Mortal Combat — ruling 1

If you don’t have twenty or more creature cards in your graveyard by the time your upkeep starts, the ability won’t trigger that turn.

Mortal Combat — ruling 2

Mortal Combat’s ability has an “intervening ‘if’ clause,” so the condition is checked again when the triggered ability resolves. If you don’t still have twenty creature cards in your graveyard, the ability does nothing.

Mortal Combat : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Mortal Combat 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

At the beginning of your upkeep, if twenty or more creature cards are in your graveyard, you win the game.

Complete guide

Mortal Combat is a classic alternative win condition for graveyard-centric decks, turning a pile of fallen warriors into an immediate victory. As long as you can fill your graveyard with enough creature cards, your opponents will find themselves facing an inescapable end. This enchantment rewards players who embrace the cycle of life and death, making every creature card a step toward triumph.

Winning the Game

Mortal Combat features a triggered ability that checks your graveyard at the specific start of your upkeep. To win, you must have twenty or more cards in your graveyard that have the 'Creature' type. Note that tokens do not count, as they are not cards and cease to exist once they leave the battlefield.

The Intervening If Clause

This card uses what is known as an 'intervening if clause.' This means the condition (having twenty creature cards) is checked twice: once when the upkeep begins to see if the ability even triggers, and again when the ability attempts to resolve. If an opponent removes cards from your graveyard in response to the trigger, bringing the total below twenty, you will not win the game.

Timing and Order

Because this triggers at the beginning of your upkeep, you cannot use your draw step or your main phase to get the final creatures into your graveyard for that turn's check. You must already have the twenty creatures present as the upkeep begins. If you have multiple 'at the beginning of upkeep' triggers, you choose the order in which they are placed on the stack.

When to Play Mortal Combat

Mortal Combat is best suited for decks that use self-mill strategies or sacrifice outlets to rapidly fill the graveyard. It serves as a powerful deterrent against board wipes, as a destroyed army only brings you closer to your win condition. However, it is vulnerable to graveyard exile effects like Bojuka Bog, so timing your play is crucial.

Interaction examples

Stacking Upkeep Triggers

Phyrexian Arena

At the start of your upkeep, both Mortal Combat and Phyrexian Arena trigger. Since you control both, you choose the order. Even if you draw a creature card from the Arena trigger, it won't help you win with Mortal Combat this turn because Mortal Combat already checked for twenty creatures the moment the upkeep started.

Post-Upkeep Resource Generation

Black Market Connections

Black Market Connections triggers at the beginning of your first main phase, which occurs after your upkeep. If you use the 'Hire a Mercenary' mode to create a Shapeshifter, this will not count toward Mortal Combat's check for that turn, as the upkeep has already passed. Furthermore, the Shapeshifter is a token, so it would never count toward the twenty creature cards required even if it were in the graveyard.

Single-Card Victory

If you have 20 creature cards in your graveyard as your upkeep begins, Mortal Combat's ability triggers and goes on the stack. If no player takes an action to remove those cards from your graveyard, the ability resolves, and you win the game immediately without needing to move to your draw step or combat phase.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.

How it works : Mortal Combat

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1July 15, 2007· Wizards of the Coast
If you don’t have twenty or more creature cards in your graveyard by the time your upkeep starts, the ability won’t trigger that turn.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2July 15, 2007· Wizards of the Coast
Mortal Combat’s ability has an “intervening ‘if’ clause,” so the condition is checked again when the triggered ability resolves. If you don’t still have twenty creature cards in your graveyard, the ability does nothing.
No other card is named in this ruling.