Apex Devastator 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
Cascade, cascade, cascade, cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order. Multiple instances of cascade each trigger separately.)
Complete guide
Apex Devastator is a massive Chimera Hydra that embodies the chaotic power of nature. When this ten-mana behemoth hits the stack, it brings a whirlwind of spells along with it, thanks to its four separate instances of cascade. This card is a true test of a player's ability to manage complex stacks and random library exiling.
How Cascade Works Four Times
When you cast Apex Devastator, four separate cascade abilities are put onto the stack on top of it. Each ability resolves one at a time. For each instance, you exile cards from the top of your library until you find a nonland card with a mana value less than 10. You then have the option to cast that card for free. If you do, that new spell goes on top of the remaining cascade triggers, meaning the free spell resolves before you even start exiling cards for the next cascade.
Navigating the Stack
It is crucial to remember that cascade triggers upon casting, not when the creature enters the battlefield. Even if an opponent counters Apex Devastator, all four cascade triggers will still resolve. Each cascade is independent; if one of the spells you cast via cascade also has cascade, that new trigger will resolve fully before you proceed to the next Apex Devastator trigger.
Important Constraints
When casting a spell for free via cascade, you cannot use alternative costs (like Mutate or Overload), but you must pay mandatory additional costs. If the exiled card has an X in its mana cost, X must be 0. Furthermore, under current rules, both the exiled card and the resulting spell you cast must have a mana value less than the spell that triggered the cascade (in this case, less than 10).
Common Pitfalls
A common mistake is forgetting the order of operations. You must resolve the first cascade and its resulting spell completely before moving to the second cascade. Also, note that while the casting of the exiled card is optional, exiling the cards from your library is mandatory until you hit a valid target or run out of cards.
Interaction examples
Kozilek, Butcher of TruthYou cast Apex Devastator. The first cascade trigger resolves and you exile cards until you hit Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. Since Kozilek's mana value is 10, it is not less than 10, so you must skip it and continue exiling cards. Cascade only stops for cards with a strictly lower mana value than the original spell.
Summon: BahamutYou cast Apex Devastator and one of the cascade triggers reveals Summon: Bahamut. Because Summon: Bahamut has a mana value of 9, which is less than 10, you may cast it for free. It enters the battlefield as an Enchantment Creature — Saga Dragon and its first chapter ability will trigger and resolve before you move on to resolve your next remaining cascade trigger from Apex Devastator.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Apex Devastator
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If cascade allows you to cast a split card, you may cast either half but not both halves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If the card has
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Due to a 2021 rules change to cascade, not only do you stop exiling cards if you exile a nonland card with lesser mana value than the spell with cascade, but the resulting spell you cast must also have lesser mana value. Previously, in cases where a card's mana value differed from the resulting spell, such as with some modal double-faced cards or cards with an Adventure, you could cast a spell with a higher mana value than the exiled card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
A spell's mana value is determined only by its mana cost. Ignore any alternative costs, additional costs, cost increases, or cost reductions.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Cascade triggers when you cast the spell, meaning that it resolves before that spell. If you end up casting the exiled card, it will go on the stack above the spell with cascade.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
When the cascade ability resolves, you must exile cards. The only optional part of the ability is whether or not you cast the last card exiled.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell with cascade is countered, the cascade ability will still resolve normally.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
You exile the cards face up. All players will be able to see them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
Each of Apex Devastator's four cascade abilities will look for a nonland card with mana value less than 10 (Apex Devastator's mana value). This doesn't change even if one or more of the spells you cast because of those cascade abilities has cascade itself. Each of those additional cascade abilities, if any, will refer to the mana value of the spell that caused it to trigger. In other words, each cascade ability cares only about the spell that caused it to trigger, the stack can get messy, and we wish you luck.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
Each instance of cascade triggers and resolves separately. The spell you cast due to the first cascade ability will go on the stack on top of the second, third, and fourth cascade abilities. That spell will resolve before you exile cards for the second cascade ability. The spell you cast for the second will resolve before you exile cards for the third, and so on.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Apex Devastator
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