Fumigate 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
Destroy all creatures. You gain 1 life for each creature destroyed this way.
Complete guide
Fumigate is a powerful white board wipe that not only clears the battlefield of threats but also provides a significant cushion for your life total. It is a staple for control decks looking to stabilize against aggressive strategies by turning an opponent's army into a massive healing surge.
What It Does
Fumigate is a 5-mana sorcery that destroys all creatures currently on the battlefield. After the destruction occurs, the spell checks how many creatures were successfully destroyed by its effect and grants you 1 life for each of those creatures.
How It Resolves
First, every creature on the board is marked for destruction. Second, the game checks which creatures are actually destroyed; for example, creatures with indestructible will remain on the battlefield and do not count toward your life gain. Finally, you gain life equal to the total number of creatures that were removed from the battlefield via this destruction effect.
Common Mistakes
A common misconception is that creatures must reach the graveyard to grant life. According to official rulings, if a creature is destroyed but sent to the Command Zone or exiled instead of the graveyard due to a replacement effect, you still gain the life. However, if a creature has a 'regeneration' shield or 'indestructible', it is not destroyed, and you gain no life for it.
When to Play It
Fumigate is best utilized when your opponent has overextended their resources by playing multiple small creatures. Since it costs five mana, it is slightly slower than a standard four-mana board wipe, but the lifegain often compensates for the extra turn of damage you might have taken.
Interaction examples
Austere CommandIf you are facing a board of many small tokens, Fumigate is superior because it rewards you with life for every token destroyed. In contrast, Austere Command allows you to choose to destroy all creatures with mana value 3 or less, which might save your own larger creatures, but it won't provide the life buffer that Fumigate offers.
FarewellWhen you cast Fumigate, creatures are destroyed, which triggers 'death' abilities and allows for lifegain based on destruction. If you cast Farewell and choose to exile all creatures, no creatures are 'destroyed,' meaning you would not gain life if a card like Fumigate were involved, and death triggers would not fire. Use Fumigate when you need the life and Farewell when you need to bypass indestructible or graveyard recursion.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Fumigate
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Creatures destroyed this way count toward the life gained even if they're put into a zone other than a graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You won't gain 1 life for a creature that isn't actually destroyed, such as a creature with indestructible.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Fumigate
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.