Kona, Rescue Beastie 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
Survival — At the beginning of your second main phase, if Kona is tapped, you may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield.
Complete guide
Kona, Rescue Beastie is a powerful engine that rewards you for being proactive in combat or finding clever ways to tap your creatures. This Survivor beast turns your second main phase into a massive mana advantage by cheating high-cost permanents into play. Understanding the timing of the Survival mechanic is the key to mastering this card's potential.
What it Does
Kona, Rescue Beastie features the Survival keyword, which triggers at the start of your second main phase. If Kona is tapped at that specific moment, you can put any permanent card—be it a creature, artifact, enchantment, land, or planeswalker—from your hand directly onto the battlefield without paying its mana cost. This ability is a triggered ability that uses the stack and can be responded to by opponents.
How it Resolves Step by Step
First, the game checks if it is your second main phase and if Kona is currently tapped; if both are true, the ability triggers. As the ability begins to resolve, the game checks a second time if Kona is still tapped. If Kona was untapped or removed before resolution, the ability check will look at Kona's last known state on the battlefield. Finally, if all conditions are met, you choose a permanent card from your hand and place it onto the battlefield.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is trying to tap Kona during the second main phase to trigger the effect. The 'intervening if' clause means Kona must already be tapped the moment the phase begins. Additionally, if you have cards that grant extra main phases, note that Survival only triggers during the second one, not any subsequent ones. Also, if Kona becomes untapped before the ability resolves, the effect will fail to do anything.
When to Play It
Kona is best utilized when you have reliable ways to tap it safely, such as attacking or using it to pay for 'Crew' or 'Convoke' costs during your first main phase or combat. Since it triggers at the start of the second main phase, you want to ensure you have a high-impact permanent in hand before your post-combat main phase begins.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumAfter attacking with Kona, Rescue Beastie, you enter your second main phase. Since Kona is tapped, the Survival ability triggers. You choose to put Solemn Simulacrum from your hand onto the battlefield. Because the Golem enters the battlefield, its own ability triggers, allowing you to search for a basic land, effectively ramping you twice in one turn.
Eternal WitnessIf Kona, Rescue Beastie is tapped at the start of your second main phase, you can put Eternal Witness into play for free. The Witness's enters-the-battlefield ability then targets a card in your graveyard. This allows you to bypass the mana cost of Eternal Witness while simultaneously recovering a vital spell or permanent to your hand for next turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Kona, Rescue Beastie
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Survival abilities (and other abilities that trigger at the beginning of your second main phase) will trigger at the beginning of the second main phase you take in a turn. They won't trigger during your third, fourth, or other additional main phases in a single turn, if effects somehow cause you to have more than two main phases.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature with a survival ability isn't tapped when your second main phase begins, the ability won't trigger at all. You won't be able to tap it during your second main phase in time to have that ability trigger.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature's survival ability triggers but that creature is untapped when the ability begins to resolve, that ability won't do anything.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature's survival ability triggers but the creature leaves the battlefield before the ability resolves, use its tapped or untapped status as it last existed on the battlefield to determine whether or not the ability will do anything.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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