Risen Necroregent 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
Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.) Max speed — At the beginning of your end step, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
Complete guide
Rev up your graveyard with Risen Necroregent, a unique Zombie Cat Knight that brings the 'Start your engines!' mechanic to the battlefield. This creature rewards you for consistent pressure, eventually providing a steady stream of undead reinforcements once you reach top speed. Understanding how to manage your speed is the key to unlocking this card's full potential.
Starting Your Engines
When Risen Necroregent enters the battlefield, if you don't already have a speed value, it immediately becomes 1 as a state-based action. This isn't a triggered ability; it happens automatically because you control a permanent with the 'Start your engines!' keyword. From that point forward, you track your speed individually, and it stays at that level even if Risen Necroregent leaves the battlefield.
Reaching Max Speed
To increase your speed, you must cause an opponent to lose life during your turn. Once per turn, when this occurs, your speed increases by 1 until it hits the cap of 4. Once your speed is 4, you have reached 'Max speed.' Risen Necroregent's ability only functions while you are at this maximum level. If your speed is 3 or less at the beginning of your end step, the ability does not trigger.
Timing and Triggers
The 'Max speed' ability is a conditional triggered ability that checks your speed exactly at the beginning of your end step. If you are at speed 4, the ability goes on the stack and creates a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. If you lose life or your opponent gains life, it doesn't affect your speed—only the specific 'Start your engines!' condition of an opponent losing life on your turn can move the needle forward.
Interaction examples
Roaming Throne
ZombieIf you have reached speed 4 (Max speed) and control Roaming Throne with 'Zombie' or 'Knight' chosen, Risen Necroregent's end step ability will trigger twice. This results in creating two 2/2 black Zombie tokens instead of one during every one of your end steps.
Solemn SimulacrumTo increase your speed, you need an opponent to lose life. If you attack with Solemn Simulacrum and your opponent chooses not to block, they lose life, triggering your speed increase. If they do block and Solemn Simulacrum dies, you draw a card, but your speed will not increase unless you have another way to deal damage or cause life loss that turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Risen Necroregent
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Start your engines! isn’t a triggered ability. Increasing your speed to 1 is something that happens as a state-based action as soon as you control a permanent with the ability. Notably, this includes gaining control of a permanent with the ability that another player controls.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Your speed doesn’t change until a spell or ability says so, such as the inherent triggered ability that cares about opponents losing life during your turn. Notably, losing control of permanents with start your engines! doesn’t affect your speed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Each player tracks their speed (or lack thereof) separately. Increasing your speed has no effect on whether another player has speed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect needs to know what a player’s speed is and that player doesn’t have a speed, their speed is considered 0.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
A player “has max speed” if their speed is 4.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
“Max speed — [ability]” means “As long as you have max speed, this object has [ability].” If the granted ability functions in a zone other than the battlefield, the max speed ability does too.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Risen Necroregent
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