Scourge of Valkas 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
Flying Whenever this creature or another Dragon you control enters, it deals X damage to any target, where X is the number of Dragons you control.: This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Complete guide
Scourge of Valkas is a high-impact red Dragon that turns every reptilian reinforcement into a deadly burst of fire. By scaling its damage based on the size of your flight, it can quickly clear the board or finish off an opponent. This blog post explores how its powerful triggered ability functions and how to maximize your damage output.
Scaling Firepower
The core of Scourge of Valkas is its ability to trigger damage whenever it or another Dragon enters the battlefield under your control. The key factor is the variable 'X', which represents the number of Dragons you control. Unlike some abilities that check upon triggering, this value is determined only when the ability actually resolves. This means if you put more Dragons onto the battlefield while the ability is on the stack, the damage will increase.
Resolution and Removal
When a Dragon enters, the ability goes on the stack and you must choose a target immediately. If the Dragon that entered the battlefield is destroyed or leaves the battlefield before the ability resolves, it will still deal damage based on its last known information. However, the value of X (the number of Dragons you control) is still checked at the moment of resolution, so losing other Dragons in response will decrease the damage dealt.
Timing and Strategy
Because the damage scales with your Dragon count, it is often best to play Scourge of Valkas early in a sequence of plays. It functions as both an attacker with its firebreathing ability and a piece of repeatable removal. Remember that Scourge of Valkas itself triggers its own ability when it enters, so it will always deal at least 1 damage unless your opponent removes it in response to the trigger while you control no other Dragons.
Interaction examples
When you cast Scourge of Valkas and it enters the battlefield, its ability triggers. If you control no other Dragons, X equals 1. The Scourge of Valkas deals 1 damage to any target of your choice.
Roaming ThroneIf you control Scourge of Valkas and play Roaming Throne, choosing 'Dragon' as the creature type, the Throne enters as a Dragon. This triggers Scourge of Valkas. Because Roaming Throne is a Dragon, its own static ability causes the Scourge's triggered ability to trigger an additional time. You will get two separate damage instances, each dealing damage equal to the number of Dragons you control (X=2 if these are your only Dragons).
Solemn SimulacrumWhen Solemn Simulacrum enters the battlefield, it is a Golem, not a Dragon. Therefore, Scourge of Valkas does not trigger. Only creatures that have the Dragon type at the moment they enter the battlefield will cause the ability to fire.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Scourge of Valkas
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The amount of damage dealt by the Dragon that entered the battlefield is based on the number of Dragons you control when the ability resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a Dragon entering the battlefield causes Scourge of Valkas's ability to trigger but leaves the battlefield before that ability resolves, that Dragon still deals damage.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Scourge of Valkas + Rite of Replication
- 1Cast Rite of Replication with kicker by paying
, creating five token copies of Scourge of Valkas. - 2The five Scourge of Valkas tokens enter the battlefield, triggering each Scourge of Valkas five times.
- 3Resolve all Scourge of Valkas triggers, dealing at least 180 damage divided among a maximum of 30 targets.
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients + Scourge of Valkas
- 1Give Vrondiss indestructible by any method.
- 2Deal damage to Vrondiss.
- 3Vrondiss triggers, creating a 5/4 Dragon Spirit creature token.
- 4The Dragon Spirit enters the battlefield, triggering Scourge of Valkas, causing the Dragon Spirit to deal damage to Vrondiss equal to the number of Dragons you control.
- 5The Dragon Spirit and Vrondiss trigger.
- 6Resolve the Dragon Spirit trigger, causing you to sacrifice it.
- 7Resolve the Vrondiss trigger, creating a 5/4 Dragon Spirit creature token.
- 8Repeat from step 4.
Scourge of Valkas + Orthion, Hero of Lavabrink
- 1Activate Orthion's second ability by paying
and tapping it, creating five token copies of Scourge of Valkas. - 2When the Scourge of Valkas tokens enter, each Scourge of Valkas triggers five times.
- 3Resolve all Scourge of Valkas triggers, dealing at least 180 damage divided among a maximum of 30 targets.
Scourge of Valkas + Devastating Onslaught
- 1Cast Devastating Onslaught by paying
, creating five token copies of Scourge of Valkas. - 2The five Scourge of Valkas tokens enter the battlefield, triggering each Scourge of Valkas five times.
- 3Resolve all Scourge of Valkas triggers, dealing at least 180 damage divided among a maximum of 30 targets.
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients + Rite of Passage + Outpost Siege + Scourge of Valkas
- 1Deal damage to Vrondiss.
- 2Rite of Passage and Vrondiss trigger.
- 3Resolve the Rite of Passage trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on Vrondiss.
- 4Resolve the Vrondiss trigger, creating a 5/4 Dragon Spirit creature token.
- 5The Dragon Spirit enters the battlefield, triggering Scourge of Valkas, causing the Dragon Spirit to deal damage equal to the number of Dragons you control to any target.
- 6The Dragon Spirit triggers, causing you to sacrifice it.
- 7The Dragon dies, triggering Outpost Siege, dealing 1 damage to Vronidss.
- 8Repeat from step 2.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Changeling Berserker + Scourge of Valkas
- 1Activate Kiki-Jiki by tapping it, making a token copy of Changeling Berserker.
- 2The token Changeling Berserker and Scourge of Valkas trigger.
- 3Resolve the Changeling Berserker trigger, exiling Kiki-Jiki.
- 4Resolve the Scourge of Valkas trigger, dealing 3 damage to Changeling Berserker, killing it.
- 5The token Changeling Berserker triggers, returning Kiki-Jiki to the battlefield.
- 6Repeat.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Scourge of Valkas
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