Sword of Truth and Justice 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
Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from white and from blue. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control, then proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) Equip
Complete guide
Sword of Truth and Justice is a powerful Equipment that hails from the Modern Horizons set, offering both defensive protection and offensive scaling. It provides a significant stat boost and a repeating engine for counters, making it a staple for decks that care about +1/+1 counters or planeswalkers.
What It Does
This Equipment grants the equipped creature +2/+2 and protection from white and blue. This protection means the creature cannot be blocked by white or blue creatures, targeted by white or blue spells or abilities, enchanted by white or blue Auras, or dealt damage by white or blue sources. Additionally, whenever the creature deals combat damage to a player, you get to place a +1/+1 counter on any creature you control and then proliferate.
How it Resolves Step by Step
First, the creature must deal combat damage to a player; if the damage is prevented or the creature is blocked, the ability won't trigger. Once the ability triggers and begins to resolve, you first choose one creature you control to receive a +1/+1 counter. Immediately after, you proliferate. You choose any number of players and/or permanents that already have counters and add another of each kind. Note that if you choose a permanent with multiple types of counters, it receives one of each kind simultaneously.
Common Mistakes
A common point of confusion is the timing of proliferation. You cannot wait to see if an opponent responds to the proliferation choice; once the ability starts resolving and you choose which permanents get counters, it is too late for players to react. Also, remember that protection only covers 'DEBT' (Damage, Enchanting/Equipping, Blocking, and Targeting). It does not protect the creature from non-targeting board wipes like Wrath of God.
When to Play It
Sword of Truth and Justice is best utilized in 'Superfriends' decks to boost planeswalker loyalty or in 'Voltron' strategies to make a single threat unblockable against specific colors. Because the proliferate effect is tied to combat damage, it pairs well with creatures that have evasion like flying or trample to ensure the trigger occurs every turn.
Interaction examples
Arcane SignetWhile Sword of Truth and Justice usually targets creatures for counters, if you have a way to put a counter on Arcane Signet (such as through a different card's effect), you can choose to proliferate that counter every time your equipped creature hits a player. This demonstrates that proliferation can affect any permanent with a counter, not just creatures.
Swiftfoot BootsIf you have both Swiftfoot Boots and Sword of Truth and Justice on the battlefield, you can equip a newly played creature with both. The Boots provide Haste, allowing the creature to attack immediately, and Hexproof, which stacks with the Sword's Protection from white and blue. When the creature deals combat damage, the Sword triggers, allowing you to put a +1/+1 counter on the creature and then use Proliferate to add a second counter to it immediately.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Sword of Truth and Justice
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent or player you choose while proliferating has more than one kind of counter on it, it will get one more of each of those kinds. This means that if you put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control with a -1/-1 counter on it, then choose that creature while proliferating, you'll put another of each of those counters on it before state-based actions remove them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Protection from a color means that the equipped creature can't be blocked by creatures of that color, can't be the target of spells of that color or abilities from sources of that color, can't be enchanted or equipped by Auras or Equipment of that color, and all damage that sources of that color would deal to it is prevented. Nothing other than these events is prevented or illegal.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Liquimetal Coating
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Activate Liquimetal Coating by tapping it, causing Medomai the Ageless to become an artifact.
- 4Cast Idris by paying
. - 5When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 6Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying
, attaching it to Idris. - 7Move to your extra turn.
- 8At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Encroaching Mycosynth
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Cast Idris by paying .
- 4When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 5Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 6Move to your extra turn.
- 7At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
- 8Deal combat damage to an opponent using Idris.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + The Flesh Is Weak
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Cast Idris by paying .
- 4When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 5Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 6Move to your extra turn.
- 7At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
- 8Deal combat damage to an opponent using Idris.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Liquimetal Torque
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Activate Liquimetal Torque by tapping it, causing Medomai the Ageless to become an artifact.
- 4Cast Idris by paying .
- 5When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 6Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 7Move to your extra turn.
- 8At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Neurok Transmuter
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Activate Neurok Transmuter by paying , causing Medomai the Ageless to become an artifact.
- 4Cast Idris by paying .
- 5When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 6Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 7Move to your extra turn.
- 8At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Mycosynth Lattice
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Cast Idris by paying .
- 4When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 5Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 6Move to your extra turn.
- 7At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
- 8Deal combat damage to an opponent using Idris.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Biotransference
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Cast Idris by paying .
- 4When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 5Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 6Move to your extra turn.
- 7At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
- 8Deal combat damage to an opponent using Idris.
Medomai the Ageless + Idris, Soul of the TARDIS + Sword of Truth and Justice + Transmogrifying Licid
- 1Deal combat damage to an opponent using Medomai the Ageless.
- 2Medomai the Ageless triggers, causing you to take an extra turn after this one.
- 3Cast Idris by paying .
- 4When Idris enters the battlefield, it triggers, exiling Medomai the Ageless until Idris leaves the battlefield.
- 5Activate Sword of Truth and Justice's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Idris.
- 6Move to your extra turn.
- 7At the beginning of your upkeep, Idris's vanishing ability triggers, removing a time counter from it.
- 8Deal combat damage to an opponent using Idris.
Legal formats
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