Spinerock Knoll 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
Hideaway 4 (When this land enters, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.) This land enters tapped.: Add
.
Complete guide
Spinerock Knoll is a unique land that allows you to stash a powerful spell for later use. By utilizing the Hideaway mechanic, you can bypass high mana costs if you manage to pressure your opponents. This red-aligned land is a staple for aggressive decks looking to maintain momentum in the mid-to-late game.
What it Does
Spinerock Knoll enters the battlefield tapped and features the Hideaway 4 keyword. This means when it arrives, you look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, and tuck the rest. It also functions as a source of red mana, but its true power lies in its activated ability: for one red mana and a tap, you can cast the hidden card for free if an opponent took 7 or more damage this turn.
Resolving the Ability
To use the hidden card, you must first ensure an opponent was dealt at least 7 damage total during the current turn. This damage can come from any source, including your creatures or even their own spells. Once the condition is met, you activate the ability by paying one red mana and tapping Spinerock Knoll. As the ability resolves, you check the damage total again; if the requirement is still met, you may play the exiled card immediately without paying its mana cost.
Common Mistakes
Players often forget that 'playing' the card follows normal timing rules for lands; you can only play a land from Hideaway during your own main phase when the stack is empty. However, if the hidden card is a spell, you can cast it whenever the ability resolves, even during combat or an opponent's turn, provided the damage threshold was met. Also, remember that the damage is tracked per opponent, not cumulatively across multiple opponents.
When to Play It
Spinerock Knoll is best utilized in decks capable of high-damage bursts. Because it enters tapped, it is usually played early when you don't need the immediate mana, or late after a massive combat phase. It is a fantastic tool for cheating out expensive dragons or high-impact sorceries that would otherwise take an entire turn's worth of mana.
Interaction examples
You play Spinerock Knoll as your land for the turn. It enters tapped, and you look at the top four cards of your library. You see a high-cost spell, exile it face down, and put the other three cards on the bottom in a random order. On a later turn, after dealing 7 damage to an opponent with creatures, you pay one red mana and tap the Knoll to cast that exiled spell for free.
Command TowerIf you have Command Tower on the battlefield, you can use it to produce the one red mana needed for Spinerock Knoll's activation requirement. This ensures you don't have to tap other utility lands to satisfy the red mana cost, keeping your mana base flexible while you prepare to trigger the Hideaway spell.
Exotic OrchardWhile Exotic Orchard helps fix your mana based on what your opponents have, Spinerock Knoll tracks the damage those same opponents have taken. If you use Exotic Orchard to generate red mana (assuming an opponent controls a red source), you can use that mana to activate Spinerock Knoll after an opponent has been dealt 7 damage, allowing you to play your hidden card using your opponent's own color identity against them.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Spinerock Knoll
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
"Hideaway N" means "When this permanent enters the battlefield, look at the top N cards of your library. Exile one of them face down and put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. The exiled card gains 'The player who controls the permanent that exiled this card may look at this card in the exile zone.'"
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Any player who has controlled a permanent with a hideaway ability since a card was exiled with it may look at that card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Previously, permanents with hideaway entered the battlefield tapped. This ability has been removed from the definition of hideaway. Older cards have received errata to have an additional paragraph that reads "[This permanent] enters the battlefield tapped," and they now have hideaway 4.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Hideaway now causes you to put the rest of the cards on the bottom of your library in a random order instead of any order.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
It doesn't matter how the opponent was dealt damage or by whom, as long as the total damage is 7 or more. You don't specify an opponent when you activate the ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
You'll get to play the card even if Spinerock Knoll wasn't on the battlefield at the time some or all of the 7 damage was dealt.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
At the time the last ability resolves, you'll get to play the card if a player who is currently your opponent, or a player who was your opponent at the time they left the game, has been dealt 7 damage over the course of the turn.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Spinerock Knoll
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.