Season of Gathering 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
Choose up to fiveworth of modes. You may choose the same mode more than once.
Complete guide
Season of Gathering is a versatile green sorcery that introduces the pawprint mechanic, allowing you to customize your spell for maximum impact. Whether you need to buff your army, clear the board of noncreature permanents, or refill your hand, this card adapts to any battlefield situation. With five pawprints to spend, the possibilities for strategic sequencing are vast.
Spending Your Pawprints
When you cast Season of Gathering, you have a budget of five pawprints ({P}). You can mix and match the three available modes, even choosing the same mode multiple times, as long as the total cost does not exceed five. Note that you choose these modes and their targets as you cast the spell, and you must follow the order in which the modes are printed on the card during resolution.
Resolution Step-by-Step
First, the game checks if all targets for the chosen modes are still legal; if even one target remains legal, the spell resolves. Next, apply the first mode: put +1/+1 counters on chosen creatures and grant them vigilance and trample. Second, if you chose the {P}{P} mode, name artifact or enchantment and destroy all permanents of that type. Finally, if the {P}{P}{P} mode was chosen, check the greatest power among your creatures and draw that many cards. Because the buff happens first, any counters added in the first step will count toward your card draw in the final step.
Common Mistakes
A common error is trying to 'save' pawprints for later; these symbols are not a resource like energy or mana and must be used entirely during the casting of the spell. Additionally, remember that you cannot change the modes if the spell is copied. Lastly, while you choose the relative order of duplicate modes, you must always perform all instances of a higher-listed mode before moving to a lower-listed mode on the card text.
When to Play It
This sorcery is best utilized when you have at least one large creature to maximize the draw mode, or when your opponents are relying heavily on artifacts or enchantments. Because it provides trample, it serves as an excellent finisher during your pre-combat main phase, ensuring your largest attackers can push through damage while keeping your hand full for the following turn.
Interaction examples
Rishkar's ExpertiseSimilar to Rishkar's Expertise, Season of Gathering looks at your creature's power to determine draw count. If you have a 3/3 creature and spend two pawprints on the first mode and three on the last mode, your creature becomes a 5/5 first. You will then draw five cards, whereas Rishkar's Expertise would only draw three if cast separately without a prior buff.
Shamanic RevelationWhile Shamanic Revelation rewards you for having many creatures, Season of Gathering rewards you for having one large one. If you use five pawprints to put five +1/+1 counters on a single creature, you increase your greatest power significantly before resolving the draw mode, potentially drawing more cards than a wide-board payoff would provide.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Season of Gathering
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Choices made for the first and second modes of Season of Gathering aren't made until the spell is resolving.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
The pawprint symbol does not represent a cost, mana, counters, or any kind of persistent resource. You can't "save up" pawprint symbols from one Season spell to use on a future one, mostly because there isn't anything concrete to save up. They're just pawprints.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
You don't have to choose modes that add up to exactly five pawprints. For example, you could choose the two pawprint mode twice and leave it at that. You could even choose no modes at all. You probably shouldn't, but you could.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
You choose the modes as you cast the spell. Once modes are chosen, they can't be changed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If a mode requires a target, you can select that mode only if there's a legal target available. Ignore the targeting requirements for modes you don't choose. Each time you select that mode, you can choose a different target, or you can choose the same target.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
No matter which combination of modes you choose, you always follow the instructions of a Season in the order they are written. If the same mode is chosen more than once, you choose their relative order as you cast the spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
No player can cast spells or activate abilities in between the modes of a resolving spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
If a Season is copied, the effect that creates the copy will usually allow you to choose new targets, but you can't choose new modes.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
If all targets for the chosen modes become illegal before the Season resolves, the spell won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. If at least one target is still legal, the spell will resolve but will have no effect on any illegal targets.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Body of Research + Season of Gathering
- 1Cast Body of Research by paying
, creating a 0/0 Fractal creature token, then putting a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to your deck size. - 2Cast Season of Gathering by paying
, causing you to draw cards equal to Body of Research's power, thus causing you to draw your entire library.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Season of Gathering
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.