Skyclave Cleric // Skyclave Basilica 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
When this creature enters, you gain 2 life. This land enters tapped.: Add
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Complete guide
Skyclave Cleric // Skyclave Basilica is a versatile modal double-faced card from Zendikar Rising that solves the problem of mana screw and mana flood. It offers the choice between a reliable early-game blocker that pads your life total or a necessary land to keep your curve on track. Understanding when to cast the Cleric or play the Basilica is key to mastering this card's utility.
Modal Choices and Mana Value
As a modal double-faced card (MDFC), you choose which face to play as you move it from your hand to the stack or battlefield. In your hand, library, or graveyard, only the front face, Skyclave Cleric, exists for the purpose of characteristics like mana value and card type. While on the stack or the battlefield, the card only has the characteristics of the face you chose to play. Importantly, the back face, Skyclave Basilica, always enters the battlefield tapped, so plan your mana usage accordingly.
Resolution and Life Gain
When you cast Skyclave Cleric, it goes onto the stack as a creature spell. Once it resolves and enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack, and you will gain 2 life upon resolution. If you choose to play Skyclave Basilica, it does not use the stack and cannot be countered; you simply play it as your land for the turn if you have one available. Note that if an effect puts this card onto the battlefield from another zone without you playing or casting it, it must enter as Skyclave Cleric.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is trying to 'transform' this card. Unlike traditional double-faced cards, MDFCs cannot transform; if an effect tells you to transform Skyclave Cleric, nothing happens. Another common mistake involves card effects that allow you to 'cast' spells from your graveyard or library. If an effect says 'cast,' you cannot play the back face (Skyclave Basilica) because a land is never cast. You must see the word 'play' to choose the land side from a non-hand zone.
Strategic Timing
Play Skyclave Basilica in the early turns if you have no other land drops to ensure you hit your mana requirements for more powerful spells. Save the Skyclave Cleric face for situations where you need an extra blocker or a small life buffer against aggressive decks. Since the land enters tapped, it is often better to play it on turn 1 or a turn where you don't need to use all your mana immediately.
Interaction examples
Esper SentinelIf your opponent controls Esper Sentinel and you cast Skyclave Cleric, the Sentinel's ability will not trigger. This is because Skyclave Cleric is a creature spell, and Esper Sentinel only triggers on the first noncreature spell an opponent casts each turn.
Ornithopter of ParadiseIf you have a hand with high-cost spells and only one land, playing Skyclave Basilica as your land for the turn provides the white mana needed to cast Ornithopter of Paradise on the following turn. Even though the Basilica enters tapped, it sets up your mana acceleration for the rest of the game.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Skyclave Cleric // Skyclave Basilica
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you're playing and ignore the other face's characteristics.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than "play") a specific modal double-faced card, you can't play it as a land.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that's being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the mana value of a transforming double-faced card is determined.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
A modal double-faced card can't be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can't be put onto the battlefield, it doesn't enter the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face's name.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
In the Commander variant, a double-faced card's color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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