Assemble the LegionHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it Does

Assemble the Legion uses muster counters to track the size of your growing army. At the start of every upkeep phase, the enchantment gains one counter and immediately rewards you with 1/1 red and white Soldier creature tokens with haste equal to the total number of counters currently on the card.

How it Resolves Step by Step

The ability triggers at the beginning of your upkeep. First, you place one muster counter on Assemble the Legion. Second, the game checks the total number of muster counters on the enchantment. Finally, you create that many Soldier tokens. If the enchantment is destroyed in response to the trigger, the game uses 'Last Known Information' to check how many counters were on it when it left the battlefield and grants you tokens accordingly.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake is forgetting that the token creation is part of the same triggered ability as adding the counter. You cannot add a counter and then wait to create tokens later; it all happens at once during your upkeep. Additionally, remember that the Soldiers have haste, so they can attack the same turn they are created, even though they are generated at the start of your turn.

When to Play It

This card is best played when you can protect your life total for a few turns while the Legion grows. Because it generates tokens every turn for no additional mana cost, it is an excellent win condition against control decks that struggle to remove enchantments or deal with a wide board of attackers every single turn.

Interaction examples

Doubling the Ranks

Anointed Procession

If you have Anointed Procession on the battlefield, the number of tokens created by Assemble the Legion is doubled. If there are three muster counters on the enchantment, instead of three Soldier tokens, you will create six Soldiers with haste.

Multi-Front Resource Management

Smothering Tithe

While Assemble the Legion provides your board presence during your upkeep, Smothering Tithe helps you maintain the mana required to protect your enchantment. The Soldier tokens can handle combat while the Treasure tokens from Smothering Tithe ensure you have mana available for spells on your opponents' turns.

The First Wave

Soldier

On the first upkeep after playing Assemble the Legion, you add one muster counter. You then create one 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token. Because the token has haste, it is eligible to attack during your declare attackers step immediately following your pre-combat main phase.