Dalkovan EncampmentHow it works & interactions with other cards

Entering the Field

Dalkovan Encampment checks your board state as it enters the battlefield. If you already control a Swamp or a Mountain, it enters untapped and is ready for use immediately. However, if you control no lands with those subtypes, it enters tapped. Note that if this land and a Swamp or Mountain enter the battlefield at the exact same time, Dalkovan Encampment will still enter tapped because you didn't control the required lands before the entry event occurred.

Creating an Army

The final ability of Dalkovan Encampment costs three mana and requires you to tap the land. Once activated, it creates a delayed triggered ability for the rest of the turn. This ability watches for when you declare attackers; the moment you commit at least one creature to an attack, two 1/1 red Warrior tokens are created already tapped and attacking. You don't get to choose who they attack; they must attack the same player or planeswalker that the rest of your forces are targeting unless specified otherwise.

The End of the Raid

While the Warrior tokens provided by Dalkovan Encampment are potent, they are temporary. A second delayed trigger is created when the tokens are made, which forces you to sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step. This means they are excellent for one-shot damage or for triggering 'whenever a creature dies' effects, but they won't stick around to block on your opponent's next turn.

Strategic Timing

To maximize this land, you should activate the ability during your Main Phase 1 or at the very start of the Combat Phase. If you wait until after you have already declared attackers, the ability will still resolve, but the 'whenever you attack' trigger condition will have already passed, and you will not get any tokens for that combat.

Interaction examples

Securing the Mana Base

Dalkovan EncampmentCommand Tower

If you play Command Tower on turn one and then attempt to play Dalkovan Encampment on turn two, the Encampment will enter the battlefield tapped. This is because Command Tower does not have the Swamp or Mountain subtype, even if it can produce mana of those colors.

Generating Warriors

Dalkovan EncampmentWarrior

During your turn, you tap two other lands and Dalkovan Encampment itself to activate its ability. When you move to combat and declare a creature as an attacker, the delayed trigger puts two red Warrior tokens onto the battlefield. These tokens are already attacking, so they don't trigger 'whenever this creature attacks' abilities, but they will deal damage during the combat damage step.

Resource Management

Dalkovan EncampmentExotic Orchard

If your opponent controls a Mountain and you control an Exotic Orchard, you might be able to produce Red mana, but Exotic Orchard does not count as a Mountain. Therefore, if you play Dalkovan Encampment while only Exotic Orchard is out, the Encampment will enter tapped.