Cheering CrowdHow it works & interactions with other cards

A Community Project

Cheering Crowd triggers at the beginning of every player's first main phase, not just your own. The current player chooses whether or not to place a +1/+1 counter on the creature. This is a voluntary action; if they choose to add a counter, the second part of the ability triggers, providing them with colorless mana equal to the total number of +1/+1 counters now on Cheering Crowd.

Resolution Step-by-Step

First, at the start of the first main phase, the ability goes on the stack. Next, the active player decides to put a +1/+1 counter on Cheering Crowd. If they do, the counter is placed immediately, and they add {C} (colorless mana) for every counter currently on the creature. Note that this mana is added to their mana pool during their own main phase, allowing them to spend it immediately.

Strategic Considerations

A common mistake is forgetting that the mana production scales. The more counters on Cheering Crowd, the more mana it generates for the player who adds the next one. While opponents might be tempted by the free mana, they are also making your creature significantly larger and more dangerous for combat later in the turn.

When to Deploy the Crowd

Cheering Crowd is best played early when players are hungry for extra mana to accelerate their game plan. Because the ability triggers on every turn, it can potentially grow four times in a single round of a four-player game, turning a modest 2/2 into a massive threat very quickly.

Interaction examples

Accelerating Early Plays

Birds of Paradise

If you have Birds of Paradise on the battlefield, you can tap it for Green mana to help cast Cheering Crowd on turn two. On turn three, during your first main phase, you can put a counter on Cheering Crowd to gain {C}. With your lands, the Birds, and the Crowd, you could potentially have four mana available to cast a large spell.

Building a Mana Engine

Llanowar Elves

You cast Cheering Crowd while Llanowar Elves is present. By the time your next turn starts, if two opponents chose to put counters on it to get mana, the creature is already a 4/4. When your first main phase begins, you add a third counter. Cheering Crowd now has three counters, so you add {C}{C}{C} to your mana pool in addition to the mana from your Elves and lands.