AmokHow it works & interactions with other cards

What Amok Does

Amok provides a repeatable activated ability for one generic mana. The cost requires both the mana payment and discarding a card chosen at random from your hand. If you have no cards in hand, you cannot activate this ability. Once paid, it places a +1/+1 counter on a target creature of your choice.

Resolving the Ability Step-by-Step

First, announce you are activating Amok and choose a target creature. Next, pay the one mana and randomly select a card from your hand to discard. Because the discard is part of the cost, players cannot respond between the time you choose to activate it and the card hitting the graveyard. Finally, if the target is still legal, the ability resolves and the +1/+1 counter is placed.

Common Pitfalls

The most important thing to remember is that the discard is random. You cannot choose which card to lose, so it is often best to use Amok when every card in your hand is something you are willing to lose. Additionally, if the target creature leaves the battlefield or becomes illegal before the ability resolves, the counter is not placed, but the card remains discarded.

When to Play Amok

Amok excels in aggressive decks that want to turn late-game land draws into power. It also synergizes with strategies that benefit from having specific card types in the graveyard, even if you cannot control exactly which card ends up there on a given turn.

Interaction examples

Empowering Your Board

Impact Tremors

With both enchantments on the battlefield, every creature you play triggers Impact Tremors to damage your opponents. Later, if those creatures need to survive combat or deal more damage, you can use Amok to discard excess cards to ensure they grow large enough to end the game.

Filling the Graveyard

Underworld Breach

If you have Underworld Breach active, the cards you discard to Amok are not truly lost. You can pay one mana to activate Amok, discard a card at random to buff a creature, and then immediately use the Escape mechanic granted by Underworld Breach to cast that same card from your graveyard.