Encouraging Aviator // Jump 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
Flying Whenever this creature attacks, it becomes prepared. (While it's prepared, you may cast a copy of its spell. Doing so unprepares it.) Target creature gains flying until end of turn.
Complete guide
Encouraging Aviator introduces the Prepare mechanic, a powerful way to gain extra value from your creatures during combat. This Bird Wizard not only flies over defenses but also grants you access to the Jump spell every time it takes to the skies.
What it does
Encouraging Aviator is a creature with the Prepare keyword. Whenever it attacks, it becomes prepared. In technical terms, this means you create a copy of its associated spell, Jump, in the exile zone. As long as the Aviator remains prepared and on the battlefield, you can cast that copy of Jump from exile by paying its mana cost. Once you cast the spell, the creature becomes unprepared, and you must attack again to refresh the ability.
How it resolves step by step
First, you declare Encouraging Aviator as an attacker. Its triggered ability goes on the stack. When the ability resolves, the creature becomes 'prepared,' and a copy of the Jump spell is created in exile. You now have permission to cast that copy of Jump. If you choose to cast it, you pay {U} and put the spell on the stack. The moment you cast it, Encouraging Aviator loses its prepared status. If the spell is countered or fails to resolve due to illegal targets, the creature still remains unprepared because the act of casting it is what removes the status.
Common Mistakes
A common misconception is that the prepared spell copy disappears if the creature loses its abilities. However, if Encouraging Aviator loses all abilities (for example, via an opponent's spell), it remains prepared if it already was, and you can still cast Jump from exile. Additionally, remember that you cannot prepare a creature multiple times to 'stack' spells; if it is already prepared, attacking again won't create a second copy of Jump. Finally, if the creature leaves the battlefield, the copy in exile ceases to exist immediately.
When to play it
Encouraging Aviator is best used in aggressive blue decks that benefit from repeated evasion. Since Jump can target any creature, you can use the prepared spell to help a ground-based threat, like Solemn Simulacrum, fly over blockers to trigger combat damage effects or simply to chip away at your opponent's life total.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneIf you control Roaming Throne and chose 'Bird' or 'Wizard,' the Aviator's attack ability triggers twice. However, a creature cannot be prepared more than once. The first trigger makes it prepared and creates a Jump copy in exile. The second trigger resolves but does nothing, as the Aviator is already prepared. You still only get one Jump spell per combat phase.
Solemn SimulacrumYou attack with Encouraging Aviator, becoming prepared. You then cast the Jump copy from exile targeting your Solemn Simulacrum. The Simulacrum gains flying until end of turn, allowing it to attack safely or block an opponent's flyer later, while the Aviator is now unprepared and ready to be reset next turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Encouraging Aviator // Jump
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Preparation cards can only be cast with their base characteristics.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
While copies of spells in zones other than the stack cease to exist when state-based actions are checked, this does not apply to copies of prepare spells in exile that were created as a creature became prepared.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose the alternative prepare spell's name. Consider only the alternative characteristics to determine whether that is an appropriate name to choose.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Only the current controller of a prepared creature can cast the copy of its prepare spell in exile. It doesn't matter who owns that creature or who controlled it when it became prepared.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect causes a creature to become unprepared, a prepared creature stops being prepared and the associated copy of its prepare spell in exile ceases to exist. If it wasn't prepared at that time, nothing happens.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Casting a copy of a prepare spell from exile isn't casting it for an alternative cost. Effects that allow you to cast a spell for an alternative cost or without paying its mana cost may allow you to apply those to a copy of a prepare spell cast from exile.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a prepared creature loses all abilities, it won't stop being prepared, and nothing will happen to its alternative characteristics or to the copy of its prepare spell in exile.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
A preparation card is a creature card in every zone. For example, while it's in your graveyard, Emeritus of Ideation is a blue creature whose mana value is 5. It can't be the target of Zealous Lorecaster's triggered ability ("When this creature enters, return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.").
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
Being prepared isn't a copiable value. If a permanent becomes a copy of a prepared creature, it won't be prepared. That permanent will have the alternative characteristics, though, and some other effect could cause it to become prepared later.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
As an effect causes a creature with a prepare spell to become prepared (including effects that state that a creature "enters prepared"), that creature's controller creates a copy of that creature's prepare spell in exile. That copy remains in exile for as long as that permanent is on the battlefield and is prepared. That creature's controller may cast that copy as long as it remains in exile. As they cast it, that creature stops being prepared.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
A creature without a prepare spell can't become prepared.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
Creating a copy of a creature's prepare spell in exile ignores copy exceptions applied to that creature that would affect the copiable values of that spell. For example, say a player casts Croaking Counterpart (a sorcery that says "Create a token that's a copy of target non-Frog creature, except it's a 1/1 green Frog.") targeting Goblin Glasswright. The token copy of Goblin Glasswright will enter prepared as a 1/1 green Frog creature, but the copy of Craft with Pride in exile will still be a red sorcery. The copy of Craft with Pride won't be green, a creature, or a Frog, and it won't have power or toughness.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #13· Wizards of the Coast
If a prepared creature stops being a creature, it will still be prepared, and the copy of its prepare spell will remain in exile. That permanent's controller will still be able to cast it. The same is true if a prepared creature becomes a copy of something else, even if it's then a permanent without a prepare spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #14· Wizards of the Coast
A creature with a prepare spell can't become prepared more than once at the same time. For example, Emeritus of Ideation is on the battlefield and is prepared. When it attacks, its last ability triggers. When that ability resolves, its controller may still exile eight cards from their graveyard, but doing so won't cause Emeritus of Ideation to become prepared a second time or create a second copy of Ancestral Recall in exile.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #15· Wizards of the Coast
If a prepare spell with one or more targets has no legal targets when it tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. Since the spell was cast, the associated permanent will still not be prepared.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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