Scout the Wilderness 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
Kicker(You may pay an additional
Complete guide
Scout the Wilderness is a versatile green sorcery from the Dominaria United set that offers both mana acceleration and board presence. By utilizing the Kicker mechanic, this card transforms from a simple ramp spell into a defensive tool that provides blockers alongside a new land. It is a fantastic bridge for decks looking to transition from the early game to the mid-game while establishing a white-mana presence.
What It Does
At its base, Scout the Wilderness allows you to search your library for any basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. However, if you pay the optional Kicker cost of {1}{W}, you also create two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens. This additional cost makes the spell a dual-purpose tool, providing both resources and protection.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, as you cast the spell, you decide whether to pay the Kicker cost. Upon resolution, you search your library for a basic land card and place it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library. Finally, if the Kicker cost was paid, you place two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield. Note that even if you fail to find a basic land in your library, you still get the tokens as long as the spell was kicked.
Common Mistakes
A common point of confusion involves the total cost of the spell. Adding the Kicker cost increases the total mana spent, but the mana value of the spell remains 3. Additionally, remember that you can only pay the Kicker cost once; you cannot pay {2}{W}{W} to get four Soldiers. Finally, if the spell is countered, you lose both the land search and the opportunity to create tokens.
When to Play It
Scout the Wilderness is best played in the early turns when you need to fix your colors or hit your fourth land drop. In the late game, it serves as a way to trigger creature-based synergies or provide emergency blockers. It is particularly effective in Commander or Limited formats where flexibility is highly valued.
Interaction examples
CultivateWhile Cultivate puts one land into play and one in hand for three mana, Scout the Wilderness only puts one land into play for the same cost. However, if you have five mana available, Scout the Wilderness provides immediate board presence with two Soldier tokens that Cultivate cannot offer.
FarseekFarseek is often preferred for fixing because it can find non-basic lands with basic land types (like Shock lands). Scout the Wilderness is restricted to basic lands only, but it makes up for this restriction by scaling into the late game through its Kicker ability to generate tokens.
SoldierWhen you cast Scout the Wilderness for its Kicker cost of {3}{G}{W}, the spell resolves by fetching a land and then creating two 1/1 white Soldier tokens. These tokens are standard creature tokens and can be used for attacking, blocking, or fulfilling other costs that require creatures.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Scout the Wilderness
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can't kick it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell's kicker cost was paid, the spell is "kicked."
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The kicker ability doesn't let you pay a kicker cost more than once.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
To determine a spell's total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card's effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The spell's mana value remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you copy a kicked spell on the stack, the copy is also kicked. If the copied spell is a permanent spell, the token the copy of that spell becomes when it enters is also kicked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a card or token enters as a copy of a permanent, the new permanent isn't kicked, even if the original was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If Scout the Wilderness was kicked, you will put two 1/1 white Soldier tokens onto the battlefield whether you found a land card while searching your library or not.
Card named in this ruling
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Scout the Wilderness
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.