Paradox HazeHow it works & interactions with other cards

What Paradox Haze Does

Paradox Haze is an Aura that enchants a player rather than a permanent. Its primary function is to trigger at the beginning of that player's first upkeep each turn, creating a second upkeep step immediately following the first one. This means any abilities that trigger at the beginning of the upkeep will now happen twice per turn cycle.

Resolving the Trigger Step by Step

When the enchanted player's turn starts, they move through their untap step as normal. Once they enter their first upkeep, Paradox Haze triggers and is put on the stack. When this trigger resolves, a brand-new upkeep step is inserted into the turn sequence directly after the current one. If multiple copies of Paradox Haze enchant the same player, each one will trigger during that initial upkeep, granting multiple additional upkeep steps.

Common Mistakes

A common misconception is that Paradox Haze triggers during every upkeep. It specifically triggers only during the 'first' upkeep of the turn. If an effect causes the player to skip their upkeep entirely, Paradox Haze will not trigger, and no additional upkeeps will be gained. Additionally, remember that while upkeep triggers happen twice, 'once per turn' restrictions still apply across the entire turn.

Strategic Implementation

Paradox Haze is best utilized in decks featuring powerful 'At the beginning of your upkeep' triggers. It effectively doubles your resource generation, damage output, or card draw depending on your board state. Because it enchants a player, it can also be used offensively to force an opponent to pay cumulative upkeep costs or trigger negative effects twice as often.

Interaction examples

Enchanting Yourself

If you enchant yourself with Paradox Haze, you will experience two upkeep steps every turn. During each of these steps, any card you control with an upkeep trigger will activate, allowing you to stack the triggers and resolve them twice before moving to your draw step.

Global Taxing Interaction

Rhystic StudyPropaganda

While Paradox Haze doubles upkeep triggers, note that cards like Rhystic Study and Propaganda do not have upkeep-based triggers. Rhystic Study triggers when a spell is cast, and Propaganda is a static effect during the declare attackers step. Paradox Haze will not cause these specific cards to trigger more often, as they do not look for the upkeep step to function.