CastigateHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

For two mana, Castigate forces a target opponent to reveal their entire hand to you. You then choose one nonland card from those revealed cards. That specific card is moved directly from their hand to the exile zone, meaning it is typically gone for the rest of the game.

How It Resolves Step by Step

First, you cast Castigate by paying one white and one black mana and choosing a target opponent. Upon resolution, the opponent reveals their hand so all players can see it. You look through the cards and identify a nonland card to remove. Finally, that card is moved to exile and Castigate is put into your graveyard.

Common Mistakes

A common error is attempting to target a land card; Castigate explicitly states you must choose a nonland card. Additionally, because the card is exiled rather than discarded, it does not trigger abilities that care about cards being put into a graveyard, nor can the opponent easily recur the card later.

When to Play It

Castigate is best played early in the game to strip away an opponent's key combo piece or their most efficient creature. Because it provides full information about your opponent's hand, it also helps you plan your future turns with perfect knowledge of what threats or answers they are holding.

Interaction examples

Preventing Reanimation

Reanimate

If your opponent is holding Reanimate, you can cast Castigate to exile a high-cost creature from their hand. Because the creature is exiled and not put into the graveyard, your opponent cannot use Reanimate to bring that creature onto the battlefield later.

Stopping the Search

Demonic Tutor

When you cast Castigate and see Demonic Tutor in your opponent's hand, you can choose to exile it. This prevents the opponent from searching their library for their most needed card, effectively shutting down their consistency before they can spend the mana to find an answer.