Talon Gates 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
Any time you could cast a sorcery, you may exile a nonland card from your hand with X time counters on it, where X is its mana value. If the exiled card doesn't have suspend, it gains suspend. (At the beginning of its owner's upkeep, they remove a time counter. When the last is removed, the player may cast it without paying its mana cost. If it's a creature, it has haste.) Whenever chaos ensues, remove two time counters from each suspended card you own.
Complete guide
Welcome to Dominaria, the heart of the Multiverse, where the very fabric of time is flexible. Talon Gates is a Plane card that allows players to bypass traditional mana costs by utilizing the Suspend mechanic. Whether you are playing Planechase or using a planar deck, understanding how to manage these temporal rifts is key to victory.
Granting Suspend
Talon Gates provides a unique special action available to any player during their main phase when the stack is empty. You may exile a nonland card from your hand and place a number of time counters on it equal to its mana value. If the card does not already have the Suspend keyword, it gains it, ensuring it will eventually travel through time and enter the battlefield.
Step-by-Step Resolution
1. During your main phase while the stack is empty, choose a nonland card in your hand. 2. Announce you are using the Talon Gates ability and exile the card. 3. Place time counters on the card equal to its mana value. 4. At the start of each of your future upkeeps, remove one time counter. 5. When the last counter is removed, the Suspend trigger allows you to cast the card without paying its mana cost. 6. If the Chaos symbol is rolled on the planar die, you immediately remove two additional time counters from every suspended card you own, accelerating their arrival.
Common Pitfalls
A common mistake is treating the exile action as a spell or activated ability. Because it is a special action, it does not use the stack, and your opponents cannot respond to you exiling the card. However, they can respond normally once the last time counter is removed and the Suspend ability puts the spell on the stack. Additionally, remember that you cannot exile land cards because they do not have a mana value and the ability specifically targets nonland cards.
Strategic Timing
Use Talon Gates to clear expensive spells out of your hand early in the game. Even if the players planeswalk away from Talon Gates to a new plane, any cards already in exile will retain Suspend and continue to lose counters each turn. This makes it a safe investment for powerful late-game threats that you cannot currently afford.
Interaction examples
Sol RingSince Sol Ring has a mana value of 1, you can use Talon Gates to exile it with one time counter. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you remove that counter and cast Sol Ring for free. Note that while Sol Ring is usually cheap, this protects it from hand-discard effects while you wait for your turn.
Command TowerYou cannot use the Talon Gates ability on Command Tower. The Oracle text specifies you may only exile a 'nonland card.' Since Command Tower is a land, it must be played using your normal land drop for the turn.
Suppose you have a Sol Ring in exile with three time counters (perhaps from an effect that added more). If you roll the planar die and chaos ensues, the Talon Gates chaos ability triggers. You remove two time counters instantly, leaving only one. This significantly speeds up the time until you can cast the spell for free.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Talon Gates
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Exiling a nonland card from your hand this way is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and doesn’t count as casting a spell or activating an ability. Players can’t respond to this action, although they can respond when you cast the spell after the last time counter is removed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
The first ability may be used any number of times.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Even after the game leaves Talon Gates, each of the suspended cards will continue to have suspend; the owners of those cards will continue to remove a time counter from each during their upkeeps.
No other card is named in this ruling.
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