Silkweaver Elite 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
Reach (This creature can block creatures with flying.) Revolt — When this creature enters, if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn, draw a card.
Complete guide
Silkweaver Elite is a versatile Elf Archer from the Aether Revolt set that rewards you for strategic sacrifices and tactical maneuvers. With its Reach keyword and the powerful Revolt mechanic, it provides both defensive utility and card advantage in green-based decks. Understanding how to time its entrance is the key to unlocking its full potential on the battlefield.
Understanding the Revolt Mechanic
Revolt is a conditional triggered ability that checks if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield earlier in the current turn. A permanent includes lands, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers. It does not matter where the permanent went; it could have been destroyed and sent to the graveyard, exiled, or even returned to your hand. As long as it was under your control and is no longer on the battlefield, the condition is met.
How the Ability Resolves Step-by-Step
Silkweaver Elite uses an intervening 'if' clause, which means the game checks the condition twice. First, when Silkweaver Elite enters the battlefield, the game checks if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn. If nothing has left, the ability does not trigger at all. Second, as the ability resolves, the game checks once more to ensure the condition is still true. If both checks pass, you draw a card. Note that even if multiple permanents left the battlefield, you still only draw one card per Silkweaver Elite trigger.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
A common mistake is thinking you can trigger Revolt by spending Energy counters; however, counters are not permanents and do not satisfy the requirement. Additionally, you cannot play Silkweaver Elite on an empty turn and then try to sacrifice a permanent in response to its entry to get the draw. The permanent must have already left the battlefield before Silkweaver Elite enters to put the trigger on the stack.
Strategic Timing
To maximize value, play Silkweaver Elite after a combat phase where one of your creatures was traded, or after using a 'fetch land' to search your library. Because it has Reach, it serves as an excellent follow-up to a lost creature, replenishing your hand while providing a blocker that can handle flying threats that your opponent might be planning to attack with next turn.
Interaction examples
Sakura-Tribe ElderYou start your turn by activating the ability of Sakura-Tribe Elder, sacrificing it to search for a basic land. Because a permanent you controlled (the Elder) left the battlefield, the Revolt condition is satisfied. When you subsequently cast Silkweaver Elite during your second main phase, its ability triggers upon entry, and you draw a card.
Solemn SimulacrumIf your opponent casts a spell to destroy your Solemn Simulacrum, it leaves the battlefield and goes to the graveyard. Later that same turn, you cast Silkweaver Elite. When it enters, the game sees that Solemn Simulacrum left the battlefield earlier that turn, allowing you to draw a card from the Elite's Revolt trigger in addition to the card you drew from the Simulacrum's own death trigger.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Silkweaver Elite
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Revolt abilities check only whether a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn or not. They don't apply multiple times if more than one permanent you controlled left the battlefield. They don't check whether the permanent that left the battlefield is still in the zone it moved to.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Revolt abilities don't care why the permanent left the battlefield, who caused it to move, or where it moved to. They're equally satisfied by an artifact you sacrificed to pay a cost, a creature you controlled that was destroyed by Murder, or an enchantment you returned to your hand with Leave in the Dust.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Tokens that leave the battlefield will satisfy a revolt ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Energy counters aren't permanents. Paying
won't satisfy a revolt ability.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
All cards in the Aether Revolt set with triggered revolt abilities use an intervening "if" clause. A permanent you controlled must have left the battlefield earlier in the turn in order for these abilities to trigger; otherwise they do nothing. In other words, there's no way to have the ability trigger if no permanent you controlled has left the battlefield that turn, even if you intend to have one do so in response to the triggered ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Silkweaver Elite
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