Sanguine Spy 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
Menace, lifelink, Sacrifice another creature: Surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card into your graveyard.) At the beginning of your end step, if there are five or more mana values among cards in your graveyard, you may pay 2 life. If you do, draw a card.
Complete guide
Sanguine Spy is a versatile Vampire Rogue that rewards players for cultivating a diverse graveyard. With built-in evasion and lifelink, it serves as both a utility piece and a consistent source of card advantage. Mastering its abilities requires a keen eye on your graveyard's mana value variety.
What Sanguine Spy Does
This creature features menace and lifelink, making it difficult to block and efficient at stabilizing your life total. Its activated ability allows you to sacrifice another creature for {1} to surveil 1, helping you sculpt your library and fill your graveyard. Most importantly, at your end step, it offers a card draw if your graveyard contains cards with at least five different mana values.
Resolving the End Step Trigger
The end step ability uses an 'intervening if' clause. This means the game checks if you have five or more distinct mana values in your graveyard the moment your end step begins. If you do, the ability goes on the stack. Upon resolution, the game checks the condition again. If you still meet the requirement, you may choose to pay 2 life to draw a card. Note that land cards always have a mana value of 0, and X in mana costs is treated as 0 while in the graveyard.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is miscounting mana values. You need five *different* values, not just five cards. For example, three cards with mana value 2 and two cards with mana value 3 only count as two distinct values. Additionally, remember that split cards in the graveyard have a single mana value equal to the sum of both halves, and double-faced cards only use the mana value of their front face.
When to Play It
Sanguine Spy thrives in decks that can easily generate expendable tokens or recursive creatures. It is best played when you have ways to diversify your graveyard's mana curve quickly. Because it checks the condition at the start of the end step, you should use its surveillance ability during your main phase or in response to other effects to ensure you hit the five-value threshold before the turn ends.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumWith both on the battlefield, you can pay {1} and sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum to Sanguine Spy. This triggers Solemn Simulacrum's 'dies' ability to draw a card, and then resolves the Spy's ability to surveil 1. This sequence helps you dig deeper into your library while putting a mana value 4 card into your graveyard to help meet the Spy's end step requirement.
Roaming ThroneIf you play Roaming Throne and choose 'Vampire', Sanguine Spy's end step trigger will trigger an additional time. If you have five or more mana values in your graveyard, the first trigger resolves, allowing you to pay 2 life to draw a card. Then, the second trigger resolves, allowing you to pay another 2 life to draw a second card, provided the graveyard condition is still met.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Sanguine Spy
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Sanguine Spy's triggered ability checks the number of mana values among cards you control both when the ability triggers and when it resolves. If you no longer have five or more mana values among those cards when the ability resolves, you may not pay 2 life.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
“Five or more mana values among cards in your graveyard” means there are at least five different mana values among those cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a split card in the graveyard is the total mana value of both halves of that card. It does not have two mana values.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a double-faced card in your graveyard is always the mana value of the front face.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
X is 0 when determining the mana value of a card in your graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a land card is 0.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Mortuary + Narcomoeba + Sanguine Spy + Pitiless Plunderer
- 1Activate Sanguine Spy by paying and sacrificing Narcomoeba.
- 2When Narcomoeba dies, Mortuary and Pitiless Plunderer trigger.
- 3Resolve the Mortuary trigger, putting Narcomoeba on top of your library from your graveyard.
- 4Resolve the Pitiless Plunderer trigger, creating a Treasure token.
- 5Resolve the Sanguine Spy ability, causing you to put Narcomoeba into your graveyard from the top of your library.
- 6Narcomoeba triggers, returning itself to the battlefield from your graveyard.
- 7Activate the Treasure by tapping and sacrificing it, adding .
- 8Repeat.
Mortuary + Narcomoeba + Sanguine Spy + Sifter of Skulls
- 1Activate Sanguine Spy by paying and sacrificing Narcomoeba.
- 2When Narcomoeba dies, Mortuary and Sifter of Skulls trigger.
- 3Resolve the Mortuary trigger, putting Narcomoeba on top of your library from your graveyard.
- 4Resolve the Sifter of Skulls trigger, creating a 1/1 Eldrazi Scion creature token.
- 5Resolve the Sanguine Spy ability, causing you to put Narcomoeba into your graveyard from the top of your library.
- 6Narcomoeba triggers, returning itself to the battlefield from your graveyard.
- 7Activate the Eldrazi Scion by sacrificing it, adding
. - 8Repeat.
Mortuary + Narcomoeba + Sanguine Spy + Mana Echoes
- 1Activate Sanguine Spy by paying and sacrificing Narcomoeba.
- 2When Narcomoeba dies, Mortuary triggers, putting Narcomoeba on top of your library from your graveyard.
- 3Resolve the Sanguine Spy ability, causing you to put Narcomoeba into your graveyard from the top of your library.
- 4Narcomoeba triggers, returning itself to the battlefield from your graveyard.
- 5When Narcomoeba enters the battlefield, Mana Echoes triggers, adding at least .
- 6Repeat.
- 7If you control at least one other Illusion, this combo will net infinite colorless mana.
Mortuary + Narcomoeba + Sanguine Spy + Pawn of Ulamog
- 1Activate Sanguine Spy by paying and sacrificing Narcomoeba.
- 2When Narcomoeba dies, Mortuary and Pawn of Ulamog trigger.
- 3Resolve the Mortuary trigger, putting Narcomoeba on top of your library from your graveyard.
- 4Resolve the Pawn of Ulamog trigger, creating a 0/1 Eldrazi Spawn creature token.
- 5Resolve the Sanguine Spy ability, causing you to put Narcomoeba into your graveyard from the top of your library.
- 6Narcomoeba triggers, returning itself to the battlefield from your graveyard.
- 7Activate the Eldrazi Spawn by sacrificing it, adding .
- 8Repeat.
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Sanguine Spy
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.