Agatha's Champion — ruling 1

Bargain means "As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token."

Agatha's Champion — ruling 2

Bargain represents an optional additional cost. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is "bargained."

Agatha's Champion — ruling 3

You may sacrifice only one artifact, enchantment, or token to pay a spell's bargain cost.

Agatha's Champion — ruling 4

If you copy a bargained spell, the copy is also bargained. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that's already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn't bargained, even if the original was.

Agatha's Champion — ruling 5

Some instant and sorcery spells require additional targets if they're bargained. You ignore those targeting requirements if those spells aren't bargained, and you can't bargain those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can bargain a permanent spell even if you won't be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves.

Agatha's Champion : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Agatha's Champion 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

Bargain (You may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token as you cast this spell.) Trample When this creature enters, if it was bargained, it fights up to one target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)

Complete guide

Agatha's Champion combines trample with an optional fight when it enters the battlefield. Bargain lets you sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token as an additional casting cost to unlock that fight—but choosing what to sacrifice and when matters.

What It Does

Agatha's Champion costs {4}{G} and has trample whether or not you bargain it. As you cast it, you may sacrifice exactly one artifact, enchantment, or token you control to pay its optional bargain cost. This does not reduce its mana cost. If Agatha's Champion was bargained, its enters-the-battlefield ability triggers and can target up to one creature you don't control. If it wasn't bargained, that ability doesn't trigger. You may bargain it even if there will be no suitable creature to fight, and you may choose zero targets for the ability.

How It Resolves, Step by Step

1. Announce Agatha's Champion and choose whether to pay its bargain cost. 2. Pay its costs, including sacrificing one eligible permanent if you chose to bargain. The sacrifice happens during casting, before anyone can respond to the spell. 3. When the spell resolves, Agatha's Champion enters the battlefield. If it was bargained, its fight ability triggers. Choose up to one target creature you don't control when that ability goes on the stack. 4. Players may respond before the ability resolves. If its target is still legal and both creatures are on the battlefield, they simultaneously deal damage equal to their respective powers to each other. If either creature is no longer on the battlefield, neither deals fight damage. Example 1 — Bargaining with Solemn Simulacrum: Cast Agatha's Champion and sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum to pay the bargain cost. Solemn Simulacrum's death ability triggers and goes on the stack above the Champion spell after casting is complete. When that trigger resolves, you may draw a card. Later, if Agatha's Champion resolves and enters, its bargained fight ability triggers and you choose its target, if any.

Common Mistakes: Fight Isn't Combat

Trample does not apply to fight damage: it affects how combat damage is assigned. Fighting a small creature therefore won't send excess damage to that creature's controller. Fighting also doesn't tap either creature, and a creature can fight on the turn it enters the battlefield. Bargain cannot be paid after Agatha's Champion enters, and the sacrificed permanent isn't returned if the spell is countered. Sacrificing more than one permanent isn't an option for this bargain cost. Example 2 — Keeping Roaming Throne: Suppose you control Roaming Throne with Human or Knight chosen. Cast Agatha's Champion and bargain it by sacrificing a different eligible permanent, such as Solemn Simulacrum. When the Champion enters, Roaming Throne makes its fight ability trigger an additional time. Put both triggers on the stack, choosing up to one target for each; you may choose the same creature or different creatures. Resolve them separately. Damage from the first fight remains marked on surviving creatures, and lethal damage is checked before the second trigger resolves. If Agatha's Champion dies after the first fight, the second trigger cannot make it fight. Example 3 — Sacrificing Roaming Throne: Instead, sacrifice Roaming Throne itself to bargain Agatha's Champion. That pays the bargain cost because Roaming Throne is an artifact, but it won't be on the battlefield when the Champion enters. Its ability therefore won't provide an additional fight trigger.

When to Play It

Cast Agatha's Champion when adding a trampling creature is useful, and bargain it when the potential fight justifies losing an eligible permanent. Before choosing a fight target, compare both creatures' powers, toughnesses, and any damage already marked on them: both creatures deal damage, so the Champion may die too. Solemn Simulacrum offers a useful bargain option because sacrificing it also triggers its optional card draw. Keeping Roaming Throne on the battlefield can provide two separate fight triggers, but those are sequential fights—not one simultaneous fight against two creatures. If fighting would be unfavorable, choosing zero targets is legal even after you've paid the bargain cost.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.

How it works : Agatha's Champion

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1September 1, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
Bargain means "As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token."
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2September 1, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
Bargain represents an optional additional cost. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is "bargained."
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3September 1, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
You may sacrifice only one artifact, enchantment, or token to pay a spell's bargain cost.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4September 1, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
If you copy a bargained spell, the copy is also bargained. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that's already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn't bargained, even if the original was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5September 1, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
Some instant and sorcery spells require additional targets if they're bargained. You ignore those targeting requirements if those spells aren't bargained, and you can't bargain those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can bargain a permanent spell even if you won't be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.