapped. Summoning Sickness applies only on the turn a creature enters the battlefield and “falls off” after the first turn on the field. [1]
    • Summoning Sickness does not impact a creature's ability to block—they just can’t tap or attack.
    • Just as an example, you play an Air-Cult Elemental during your first main phase. You cannot attack with it on the turn you cast it, but next turn you’d be able to use the Elemental to attack.
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Section 2 of 6:

Do artifact creatures have Summoning Sickness?

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  1. Artifact creatures, enchantment creatures, token creatures, etc.—all of them have Summoning Sickness. It does not Summoning Sickness does not impact artifacts, enchantments, lands, and any other card types that aren’t also creatures. [2]
Section 3 of 6:

Does Summoning Sickness impact abilities?

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  1. If a creature has an activated ability that requires tapping to activate (the tap logo appears before the “:” on the ability), you cannot use that ability on the turn the creature is played. [3]
    • Examples of activated abilities that would be prevented by Summoning Sickness include the abilities of Birds of Paradise , Tree of Perdition , or Obeka, Brute Chronologist . You couldn’t use any of these abilities the turn the creatures hit the battlefield.
    • If a creature would enter the battlefield tapped (like if your opponent has a Thalia, Heretic Cathar on the battlefield), the creature is still impacted by summoning sickness.
  2. If a creature’s ability doesn’t require it to be tapped, you are 100% free to use the ability on the turn you play the creature. Triggered abilities also aren’t impacted by summoning sickness. [4]
    • For example, you could pay 3 life to add red mana to your pool using Treasonous Ogre on the turn it is played, or buff a Rakshasa Deathdealer after playing it to get around a Lightning Bolt on the turn you play it.
    • With triggered abilities, say you play a card like Risen Reef . The “enter the battlefield” trigger goes off. Then, if you play another elemental, the Risen Reef’s ability will trigger again. None of it cares about Summoning Sickness.
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Section 4 of 6:

Does Summoning Sickness apply if the creature isn’t cast?

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  1. A lot of players lock on to the “summoning” part of the rule, but Summoning Sickness doesn’t require a card to be cast to apply. Any time a creature enters a battlefield, Summoning Sickness is “reset” and the creature can’t attack or tap again. This includes:
Section 5 of 6:

How to Get Around Summoning Sickness

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  1. Haste is one of the most common keywords in Magic: The Gathering. It grants a creature the ability to attack or tap on the turn it enters the battlefield. Haste is the only mechanic in the game that doesn’t care about Summoning Sickness. [5]
  2. If you have any creatures with Flash, you can “get around” Summoning Sickness by playing them on your opponent’s turn right before your turn starts. The creature will hit the battlefield during the end-step, it will have Summoning Sickness, then your turn will start and the creature won’t have Summoning Sickness!
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Section 6 of 6:

Does Summoning Sickness affect man-lands, planeswalkers, or tokens?

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  1. If you play a land that can turn into a creature, it has Summoning Sickness if you turn it into a creature the turn you played it. The same applies to planeswalkers that can turn into creatures (like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar ) and token creatures. If it’s a creature, it entered the battlefield, and it doesn’t have Haste, it has Summoning Sickness. [6]
    • Vehicles, like Smuggler’s Copter also have Summoning Sickness, but only once they’re crewed and turn into a creature.
    • This will come up on occasion with cards that animate other cards, like Koth, of the Hammer . Koth’s +1 says “Untap target Mountain. It becomes a 4/4 red Elemental creature until end of turn. It's still a land.” If you target a Mountain that you just played though, it has Summoning Sickness and can’t attack!

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      Tips

      • Oddly enough, creatures with Summoning Sickness can crew vehicles. This is because the Crew says, “Tap any number of creatures you control…” So, it’s you tapping the creature, not the creature tapping itself. [7]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/images/magic/tcg/resources/rules/MagicCompRules_21031101.pdf
      2. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/images/magic/tcg/resources/rules/MagicCompRules_21031101.pdf
      3. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/images/magic/tcg/resources/rules/MagicCompRules_21031101.pdf
      4. ↑ https://draftsim.com/do-artifacts-have-summoning-sickness/
      5. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/images/magic/tcg/resources/rules/MagicCompRules_21031101.pdf
      6. ↑ https://draftsim.com/do-artifacts-have-summoning-sickness/
      7. ↑ https://blog.cardkingdom.com/mtg-keywords-explained-crew/

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