Patchwork Crawler 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
: Exile target creature card from your graveyard and put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. This creature has all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled with it.
Complete guide
Patchwork Crawler is a versatile blue creature that turns your graveyard into a toolkit of possibilities. By exiling fallen allies, this Zombie Horror grows in power and inherits the skills of the dead.
Learning from the Grave
Patchwork Crawler has a unique activated ability that costs two generic and one blue mana. When you activate it, you exile a creature card from your own graveyard, and the Crawler gains a +1/+1 counter. Most importantly, the Crawler permanently gains all activated abilities of that exiled card for as long as the Crawler remains on the battlefield.
What Defines an Activated Ability?
To identify an activated ability, look for a colon in the text, usually formatted as '[Cost]: [Effect]'. Patchwork Crawler only gains these specific abilities. It does not gain triggered abilities (which start with 'When', 'Whenever', or 'At') or static abilities. If an ability references the original card's name, you treat it as if it says 'Patchwork Crawler' instead.
Important Limitations
If Patchwork Crawler leaves the battlefield and returns, it is treated as a new object and loses all previously gained abilities. Furthermore, if you control multiple Crawlers, each one only has the abilities of the cards it specifically exiled; they do not share a 'brain'.
When to Use the Ability
Since the exile ability is itself an activated ability, you can use it at instant speed. This makes it an excellent way to respond to graveyard hate or to surprise your opponent with a new ability right before you need it, such as gaining a mana ability or a protection effect during combat.
Interaction examples
Ornithopter of ParadiseIf Ornithopter of Paradise is in your graveyard, you can pay {2}{U} to exile it with Patchwork Crawler. The Crawler receives a +1/+1 counter and gains '{T}: Add one mana of any color.' Note that it does not gain Flying, as Flying is a keyword static ability, not an activated ability.
Foundry InspectorIf you exile Foundry Inspector with Patchwork Crawler, the Crawler gets a +1/+1 counter but gains no new abilities. Foundry Inspector's effect that reduces the cost of artifact spells is a static ability, not an activated ability, so it cannot be copied by the Crawler.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Patchwork Crawler
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Patchwork Crawler gains only activated abilities. It doesn't gain triggered abilities or static abilities. Activated abilities contain a colon. They're generally written "[Cost]: [Effect]." Some keywords are activated abilities; they have colons in their reminder text.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If an activated ability of a card in exile references the card it's printed on by name, treat Patchwork Crawler's version of that ability as though it referenced Patchwork Crawler by name instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you control more than one Patchwork Crawler, each will have only the activated abilities of creature cards exiled with that specific Patchwork Crawler.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Once Patchwork Crawler leaves the battlefield, it will no longer have the activated abilities of the creature cards exiled with it. If it returns to the battlefield, it will be a new Patchwork Crawler with no connection to those exiled cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If Patchwork Crawler exiles a double-faced card, it will have the activated abilities of only the front face of that exiled card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Patchwork Crawler + Mirror-Mad Phantasm
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Mirror-Mad Phantasm's ability by paying
, causing you to shuffle Patchwork Crawler into your library and mill all cards from your library.
Zaxara, the Exemplary + Patchwork Crawler + Horseshoe Crab
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Zaxara's ability by tapping it, adding .
- 2Activate Patchwork Crawler using Horseshoe Crab's ability by paying , untapping Patchwork Crawler.
- 3Repeat.
Asmodeus the Archfiend + Patchwork Crawler + Skirge Familiar
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Asmodeus' first ability by paying
, causing you to draw seven cards. - 2If Skirge Familiar is in your graveyard, activate Patchwork Crawler using Skirge Familiar's ability by discarding a card, adding .
- 3Otherwise, activate Skirge Familiar by discarding a card, adding .
- 4Repeat step 2 or 3 two additional times.
- 5Repeat from step 1..
Soul Diviner + Patchwork Crawler + Cinderhaze Wretch
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Cinderhaze Wretch's second ability by putting a -1/-1 counter on it, untapping it.
- 2Activate Patchwork Crawler using Soul Diviner's ability by tapping it and removing a -1/-1 counter from it, causing you to draw a card.
- 3Repeat.
Soul Diviner + Patchwork Crawler + Devoted Druid
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Devoted Druid's second ability by putting a -1/-1 counter on it, untapping it.
- 2Activate Patchwork Crawler using Soul Diviner's ability by tapping it and removing a -1/-1 counter from it, causing you to draw a card.
- 3Repeat.
Patchwork Crawler + Trench Behemoth + PuPu UFO
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using PuPu UFO's ability by tapping it, putting a land from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 2If the land is mana-producing and enters the battlefield untapped, you may activate it by tapping it, adding at least .
- 3Activate Patchwork Crawler using Trench Behemoth's ability by returning the land from the battlefield to your hand, untapping Patchwork Crawler.
- 4Repeat.
Zaxara, the Exemplary + Patchwork Crawler + Morphling
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Zaxara's ability by tapping it, adding .
- 2Activate Patchwork Crawler using Morphling's first ability by paying , untapping Patchwork Crawler.
- 3Repeat.
Patchwork Crawler + Trench Behemoth + Walking Atlas
- 1Activate Patchwork Crawler using Walking Atlas's ability by tapping it, putting a land from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 2If the land is mana-producing and enters the battlefield untapped, you may activate it by tapping it, adding at least .
- 3Activate Patchwork Crawler using Trench Behemoth's ability by returning the land from the battlefield to your hand, untapping Patchwork Crawler.
- 4Repeat.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Patchwork Crawler
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.