Bloodtracker 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
Flying, Pay 2 life: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. When this creature leaves the battlefield, draw a card for each +1/+1 counter on it.
Complete guide
Bloodtracker is a versatile Vampire Wizard that turns your life resource into physical power on the battlefield. Not only does it grow larger with every payment of life, but it also ensures you are rewarded with a fresh hand of cards when it finally departs.
Growing the Tracker
Bloodtracker features an activated ability that costs one black mana and two life. This ability allows you to place a +1/+1 counter on it as many times as you can afford, at instant speed. Because it has flying, these counters quickly turn it into a lethal aerial threat.
The Leaves-the-Battlefield Trigger
When Bloodtracker leaves the battlefield for any reason—whether it is destroyed, exiled, or returned to your hand—its triggered ability goes on the stack. The game checks the number of +1/+1 counters that were on it at the final moment it existed on the battlefield. You then draw that many cards.
Counters and State-Based Actions
A common point of confusion occurs when Bloodtracker receives -1/-1 counters. If it is reduced to zero toughness by -1/-1 counters, it leaves the battlefield before the +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters can cancel each other out. In this specific scenario, the ability still sees the +1/+1 counters it had before the -1/-1 counters were applied, allowing you to draw the full amount.
When to Deploy Bloodtracker
This card is best used in decks that can manipulate life totals or benefit from high card draw. Since its draw trigger happens when it 'leaves the battlefield' rather than just 'dies,' it is highly resilient against exile effects like Swords to Plowshares, making it a reliable engine for card advantage.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Vampire' chosen as the creature type, Bloodtracker's triggered ability will trigger an additional time when it leaves. If Bloodtracker had three +1/+1 counters on it, you would draw three cards from the first trigger and another three cards from the second, for a total of six cards.
Solemn SimulacrumWith both creatures on the battlefield, you can use Bloodtracker as an aggressive attacker. If a board wipe occurs, both creatures leave the battlefield. You will resolve Solemn Simulacrum's trigger to draw one card, and Bloodtracker's trigger to draw cards equal to the +1/+1 counters you placed on it during previous turns.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Bloodtracker
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If enough -1/-1 counters are put on Bloodtracker at the same time to make its toughness 0 or less, the number of +1/+1 counters on it before it got any -1/-1 counters will be used to determine how many cards you draw. For example, if there are three +1/+1 counters on Bloodtracker and it gets six -1/-1 counters, you'll draw three cards. That's because Bloodtracker's triggered ability checks the creature's existence just before it leaves the battlefield, and it still has all those counters on it at that point.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Bloodtracker
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.