Spineseeker CentipedeHow it works & interactions with other cards

Securing Your Resources

When Spineseeker Centipede enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack. You search your library for any card with the 'basic' supertype—this includes Forest, Island, Mountain, Plains, Swamp, and their snow-covered versions. You reveal the card to prove it is a valid target, put it into your hand, and then shuffle your library.

The Power of Delirium

The Delirium ability is a static effect that constantly checks the contents of your graveyard. If you have four or more card types (such as Creature, Land, Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, or Artifact) among cards in your graveyard, Spineseeker Centipede gains +1/+2 and the vigilance keyword. This makes it a 3/5 creature that can attack without tapping, allowing it to remain available for blocking.

Understanding Card Types

For Delirium to be active, you must count unique types, not the number of cards. For example, two creatures in the graveyard only count as one type. However, an artifact creature counts as two types (Artifact and Creature). Spineseeker Centipede's stats update immediately the moment a fourth card type enters your graveyard, even during combat.

Strategic Timing

Because Spineseeker Centipede puts the land into your hand rather than onto the battlefield, it is best played when you need to ensure you hit your next land drop or when you have ways to discard the land for other benefits. It serves as an early-game stabilizer that scales into a mid-game threat once your graveyard is populated.

Interaction examples

Incremental Ramp Comparison

Solemn Simulacrum

While both creatures search for basic lands, Spineseeker Centipede puts the land into your hand for immediate use or discard fodder. In contrast, Solemn Simulacrum puts the land onto the battlefield tapped. If you need a land to play this turn, Spineseeker Centipede is the better option; if you need more total mana for next turn, Solemn Simulacrum provides the ramp.

Filling the Graveyard

Sakura-Tribe Elder

You can use Sakura-Tribe Elder to find a land and put it onto the battlefield by sacrificing it. This puts a 'Creature' card type into your graveyard. If you then play Spineseeker Centipede, you find another land for your hand. This sequence gets you closer to the four types required for Delirium while ensuring you have the mana to cast more spells.