Space Marine Scout 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
First strike, vigilance Concealed Position — When this creature enters, if an opponent controls more lands than you, you may search your library for a Plains card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Complete guide
Space Marine Scout is a versatile white creature that provides excellent board presence through its keywords while helping you catch up on resources. As an Astartes Scout, it ensures you stay competitive even if your opponent has ramped ahead in land count. Its Concealed Position ability is a powerful tool for maintaining tempo and thinning your deck.
Tactical Keywords
Space Marine Scout features both First Strike and Vigilance. This combination makes it a formidable combatant that can deal damage before its blockers and remain untapped to defend on the following turn. It is an ideal creature for both aggressive and defensive strategies.
The Intervening If Clause
The Concealed Position ability uses a specific rules structure called an 'intervening if clause.' This means the condition—an opponent controlling more lands than you—must be true at two distinct moments: when the Space Marine Scout enters the battlefield for the ability to trigger at all, and again when the ability attempts to resolve. If the land counts change between these two points so that you no longer have fewer lands, the ability will do nothing.
Strategic Land Retrieval
Unlike many land-searching effects that only find basic lands, Space Marine Scout allows you to search for any Plains card. This includes non-basic lands with the Plains subtype, such as shock lands or triomes. Remember that the land enters the battlefield tapped, so you won't be able to use it for mana immediately.
When to Deploy
To maximize value, play Space Marine Scout when you are on the draw or after an opponent has used a ramp spell. If you have the same number of lands or more than your opponents when the Scout enters, the ability never triggers, and you lose the chance to search for a Plains card entirely.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Astartes' or 'Scout' chosen, Space Marine Scout's Concealed Position ability will trigger twice when it enters, provided an opponent has more lands. Each instance of the ability checks the land count as it resolves. If the first resolution puts you at an equal land count with your opponent, the second trigger will resolve but fail to find a land because the 'if' condition is no longer met.
Solemn SimulacrumIf you are trailing in mana, you can play Solemn Simulacrum to fetch a basic land. If an opponent still has more lands than you after that land enters, you can then follow up with Space Marine Scout. This sequence allows you to quickly bridge the resource gap, putting two creatures on the board and two additional lands into play in a short span.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Space Marine Scout
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Space Marine Scout's triggered ability has an "intervening if clause," which means that it checks to see whether or not an opponent controls more lands than you both when it triggers and when it resolves. If it isn't true both times, you won't search your library for a Plains card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Space Marine Scout
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