Lurking Automaton 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
Reveal this card as you draft it and note how many cards you've drafted this draft round, including this card. This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the highest number you noted for cards named Lurking Automaton.
Complete guide
Lurking Automaton is a unique artifact creature that rewards you for picking it late in a draft pack. Its power and toughness are tied directly to your drafting history, making it a potentially massive threat if you can wait for the right moment. Understanding how to track your picks is the key to maximizing this Construct's potential on the battlefield.
What It Does
Lurking Automaton has a 'hidden' value determined during the draft portion of your game. When you draft it, you must reveal it and record the position of that pick within the current round. It enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to the highest pick number you recorded for any card with this specific name throughout the entire draft.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, as you draft the card, you reveal it to the table and note your current pick number (for example, the 8th card you took in the current pack). Second, when you cast the spell and it resolves, the game checks your noted numbers. Third, it enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters already on it. This is a replacement effect, not a triggered ability, so it doesn't use the stack once it begins to enter.
Common Mistakes
A common point of confusion involves control effects. If you use a spell to take control of an opponent's Lurking Automaton, or if it enters under your control for any reason, it looks at your notes, not the original owner's. If you didn't draft a Lurking Automaton yourself, it will enter with zero counters and likely die immediately if it has 0 toughness. Also, remember that X is the highest number you noted across all rounds, not a total of all picks added together.
When to Play It
Because it costs five mana, you want to ensure it is at least a 4/4 or 5/5 to be efficient. In a typical eight-person draft, picking this as the 10th or 12th card in a pack makes it an incredible late-game powerhouse. If you have multiple copies, they all benefit from the single highest pick number you recorded.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you drafted Lurking Automaton as your 7th pick, it enters as a 7/7. You can then play Solemn Simulacrum to search for a basic land, ensuring you have the five mana needed to cast your high-power Construct on curve.
Roaming ThroneSuppose you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Construct' chosen as the creature type. While Roaming Throne doubles triggered abilities, Lurking Automaton's counter ability is a static replacement effect ('enters with'). Therefore, Roaming Throne does not cause the Automaton to receive double the counters, as it is not a triggered ability starting with 'When', 'Whenever', or 'At'.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Lurking Automaton
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
For example, if you draft Lurking Automaton as the third card in a draft round and then another one as the sixth card in a draft round, each Lurking Automaton that enters the battlefield under your control does so with six +1/+1 counters on it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a Lurking Automaton owned by another player enters the battlefield under your control, the number of counters it enters with will be based on the highest number you noted as you drafted a card named Lurking Automaton, not as its owner did. Unless you also drafted Lurking Automaton, this will be considered 0.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Lurking Automaton
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.