Step Right UpHow it works & interactions with other cards

Opening the Gates

When you cast Step Right Up, you follow the instructions to 'Open two Attractions.' This means you take the top two cards of your separate Attraction deck and put them directly onto the battlefield. Unlike normal permanents, these cards have no mana cost and cannot exist in your hand or library; they only exist on the battlefield or in your Attraction deck/junkyard.

Resolution Step-by-Step

First, Step Right Up is placed on the stack and players may respond. Once it resolves, you take the top card of your Attraction deck and place it onto the battlefield, then take the second card and do the same. If these Attractions have 'enters the battlefield' triggers, they will trigger separately. Finally, the sorcery is placed in your graveyard.

Attraction Logistics

A common mistake is forgetting that Attractions are permanents but not spells. You do not 'cast' the Attractions opened by Step Right Up, so they cannot be countered by effects that target spells. Additionally, if an Attraction would leave the battlefield for any zone other than the exile zone, it is instead put into the Attraction junkyard, which is a specific discard pile for your Attraction deck.

Strategic Timing

You should play Step Right Up early in your turn before your main phase ends if you have a way to roll a die. Since most Attractions trigger when you 'roll to visit' at the beginning of your first main phase, opening them with this sorcery means you will likely have to wait until your next turn to reap the rewards unless you have additional cards that trigger a visit.

Interaction examples

Building the Board

You cast Step Right Up. You reveal the top two cards of your Attraction deck. You place both onto the battlefield. You now have two new locations that can trigger benefits whenever you successfully roll to visit them during your future main phases.

Managing Resources

Victimize

After using Step Right Up to open two Attractions, you might find yourself needing to recover creatures. While Victimize requires you to sacrifice a creature to return two from the graveyard, remember that Attractions are not creatures. You cannot sacrifice an Attraction to pay for Victimize's additional cost.

Survival of the Midway

Toxic Deluge

If your opponent casts Toxic Deluge to clear the board, your Attractions opened by Step Right Up will remain safe. Because Attractions are not creatures, the -X/-X effect from Toxic Deluge does not affect them, allowing your carnival to stay open even after a total creature wipe.