Fire Ants 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
: This creature deals 1 damage to each other creature without flying.
Complete guide
Fire Ants is a classic red utility creature that can clear away small threats and mana dorks with a single tap. This Insect acts as a repeatable board wipe for grounded creatures, making it a nightmare for decks that rely on tiny, non-flying creatures to win.
Understanding the Swarm
Fire Ants has an activated ability marked by the tap symbol. When you activate it, the creature deals 1 damage to every other creature currently on the battlefield that does not have the keyword flying. Crucially, this does not hit Fire Ants itself, and it ignores any creatures that are currently airborne.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, ensure Fire Ants does not have summoning sickness and you have priority. Second, tap Fire Ants to put the ability on the stack. Third, as the ability resolves, it checks every other creature on the battlefield for the flying keyword. Finally, it deals 1 damage to each creature that lacks flying simultaneously.
Common Mistakes
Players often forget that Fire Ants only checks for the flying keyword at the moment the ability resolves. If a creature gains flying in response to the ability, it will be spared. Additionally, because this is an activated ability and not a triggered ability, it will not be affected by cards that only interact with triggers.
When to Play It
Fire Ants is most effective in environments where your opponents utilize many 1-toughness ground creatures. It is an excellent defensive tool to stall aggressive strategies while you build up your mana or search for your win conditions.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumYou have Fire Ants and Solemn Simulacrum on the battlefield. You tap Fire Ants. Since Solemn Simulacrum does not have flying, it takes 1 damage. If the Simulacrum already had 1 damage marked on it, this will cause it to die, allowing you to trigger its draw ability.
Roaming ThroneYou control Fire Ants and Roaming Throne, having chosen 'Insect' for the Throne's type. You tap Fire Ants to activate its ability. Note that Roaming Throne's effect only doubles triggered abilities; since Fire Ants has an activated ability (signified by the colon), the ability only resolves once. Roaming Throne takes 1 damage because it does not have flying.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Fire Ants
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
No additional ruling has been published for this card.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Fire Ants + Cacophodon + Rite of Passage
- 1Activate Fire Ants by tapping it, dealing 1 damage to each other creature without flying.
- 2Rite of Passage triggers for each creature you control that was dealt damage this way, and Cacophodon triggers once.
- 3Resolve all Rite of Passage triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control that was dealt damage.
- 4Resolve the Cacophodon trigger, untapping Fire Ants.
- 5Repeat.
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Fire Ants
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.