Accursed Marauder is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
When this creature enters, each player sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice.
Complete guide
Accursed Marauder is a powerful addition to sacrifice-based strategies, offering a forced removal effect for a low mana cost. Unlike similar cards, it specifically targets nontoken creatures, ensuring that your opponents can't simply discard a disposable 1/1 token to save their best threat.
Nontoken Sacrifice Mechanics
When Accursed Marauder enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack. Upon resolution, every player must choose one nontoken creature they control to sacrifice. This bypasses keywords like Hexproof or Indestructible, as the ability does not target the creatures and sacrifice is not destruction.
Order of Resolution
The active player (the player whose turn it is) chooses their nontoken creature first. Following this, each other player in turn order makes their choice. A key strategic advantage here is that players later in the turn order know what others have chosen before making their own selection. Once all choices are made, all selected creatures are sacrificed at the same time.
Sacrificing Itself
It is important to remember that Accursed Marauder is a nontoken creature. If you control no other nontoken creatures when its ability resolves, you must sacrifice the Marauder itself. However, you may choose to sacrifice the Marauder even if you do control other valid creatures.
Strategic Timing
Play Accursed Marauder when your opponent has invested heavily in a single, powerful nontoken creature while you have a creature you want in the graveyard. Because it ignores tokens, it is particularly effective against decks that generate many small blockers to protect their primary win condition.
Interaction examples
Blood ArtistWith Blood Artist on the battlefield, you cast Accursed Marauder. When it enters, both you and your opponent sacrifice a nontoken creature. Blood Artist sees both creatures die, triggering twice to drain 2 life from your opponent and gain you 2 life.
Ornithopter of ParadiseIf your opponent controls a powerful creature and an Ornithopter of Paradise, and you cast Accursed Marauder, they must choose one of those nontoken creatures to sacrifice. Because Ornithopter of Paradise is a nontoken creature, they might choose it to save their bigger threat, but if the Thopter is their only other creature, they are forced to make a difficult choice.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Accursed Marauder
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
As Accursed Marauder's enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, first the player whose turn it is chooses which creature they'll sacrifice, then each other player in turn order does the same. Players will know the choices of previous players when making their choice. Then all of the chosen creatures are sacrificed by their controllers simultaneously.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You may sacrifice Accursed Marauder to its own ability. If it is the only creature you control when that ability resolves, you must sacrifice it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Accursed Marauder
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.