Riverchurn Monument 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
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: Any number of target players each mill two cards. (Each of them puts the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.) Exhaust —
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Complete guide
Riverchurn Monument is a versatile blue artifact designed to fill graveyards at an accelerating pace. Whether you are looking to fuel your own strategies or deplete your opponent's library, this monument offers both steady utility and a powerful late-game finish. By leveraging the new exhaust mechanic, it can turn a well-stocked graveyard into a game-ending mill effect.
Dual-Mode Milling
The Riverchurn Monument features two activated abilities. The first is a standard tap ability that costs one mana and forces any number of target players to mill two cards. The second is an exhaust ability, which is significantly more powerful. It requires four mana and a tap to force any number of target players to mill cards equal to the number of cards already in their graveyard. Note that because it is an exhaust ability, you can only activate this specific mode once for as long as this specific Riverchurn Monument remains on the battlefield.
Understanding the Exhaust Restriction
Exhaust is a specialized keyword that limits how often a high-impact ability can be used. You can activate the exhaust ability at any time you have priority, just like a regular activated ability. However, once used, that specific permanent is 'exhausted' of that power. If the Monument leaves the battlefield and returns, it is considered a new object with no memory of its previous existence, allowing you to use the exhaust ability once more.
Resolution Step-by-Step
When you activate either ability, you first choose any number of target players. Upon resolution of the first ability, each target player puts the top two cards of their library into their graveyard simultaneously. For the exhaust ability, the game checks the number of cards in each target player's graveyard at the moment the ability resolves. Each player then mills that specific number of cards. If a player has twenty cards in their graveyard, they will mill twenty more.
Strategic Timing
Because the exhaust ability scales based on the current graveyard size, it is most effective when used as a finisher. Use the primary ability early in the game to build up graveyard counts. Once a target has a substantial number of cards in their graveyard—ideally half their remaining library—the exhaust ability can be used to potentially end the game on the spot.
Interaction examples
Sol RingWith Riverchurn Monument and Sol Ring on the battlefield, you can use Sol Ring to tap for two colorless mana. This mana can be used to pay for the Monument's first ability twice over two turns, or it can provide half the mana needed for the expensive exhaust ability, allowing you to mill a target player for a massive amount of cards earlier than expected.
Arcane SignetThe exhaust ability requires double blue mana ({2}{U}{U}). If you are playing a multi-color deck, Arcane Signet ensures you have the necessary blue pips to activate the Monument's powerful secondary effect. You can tap Arcane Signet for blue, tap two lands, and tap the Monument to force an opponent to double their graveyard size instantly.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Riverchurn Monument
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Exhaust abilities can be activated any time you could normally activate an ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If an exhaust ability of a permanent is activated, and then that permanent leaves the battlefield and returns to the battlefield, it becomes a new object so its exhaust ability can be activated again.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If an ability triggers whenever you activate an exhaust ability, that ability resolves before the exhaust ability resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Riverchurn Monument + Maddening Cacophony
- 1Cast Maddening Cacophony with kicker by paying
, causing each opponent to mill half their library, rounded up. - 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying
and tapping it, causing each opponent to mill the remainder of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital // Overture
- 1Cast Overture by paying , causing each opponent to mill half their library, rounded down.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each opponent to mill the remainder of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Singularity Rupture
- 1Cast Singularity Rupture with kicker by paying , causing each opponent to mill half their library, rounded up.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each opponent to mill the remainder of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Traumatize
- 1Cast Traumatize by paying
, causing a player to mill half their library, rounded down. - 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each player to mill cards equal to the number of cards in their graveyard, thus causing the player targeted by Traumatize to mill the rest of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Cut Your Losses
- 1Cast Cut Your Losses by paying , causing a player to mill half their library, rounded up.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each player to mill cards equal to the number of cards in their graveyard, thus causing the player targeted by Cut Your Losses to mill the rest of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Terisian Mindbreaker
- 1Declare Terisian Mindbreaker as an attacker, triggering its ability, causing an opponent to mill half their library, rounded up.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each player to mill cards equal to the number of cards in their graveyard, thus causing the player attacked by Terisian Mindbreaker to mill the rest of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Fleet Swallower
- 1Declare Fleet Swallower as an attacker, triggering its ability, causing a player to mill half their library, rounded up.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing each player to mill cards equal to the number of cards in their graveyard, thus causing the player targeted by Fleet Swallower's ability to mill the remainder of their library.
Riverchurn Monument + Kitsune's Technique
- 1Cast Kitsune's Technique by paying , causing an opponent to mill half their library, rounded up.
- 2Activate Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability by paying and tapping it, causing the opponent to mill the remainder of their library.
Legal formats
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