Preeminent CaptainHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it Does

Preeminent Captain has two key features: First strike and a powerful attack trigger. When you declare Preeminent Captain as an attacker, you may put a Soldier creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. This bypasses the mana cost of the Soldier and allows it to deal damage in the same combat phase it was played.

Step-by-Step Resolution

First, you declare Preeminent Captain as an attacker during your Declare Attackers step. This puts its ability on the stack. As the ability resolves, you choose a Soldier card from your hand. You then choose which player or planeswalker that Soldier is attacking; notably, it does not have to attack the same target as the Captain. The Soldier enters the battlefield already tapped and attacking, skipping the 'Declare Attackers' step entirely.

Common Mistakes

The most common confusion involves 'Whenever this creature attacks' abilities on the Soldier you put onto the battlefield. Because that Soldier enters the battlefield already attacking, it was never 'declared' as an attacker. Therefore, any of its own attack triggers will not fire. However, 'Enters the battlefield' triggers will function normally as the creature arrives.

When to Play It

You should play Preeminent Captain early to maximize the mana advantage it provides. It is best used when you have high-cost Soldiers in your hand that you would otherwise struggle to cast. Because it has first strike, it can often attack safely into smaller blockers while still providing the utility of summoning reinforcements.

Interaction examples

Doubling Down with a Throne

Roaming Throne

If you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield and chose 'Soldier' for its type, Preeminent Captain's ability triggers twice when it attacks. This allows you to put two Soldier cards from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking instead of just one.

Entering the Fray

Solemn Simulacrum

Even though Solemn Simulacrum is not a Soldier and cannot be cheated out by the Captain's ability, it demonstrates how 'Enters' triggers work. If you had a Soldier with an 'enters the battlefield' ability, that ability would trigger normally when Preeminent Captain puts it onto the battlefield, unlike attack-based triggers.