Hormagaunt Horde 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
Ravenous (This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it. If X is 5 or more, draw a card when it enters.) Endless Swarm — Whenever a land you control enters, you may pay. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.
Complete guide
Hormagaunt Horde is a resilient Tyranid creature that utilizes the Ravenous keyword to scale in size and provide card advantage. Its Endless Swarm ability ensures that your graveyard is never the final resting place for this unit, provided you have lands to play. This card is a versatile threat that can be a tiny early-game blocker or a massive late-game engine.
Scaling with Ravenous
Hormagaunt Horde enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters, where X is the mana spent on its variable cost. If you choose X to be 5 or greater, you get to draw a card immediately upon its entry. It is important to note that the creature enters with these counters already on it; it does not enter as a 0/0 and then receive them, meaning any effects that check power upon entry will see the buffed stats.
Understanding Endless Swarm
While Hormagaunt Horde is in your graveyard, any land entering the battlefield under your control triggers its recursion ability. For a cost of 2G, you can return the card to your hand. This trigger happens regardless of how the land entered, whether played as your turn action or put into play via a spell. You only decide to pay the mana when the ability resolves, so your opponents must decide to respond before they know if you will pay.
Timing and State
The Endless Swarm ability only functions if Hormagaunt Horde is already in the graveyard at the moment the land enters. If a land and the Horde are put into the graveyard at the same time, or if the Horde dies as a result of a land entering (such as via a state-based action), the ability will not trigger. Additionally, if the Horde is removed from the graveyard in response to the trigger, you cannot pay the mana to return it.
Interaction examples
Llanowar ElvesOn turn two, you can tap your Llanowar Elves for green mana and use your two lands to cast Hormagaunt Horde with X=2. The creature enters as a 2/2. If the Horde later dies, you can play a land on turn three and pay 2G to return it to your hand, ready to be cast again for a higher value of X.
Birds of ParadiseIf you have six lands and a Birds of Paradise, you can produce seven total mana. By casting Hormagaunt Horde with X=6, it enters with six +1/+1 counters. Since X is 5 or more, the Ravenous ability triggers, allowing you to draw a card. This replaces the Horde in your hand while putting a 6/6 threat on the board.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Hormagaunt Horde
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The Endless Swarm ability triggers only if Hormagaunt Horde is in your graveyard at the moment the land enters the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Players can respond to the triggered ability, but once it starts resolving and you decide whether to pay
, it's too late for anyone to respond.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The Endless Swarm ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability puts a land onto the battlefield under your control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
A creature with ravenous gets its counters as it enters the battlefield. It doesn't enter the battlefield first and then get its counters. Any triggered ability that looks for a creature with a certain power or toughness entering the battlefield will see the counters when it checks to see if it should trigger.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
The triggered ability that checks to see if X is 5 or greater refers to the value of X that was chosen as the spell was cast, which may be different from the number of counters it entered with if there are replacement effects involved. This is also true for any other ability that it has which refers to X and triggers when it enters the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If another permanent enters the battlefield as a copy of a creature with Ravenous, it will not enter with any counters from the ravenous ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent spell with ravenous is copied, the copy will have the same value for X, and the token permanent that the spell becomes as it enters the battlefield will enter with X counters.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Hormagaunt Horde
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