Rotting Regisaur 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
At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card.
Complete guide
Rotting Regisaur is a massive 7/6 Zombie Dinosaur that offers incredible power for just three mana, but its strength comes with a steep psychological and strategic price. To keep this prehistoric terror on your side, you must be willing to sacrifice your hand, making it a high-stakes choice for aggressive decks. Understanding how to manage its mandatory discard trigger is the key to dominating the battlefield without losing your resources.
High Power, High Cost
Rotting Regisaur is an example of an 'overstatted' creature, meaning its power and toughness are much higher than its mana cost would usually allow. The trade-off is its triggered ability: 'At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card.' Because this trigger happens during your upkeep, it occurs before your draw step. This means you cannot use the card you are about to draw to satisfy the Regisaur's hunger; you must discard a card already in your hand from the previous turn.
Resolving the Trigger
The resolution of the ability is straightforward. As your upkeep begins, the ability goes on the stack. When it resolves, you choose a card from your hand and put it into your graveyard. If your hand is empty when the ability resolves, nothing happens. You do not lose life, the Regisaur does not die, and there is no penalty for being unable to discard. This makes the Regisaur particularly effective in 'hellbent' strategies where you intend to play with zero cards in hand anyway.
Common Mistakes
A frequent mistake is forgetting the timing of the draw step. Players often try to draw their card for the turn and then discard, but the rules dictate that the upkeep—and all triggers within it—must be fully resolved before you move to the draw step. Additionally, remember that the discard is mandatory. If you have a card in hand, you must discard it; you cannot choose to ignore the ability unless your hand is already empty.
When to Play the Regisaur
You should play Rotting Regisaur when you have a fast hand that can empty itself quickly, or when you have cards that benefit from being in the graveyard. Since it is a Zombie and a Dinosaur, it also benefits from tribal synergies that can protect it or bring it back from the dead. It is most effective in the early game where a 7/6 body can end the match in just a few swings.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you have Solemn Simulacrum in your hand during your upkeep, you may discard it to the Rotting Regisaur trigger. While you lose the creature, you may have ways to reanimate it later, turning the Regisaur's 'downside' into a way to set up your graveyard strategy.
Roaming ThroneIf you play Roaming Throne and choose 'Dinosaur' or 'Zombie', its ability will cause Rotting Regisaur's upkeep trigger to fire twice. During your upkeep, you will have to discard two cards instead of one. If you only have one card in hand, you discard that one and the second trigger does nothing.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Rotting Regisaur
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Because the upkeep step is before the draw step, you discard for Rotting Regisaur’s triggered ability before you draw a card for your turn.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you have no cards in hand when Rotting Regisaur’s triggered ability resolves, you simply don’t discard any cards. There’s no penalty for being unable to do so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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