Electrickery 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
Electrickery deals 1 damage to target creature you don't control. Overload(You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change "target" in its text to "each.")
Complete guide
Electrickery is a versatile red instant that serves as both surgical removal and a powerful board wipe for small creatures. By utilizing the Overload mechanic, you can pivot from picking off a single threat to clearing an opponent's entire field of tokens or utility creatures. This guide explores how to maximize this shock to the system in your next match.
Understanding Overload
Electrickery has two modes of casting. If you pay its standard cost of one red mana, it is a targeted spell that deals 1 damage to a single creature you don't control. However, if you pay its Overload cost of one generic and one red mana, the word 'target' is replaced with 'each'. This transformation changes the spell from a targeted effect to a global one, affecting every creature your opponents control simultaneously.
Resolving the Spell
When cast for its normal cost, you must choose a legal target. If that target becomes illegal (such as gaining Hexproof or leaving the battlefield) before the spell resolves, Electrickery will fail to resolve. When Overloaded, the spell no longer targets. It will affect every creature you don't control upon resolution, meaning it bypasses Hexproof, Ward, and Shroud. Note that Protection from Red will still prevent the damage, even if the spell doesn't target.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error involves casting Electrickery 'without paying its mana cost' via other effects. In these instances, you cannot choose to pay the Overload cost; you must cast it for its standard targeting effect. Additionally, remember that Overloading does not change the spell's mana value. Even if you pay the Overload cost, the mana value of Electrickery remains 1.
When to Play Electrickery
Use the standard mode early in the game to pick off high-value 1-toughness creatures like mana dorks. Save the Overload mode for combat or in response to token-generating effects to swing the board state in your favor. It is particularly effective against aggressive decks that rely on wide boards of small creatures.
Interaction examples
If your opponent controls a 1/1 creature with Hexproof, you cannot cast Electrickery for its normal cost targeting that creature. However, you can pay the Overload cost. Since the Overloaded version does not target, it successfully deals 1 damage to the Hexproof creature and destroys it.
Lightning BoltSuppose your opponent has a creature with 4 toughness. You can cast Lightning Bolt to deal 3 damage to it. While that damage is marked, you can then cast Electrickery for its standard cost to deal the final 1 damage needed to destroy the creature.
AbradeIn a scenario where your opponent has an artifact creature and several 1/1 tokens, you have options. You might use Abrade to destroy the artifact creature specifically. If you then Overload Electrickery, you can wipe out all the remaining tokens without needing to target them individually, efficiently clearing the board.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Electrickery
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you don't pay the overload cost of a spell with overload, that spell will have a single target. If you pay the overload cost, the spell won't have any targets.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Because a spell with overload doesn't target when its overload cost is paid, it may affect permanents with hexproof or with protection from the appropriate color.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as an overload cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If you are instructed to cast a spell with overload "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to pay its overload cost instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Note that if the spell with overload is dealing damage, protection from that spell's color will still prevent that damage.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Electrickery
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.