Liege of the Tangle 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
Trample Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may choose any number of target lands you control and put an awakening counter on each of them. Each of those lands is an 8/8 green Elemental creature for as long as it has an awakening counter on it. They're still lands.
Complete guide
Liege of the Tangle is a massive Elemental that turns your mana base into an unstoppable army. By dealing combat damage, you can permanently transform your lands into 8/8 creatures that remain threats even if the Liege leaves the battlefield. It is a premier finisher for green decks that can generate massive amounts of mana.
Awakening the Earth
When Liege of the Tangle deals combat damage to a player, its triggered ability goes on the stack. You choose any number of lands you control as targets. Upon resolution, an awakening counter is placed on each target, turning them into 8/8 green Elemental creatures. Crucially, these permanents retain their land type, meaning they can still be tapped for mana, but they also become vulnerable to creature removal.
The Power of Counters
The transformation effect is tied specifically to the presence of the awakening counter. As long as a land has that counter, it remains an 8/8 creature. If Liege of the Tangle is destroyed, the lands remain creatures. However, if the counter is removed by an effect or the land is flickered, it returns to being just a land. Moving the counter to a different land will not turn the new land into a creature, as the effect only applies to the original targets of the ability.
Strategic Considerations
Be cautious when choosing targets. Because the lands become creatures, they are subject to 'summoning sickness.' If you turn a land into a creature on the same turn you played it, you won't be able to tap it for mana or attack with it. Additionally, turning all your lands into creatures makes you highly susceptible to board wipes like Day of Judgment, which could leave you with no mana sources remaining.
Interaction examples
Craterhoof BehemothAfter Liege of the Tangle has successfully attacked and turned five of your lands into 8/8 Elementals, you cast Craterhoof Behemoth on the following turn. When Craterhoof Behemoth enters, it counts the Liege, itself, and the five 8/8 land-creatures. All your creatures, including the lands, get +7/+7 and trample, allowing you to swing for lethal damage with massive 15/15 lands.
Avenger of ZendikarFirst, you play Avenger of Zendikar to create Plant tokens based on your land count. On your next turn, Liege of the Tangle deals combat damage and turns those same lands into 8/8 creatures. If you then play another land, the Landfall ability of Avenger of Zendikar triggers, putting +1/+1 counters on your Plants, while your lands remain 8/8 Elementals ready to defend or attack alongside your growing garden.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Liege of the Tangle
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Whether an affected land remains an 8/8 green Elemental creature depends only on whether it still has an awakening counter on it, not on whether Liege of the Tangle is still on the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If an awakening counter is moved from an affected land to another land, this doesn't cause the recipient to be affected by Liege of the Tangle's ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Liege of the Tangle
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.