Hive of the Eye Tyrant 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
If you control two or more other lands, this land enters tapped.: Add
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Complete guide
Hive of the Eye Tyrant is a versatile utility land that provides mana early and becomes a formidable threat late in the game. As part of the creature land cycle from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, it offers both evasion and graveyard hate in a single slot. Mastering its timing is key to controlling the flow of the game.
A Land with a Bite
Hive of the Eye Tyrant enters the battlefield untapped if you control one or zero other lands. If it is your third land or later, it enters tapped. Once on the board, it provides black mana, but its true power lies in its transformation ability. For four mana, it becomes a 3/3 Beholder creature with menace, meaning it requires two or more creatures to be blocked.
Triggering the Beholder
When Hive of the Eye Tyrant attacks, a triggered ability is placed on the stack. You choose one target card from the defending player's graveyard to exile. If you have enough mana to activate the transformation ability multiple times before attacking, the land will gain multiple instances of this triggered ability, allowing you to exile additional cards upon declaring the attack.
Summoning Sickness and Timing
A common mistake involves forgetting that while lands don't usually have summoning sickness, creatures do. If you play Hive of the Eye Tyrant and immediately turn it into a creature, you cannot tap it for mana or attack with it unless you have controlled it since the start of your turn. Always ensure it has been under your control through a full upkeep before attempting to strike.
Strategic Graveyard Removal
This card is best used against decks that rely on recursion or 'Flashback' spells. Because the exile trigger happens on attack, you can remove key pieces from your opponent's graveyard before they have a chance to use them during their own turn. Use its menace ability to force unfavorable blocks or sneak in lethal damage when the opponent has only one blocker.
Interaction examples
Command Tower
Exotic OrchardIf you control Command Tower and Exotic Orchard, playing Hive of the Eye Tyrant will result in it entering the battlefield tapped because you already control two other lands. However, if you play all three simultaneously (via a spell or effect), Hive of the Eye Tyrant ignores the other two lands and enters untapped.
With eight mana available, you can activate Hive of the Eye Tyrant's transformation ability twice. When you declare it as an attacker, two separate triggers go on the stack. Each trigger targets a card in the defending player's graveyard, allowing you to exile two cards in a single combat phase.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Hive of the Eye Tyrant
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If Hive of the Eye Tyrant enters the battlefield at the same time as one or more other lands, it doesn't take those lands into consideration when determining how many other lands you control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you turn Hive of the Eye Tyrant into a creature but haven't controlled it continuously since your most recent turn began, you won't be able to activate its mana ability or attack with it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you activate Hive of the Eye Tyrant's last ability multiple times, it gains multiple instances of the triggered ability that exiles cards. For example, if you activate it twice and attack, you will choose two target cards to exile (or the same card twice, if you want to).
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Hive of the Eye Tyrant
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.