Otharri, Suns' Glory — ruling 1

Tapping a Rebel you control is part of the cost to activate the last ability of Otharri, Suns' Glory while it is in the graveyard. Once a player has begun to activate the ability, other players may not respond by removing that Rebel from the battlefield to prevent it from being tapped.

Otharri, Suns' Glory : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Otharri, Suns' Glory 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

Flying, lifelink, haste Whenever Otharri attacks, you get an experience counter. Then create a 2/2 red Rebel creature token that's tapped and attacking for each experience counter you have. , Tap an untapped Rebel you control: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Complete guide

Otharri, Suns' Glory is a relentless Phoenix that leads a growing army of Rebels into battle. This legendary creature utilizes experience counters to scale its impact as the game progresses, ensuring your board presence only gets stronger.

Accumulating Experience

Every time Otharri, Suns' Glory attacks, it triggers a two-part effect. First, you receive one experience counter. Unlike many other resources, experience counters are placed on you, the player, and remain there even if Otharri leaves the battlefield. Second, the ability counts your total experience counters and creates that many 2/2 red Rebel creature tokens that are already tapped and attacking.

The Phoenix's Rebirth

Otharri can return from the graveyard using its activated ability for two red, one white, and one generic mana. To pay the cost, you must also tap an untapped Rebel you control. Because tapping the Rebel is an activation cost, opponents cannot respond by destroying the Rebel to prevent the ability from being activated once you have started the process.

Strategic Execution

To maximize Otharri, aim to attack early and often. The tokens enter the battlefield already attacking, which means they do not trigger 'whenever a creature attacks' abilities of their own, but they do contribute to your total board power immediately. Remember that Otharri returns to the battlefield tapped, so it will generally need to wait until your next turn to fly again unless you have a way to untap it.

Interaction examples

Double the Tokens

Roaming Throne

If you control Roaming Throne with the 'Phoenix' type chosen, Otharri's attack trigger will activate twice. You will gain one experience counter and create tokens, then gain a second experience counter and create an even larger second batch of tokens in a single combat phase.

Recursive Rebels

If Otharri is in your graveyard and you have one Rebel token on the battlefield, you can pay the mana and tap that Rebel to return Otharri to the battlefield. Even if you have zero experience counters, Otharri will grant you one on its next attack, slowly rebuilding your Rebel army.

Standard Combat Flow

Solemn Simulacrum

When you attack with Otharri and a Solemn Simulacrum, Otharri's ability goes on the stack. You gain an experience counter and create a Rebel token. The Rebel is tapped and attacking, but because it was never 'declared' as an attacker, it doesn't trigger any abilities that care about a creature being declared as an attacker.

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

How it works : Otharri, Suns' Glory

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1February 4, 2023· Wizards of the Coast
Tapping a Rebel you control is part of the cost to activate the last ability of Otharri, Suns' Glory while it is in the graveyard. Once a player has begun to activate the ability, other players may not respond by removing that Rebel from the battlefield to prevent it from being tapped.
Card named in this ruling
Rebel