Surly Badgersaur 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
Whenever you discard a creature card, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Whenever you discard a land card, create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with ", Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.") Whenever you discard a noncreature, nonland card, this creature fights up to one target creature you don't control.
Complete guide
Surly Badgersaur is a versatile engine that rewards you for discarding cards by providing growth, mana, or removal. As a Badger Dinosaur, it turns every discard outlet into a multi-functional toolkit depending on the card type you pitch. This creature is a powerhouse in decks that utilize cycling or looting effects to cycle through their library.
A Triple Threat of Triggers
Surly Badgersaur has three distinct triggered abilities that respond to different card types. If you discard a creature, it gets a +1/+1 counter; a land card grants you a Treasure token for mana ramp; and a noncreature, nonland card (like an Instant, Sorcery, or Artifact) lets the Badgersaur fight an opponent's creature. Note that these are triggered abilities, not activated ones, so you need an external way to discard a card to make them happen.
Timing and Resolution
When you discard a card as a cost for a spell or ability, the Badgersaur's trigger goes on the stack on top of that spell and resolves first. If you discard during the resolution of an effect, the current spell finishes entirely before the Badgersaur's ability is put on the stack. For the fight ability, if the Badgersaur leaves the battlefield before the ability resolves, no damage is dealt at all.
Maximizing Your Discards
Because the Badgersaur checks the card type in the graveyard, you can specifically target what you need. Need mana? Pitch a land. Need to clear the board? Pitch a spell. Common mistakes include forgetting that 'noncreature, nonland' covers artifacts and enchantments, or thinking you can discard for free without a separate discard outlet.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you discard Solemn Simulacrum, it counts as a creature card because it is an Artifact Creature. Surly Badgersaur will trigger its first ability, receiving a +1/+1 counter. It will not trigger the fight ability because the card is a creature.
Roaming ThroneIf Roaming Throne enters the battlefield and you choose 'Dinosaur', its static ability will apply to Surly Badgersaur. Now, whenever you discard a land card, Surly Badgersaur's ability triggers twice, creating two Treasure tokens instead of one.
TreasureWhen you discard a land card while Surly Badgersaur is on the battlefield, you create a Treasure token. You can immediately tap and sacrifice this Treasure to add one mana of any color, effectively turning your discarded land into immediate mana fixing or ramp.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Surly Badgersaur
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Surly Badgersaur's abilities are triggered abilities, not activated abilities. They don't allow you to discard a card whenever you want; rather, you need some other way of discarding a card, such as a cycling ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you discard a card as a cost to cast a spell or activate an ability, Surly Badgersaur's triggered ability resolves before that spell or ability but after you've chosen targets for it. If you discard a card while a spell or ability is resolving, that spell or ability finishes resolving before Surly Badgersaur's triggered ability does.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If the target creature is an illegal target when Surly Badgersaur's last ability tries to resolve, the ability doesn't resolve. If it's a legal target but Surly Badgersaur is no longer on the battlefield when the ability resolves, the target creature won't deal or be dealt damage.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Borborygmos Enraged + Life from the Loam + Surly Badgersaur + Tranquil Thicket
- 1Activate Tranquil Thicket's cycling ability by paying
and discarding it. - 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 3Resolve the Tranquil Thicket ability, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Borborygmos by discarding a land card.
- 5Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 6Resolve the Borborygmos ability, dealing 3 damage to any target.
- 7Repeat from step 4 one additional time.
- 8Activate the three Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding
.
Borborygmos Enraged + Life from the Loam + Surly Badgersaur + Forgotten Cave
- 1Activate Forgotten Cave's cycling ability by paying
and discarding it. - 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 3Resolve the Forgotten Cave ability, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Borborygmos by discarding a land card.
- 5Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 6Resolve the Borborygmos ability, dealing 3 damage to any target.
- 7Repeat from step 4 one additional time.
- 8Activate the three Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
Surly Badgersaur + Tectonic Reformation + Dakmor Salvage
- 1Activate Dakmor Salvage's cycling ability by paying and discarding it.
- 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 3Resolve the Dakmor Salvage ability, causing you to mill two cards and return Dakmor Salvage from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate the Treasure token by tapping and sacrificing it, adding .
- 5Repeat.
Borborygmos Enraged + Slogurk, the Overslime + Surly Badgersaur
- 1Activate Borborygmos by discarding a land card.
- 2Slogurk and Surly Badgersaur trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on Slogurk and creating a Treasure token.
- 3Resolve the Borborygmos ability, dealing 3 damage to any target.
- 4Repeat from step 1 two additional times.
- 5Activate three Treasures by tapping and sacrificing them, adding
. - 6Activate Slogurk by removing three +1/+1 counters from it, returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7When Slogurk leaves the battlefield, it triggers, returning three land cards from your graveyard to your hand.
- 8Cast Slogurk by paying .
Slogurk, the Overslime + Surly Badgersaur + Seismic Assault
- 1Activate Seismic Assault by discarding a land card.
- 2Slogurk and Surly Badgersaur trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on Slogurk and creating a Treasure token.
- 3Resolve the Seismic Assault ability, dealing 2 damage to any target.
- 4Repeat from step 1 two additional times.
- 5Activate three Treasures by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
- 6Activate Slogurk by removing three +1/+1 counters from it, returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7When Slogurk leaves the battlefield, it triggers, returning three land cards from your graveyard to your hand.
- 8Cast Slogurk by paying .
Life from the Loam + Surly Badgersaur + Seismic Assault + Tranquil Thicket
- 1Activate Tranquil Thicket's cycling ability by paying and discarding it.
- 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 3Resolve the Tranquil Thicket ability, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Seismic Assault by discarding a land card.
- 5Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 6Resolve the Seismic Assault ability, dealing 2 damage to any target.
- 7Repeat from step 4 one additional time.
- 8Activate the three Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
Life from the Loam + Surly Badgersaur + Seismic Assault + Forgotten Cave
- 1Activate Forgotten Cave's cycling ability by paying and discarding it.
- 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 3Resolve the Forgotten Cave ability, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Seismic Assault by discarding a land card.
- 5Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 6Resolve the Seismic Assault ability, dealing 2 damage to any target.
- 7Repeat from step 4 one additional time.
- 8Activate the three Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
Borborygmos Enraged + Life from the Loam + Surly Badgersaur + Lonely Sandbar
- 1Activate Lonely Sandbar's cycling ability by paying and discarding it.
- 2Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure artifact token.
- 3Resolve the Lonely Sandbar ability, causing you to mill three cards and return Life from the Loam from your graveyard to your hand.
- 4Activate Borborygmos Enraged by discarding a land card.
- 5Surly Badgersaur's second ability triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 6Resolve the Borborygmos Enraged ability, dealing 3 damage to any target.
- 7Repeat from step 4 one additional time.
- 8Activate the three Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
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