Serpent GeneratorHow it works & interactions with other cards

Generating the Threat

Serpent Generator creates a 1/1 colorless Snake artifact creature token for four mana and a tap. These are not ordinary snakes; they carry a triggered ability that grants a poison counter to any player they damage. Unlike creatures with Infect, these tokens deal regular damage to life totals while simultaneously ticking up the player's poison count.

Resolving the Ability

First, you must pay the four generic mana and tap the Generator to put the ability on the stack. When it resolves, a 1/1 Snake artifact creature token enters the battlefield. This token has its own triggered ability that watches for combat or non-combat damage dealt to a player. If the Snake deals even one point of damage, the 'Whenever this creature deals damage' trigger goes on the stack, eventually resulting in the player receiving a poison counter upon resolution.

Poison Counter Mechanics

Poison counters are a state-based win condition. As soon as a player has ten or more poison counters, they lose the game the next time state-based actions are checked. Note that the Snake token itself must be the source of the damage to trigger the counter; increasing the Snake's power will make the clock faster but still only provides one poison counter per damage event unless the creature has Doublestrike.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake is assuming the Snake tokens have 'Infect.' They do not; they deal damage to creatures normally and do not place -1/-1 counters. Another error is forgetting that the poison counter comes from a triggered ability. This means if the damage is dealt, the poison counter isn't added immediately; the trigger can be responded to or even countered by specific spells.

Interaction examples

Scaling the Snake Army

Vanquisher's Banner

If you cast Vanquisher's Banner and choose 'Snake', every token created by Serpent Generator will enter as a 2/2 creature. While the poison effect remains the same, the increased power helps the tokens survive combat and reduces the opponent's life total faster while you work toward the ten poison counters.

Fueling the Generator

Gilded Lotus

Serpent Generator has a relatively high activation cost of four mana. By using Gilded Lotus to add three mana of any color, you only need one additional mana from a land to activate the Generator every turn, ensuring a steady stream of poisonous attackers without tapping out your entire mana base.

Winning with Poison

Poison Counter

When your Snake token attacks and is not blocked, it deals 1 damage to your opponent. This triggers its ability, giving the opponent a Poison Counter. Even if your opponent has 100 life, if you manage to resolve this triggered ability ten times throughout the game, that player loses immediately due to the rules associated with poison counters.