Pillaging HordeHow it works & interactions with other cards

How the Sacrifice Trigger Works

Pillaging Horde features a single triggered ability that triggers the moment it enters the battlefield. When the ability resolves, you face a choice: discard a card at random or sacrifice Pillaging Horde. Because the discard is at random, you cannot choose which card leaves your hand; you must determine the card through a random method like a die roll or shuffling your hand face down.

Step-by-Step Resolution

1. Pillaging Horde enters the battlefield from the stack or any other zone. 2. The enters-the-battlefield ability is put onto the stack. 3. Players may respond with spells or abilities. 4. As the ability resolves, you look at your current hand. If you have no cards in hand, you cannot satisfy the discard requirement and must sacrifice the creature. If you have cards, you choose to either discard one at random to keep the Horde, or sacrifice the Horde instead.

Strategic Considerations

The most common mistake is forgetting that the discard must be random. You cannot wait to see what you discard before deciding whether to keep the creature; the choice to discard happens as part of the resolution. If you have only one card in hand that you need to keep, playing Pillaging Horde is a high-risk gamble, as that card is the only one available to be discarded.

When to Deploy the Horde

Pillaging Horde is best used in aggressive decks where you can quickly empty your hand of valuable spells, leaving only redundant lands or graveyard-relevant cards to be discarded. It also excels when paired with effects that benefit from sacrifice triggers or when you have multiple triggers entering the stack simultaneously.

Interaction examples

Managing Multiple Entry Triggers

Solemn Simulacrum

If Pillaging Horde and Solemn Simulacrum enter the battlefield at the same time (for example, via a mass resurrection spell), you can choose the order of the triggers. You should put the Solemn Simulacrum land-search trigger on the stack first, then the Pillaging Horde trigger. This way, you resolve the Horde's discard before you draw or search, ensuring you don't accidentally discard the land you are about to fetch.

Doubling the Chaos with Roaming Throne

Roaming Throne

If you control Roaming Throne with 'Human' or 'Barbarian' chosen, Pillaging Horde's ability triggers twice. You will have to resolve each trigger separately. This means you must discard a card at random for the first trigger to keep it, and then discard another card at random for the second trigger. If you cannot or choose not to discard for either one, Pillaging Horde is sacrificed.

The Empty Hand Scenario

If you cast Pillaging Horde while you have zero cards in hand, the trigger still goes on the stack. When it resolves, since you cannot fulfill the action of discarding a card, the 'unless' condition fails, and you must sacrifice Pillaging Horde immediately.