Sneak AttackHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it Does

Sneak Attack provides an activated ability costing {R}. When you activate it, you choose a creature card from your hand and put it directly onto the battlefield. That creature gains haste, allowing it to attack or use tap abilities immediately, but it comes with a catch: it must be sacrificed at the beginning of the next end step.

How it Resolves Step by Step

First, you pay {R} and put the ability on the stack. Upon resolution, you choose a creature card from your hand; this choice is made as the ability resolves, so your opponent cannot respond to a specific creature being chosen. The creature enters the battlefield and a delayed triggered ability is created. This trigger waits for the very next end step to occur—whether it is yours or an opponent's—and forces you to sacrifice the creature if it is still on the battlefield under your control.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error involves the timing of the sacrifice. The sacrifice trigger only happens once, at the beginning of the 'next' end step. If you activate Sneak Attack during an end step, the creature will actually stay on the battlefield through the entire next turn and only be sacrificed at the beginning of the following turn's end step. Also, remember that if the creature leaves the battlefield and returns (via a 'flicker' effect), it is considered a new object and will not be sacrificed.

When to Play It

Sneak Attack is best used when you can end the game in a single combat phase or when you have creatures with powerful 'enters the battlefield' or 'attacks' triggers. Since the creature is sacrificed anyway, it is also a perfect tool for setting up additional combat phases or exploiting tribal synergies.

Interaction examples

Rogue Dice Roll

Lightfoot Rogue

You pay {R} to put Lightfoot Rogue onto the battlefield via Sneak Attack. Because it gains haste, you can immediately declare it as an attacker. This triggers its 'Sneak Attack' ability, requiring you to roll a d20 to determine its stat buffs and keywords for that combat. Even if it survives combat, you must sacrifice it at the start of your end step.

Tribal Overrun

Shared Animosity

With Shared Animosity on the field, you can use Sneak Attack to drop multiple creatures of the same type, such as Goblins, into play for {R} each. When they all attack together, Shared Animosity triggers for each one, giving them massive power boosts based on their shared types before they are sacrificed at the end of the turn.

Double Combat Destruction

Aggravated Assault

If you have Aggravated Assault, you can use Sneak Attack to put a creature into play during your first main phase. After attacking, you can activate Aggravated Assault to untap that creature and get an additional combat phase. The creature will persist through both combat phases, as the sacrifice trigger only occurs when you finally transition to your end step.