Bone Miser 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
Whenever you discard a creature card, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. Whenever you discard a land card, add. Whenever you discard a noncreature, nonland card, draw a card.
Complete guide
Bone Miser is a powerhouse for any strategy that loves filling the graveyard. By turning every discarded card into a tangible resource, this Zombie Wizard ensures that your losses become significant gains. Whether you are cycling cards or cleaning your hand during the cleanup step, this creature rewards you for every single card that hits the bin.
A Triple Threat of Triggers
Bone Miser features three distinct triggered abilities that cover every card type in Magic: The Gathering. If you discard a creature card, you get a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. Discarding a land card generates two black mana ({B}{B}). Discarding any other card type—such as an artifact, enchantment, instant, or sorcery—allows you to draw a card. Note that these are triggered abilities, not activated ones; Bone Miser doesn't let you discard cards at will, so you will need another card or game rule to initiate the discard.
Understanding the Timing
Timing is crucial when playing with Bone Miser. If you discard a card as a cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, Bone Miser's trigger goes on the stack on top of that spell or ability and resolves first. However, if you discard a card while a spell is already resolving, the trigger waits until the current spell has finished its entire effect before it can be put on the stack and resolve. Importantly, the mana-generating ability is not a 'mana ability' because it triggers off an event; it uses the stack and can be responded to, meaning you cannot use the mana from a discarded land to pay for the ability that caused the discard itself.
Strategic Considerations
To maximize Bone Miser, you should look for ways to discard multiple cards at once. During your cleanup step, if you have more than seven cards in hand, you must discard down to your maximum hand size. Bone Miser will trigger for each of those cards. If those triggers cause you to draw more cards, bringing your hand size back above seven, the game will initiate a new cleanup step, and you will have to discard again, potentially starting a lucrative cycle of triggers.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you have Bone Miser on the battlefield and an effect requires you to discard Solemn Simulacrum, Bone Miser recognizes that Solemn Simulacrum is a creature card. This triggers Bone Miser's first ability. Once the trigger resolves, you create a 2/2 black Zombie token. This effectively replaces your discarded artifact creature with a new Zombie body on the board.
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Zombie' chosen as the creature type, Bone Miser's abilities will trigger an additional time. If you discard a noncreature, nonland card, you will draw two cards instead of one. If you discard a land, you will add {B}{B}{B}{B} to your mana pool as two separate instances of the trigger resolve.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Bone Miser
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
This creature’s abilities are triggered abilities, not activated abilities. They don’t allow you to discard a card whenever you want; rather, you need some other way of discarding a card (such as cycling).
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
This creature’s second ability isn’t a mana ability. It uses the stack and can be responded to. Notably, this means that you can’t pay a cost of “
, Discard a card” by discarding a land card and using the produced to pay for the .No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you discard a card as a cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, this creature’s triggered ability resolves before that spell or ability but after you’ve chosen targets for it. If you discard a card while a spell or ability is resolving, the triggered ability resolves after you’ve finished resolving that spell or ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Bone Miser + Tortured Existence + Phyrexian Altar
- 1Activate Tortured Existence by paying and discarding a creature card.
- 2Bone Miser triggers, creating a 2/2 Zombie creature token.
- 3Resolve the Tortured Existence ability, returning another creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing the Zombie, adding .
- 5Repeat.
The Necrobloom + Bone Miser
- 1Activate the cycling card's cycling ability by paying its cycling cost and discarding it.
- 2Bone Miser's second ability triggers, adding .
- 3Resolve the cycling ability, causing you to mill two cards and return the cycling card from your graveyard to your hand due to its dredge ability.
- 4Repeat.
- 5If the cycling land has a cycling cost that can be paid using or less, this combo nets near-infinite black mana.
Bone Miser + Life from the Loam + Skirge Familiar
- 1Activate Skirge Familiar by discarding Life from the Loam, adding .
- 2Bone Miser's third ability triggers, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 3Repeat.
Bone Miser + Tortured Existence + Dryad Arbor
- 1Activate Tortured Existence by paying and discarding Dryad Arbor, targeting any creature card in your graveyard.
- 2Bone Miser triggers twice, adding and creating a 2/2 Zombie creature token.
- 3Resolve the Tortured Existence ability, returning any creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Tortured Existence by paying and discarding any creature card, targeting Dryad Arbor.
- 5Bone Miser triggers, creating a 2/2 Zombie creature token.
- 6Resolve the Tortured Existence ability, returning Dryad Arbor from your graveyard to your hand.
- 7Repeat.
Gollum, Patient Plotter + Bone Miser + Skirge Familiar
- 1Activate Skirge Familiar by discarding Gollum, adding .
- 2Bone Miser's first ability triggers, creating a 2/2 Zombie creature token.
- 3Activate Gollum by paying and sacrificing the Zombie, returning it from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Repeat.
Bone Miser + Darkblast + Skirge Familiar
- 1Activate Skirge Familiar by discarding Darkblast, adding .
- 2Bone Miser's third ability triggers, causing you to mill three cards and return Darkblast from your graveyard to your hand.
- 3Repeat.
Bone Miser + Shenanigans + Skirge Familiar
- 1Activate Skirge Familiar by discarding Shenanigans, adding .
- 2Bone Miser's third ability triggers, causing you to mill a card and return Shenanigans from your graveyard to your hand.
- 3Repeat.
Escape Protocol + Bone Miser + Eternal Witness
- 1Activate the land's cycling ability by paying
and discarding it. - 2When you cycle the land, Escape Protocol and Bone Miser's second ability trigger.
- 3Resolve Bone Miser's ability, adding .
- 4Resolve Escape Protocol's ability, paying to blink Eternal Witness.
- 5When Eternal Witness enters, it triggers, returning the cycled land from your graveyard to your hand.
- 6Resolve the activated ability from step 1, drawing a card.
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Meta decks with Bone Miser
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.