Soul Tithe 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
Enchant nonland permanent At the beginning of the upkeep of enchanted permanent's controller, that player sacrifices it unless they pay, where X is its mana value.
Complete guide
Soul Tithe is a powerful white Aura that places a recurring tax on your opponent's most dangerous assets. By enchanting a nonland permanent, you force your opponent into a difficult choice every single turn: pay its mana cost again or lose it forever. It is an excellent tool for stalling the game or dealing with high-cost threats that your opponent cannot afford to maintain.
What it Does
Soul Tithe attaches to any nonland permanent, including creatures, planeswalkers, and other enchantments. It creates a triggered ability that fires at the start of the enchanted permanent's controller's upkeep. This ability calculates the mana value of the enchanted object and demands a payment equal to that value to keep the permanent on the battlefield.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, the upkeep phase begins for the player who controls the enchanted permanent. Soul Tithe's ability triggers and is put onto the stack. When the ability resolves, the player must decide whether to pay {X} mana, where X is the mana value of the permanent. If they cannot or choose not to pay, they must sacrifice the permanent. Note that for tokens that are not copies, the mana value is 0, meaning the player can 'pay' 0 to keep it.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is trying to enchant a land; Soul Tithe specifically says 'Enchant nonland permanent.' Another misunderstanding involves cards with {X} in their mana cost, like certain hydras. For Soul Tithe, the value of X in the permanent's mana cost is always treated as 0 when calculating the tax, regardless of what was originally spent to cast it.
When to Play It
Soul Tithe is best used against high-mana value targets that your opponent has tapped out to play. It effectively turns their best card into a massive mana sink, preventing them from progressing their board state. It is also effective in 'Prison' style decks that aim to exhaust the opponent's resources through cumulative taxes.
Interaction examples
Authority of the ConsulsIf your opponent plays a creature while Authority of the Consuls is out, it enters tapped and you gain life. On your turn, you can enchant that creature with Soul Tithe. Because the creature is already tapped and will now require a mana payment during their next upkeep, your opponent is forced to choose between losing their creature or falling significantly behind in mana development.
Ghostly PrisonWith Ghostly Prison on the field, your opponent must pay {2} to attack you with a creature. By enchanting that same creature with Soul Tithe, you create a double tax. They must pay the mana value of the creature during their upkeep just to keep it, and then pay an additional {2} during their combat phase if they want to use it to attack, making it extremely difficult to use the creature effectively.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Soul Tithe
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a creature token is 0, unless that token is a copy of another creature, in which case it copies that creature's mana cost.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If the permanent has
in its mana cost, X is 0.No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Soul Tithe
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.