The Battle of Bywater 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
Destroy all creatures with power 3 or greater. Then create a Food token for each creature you control. (It's an artifact with ",
, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
Complete guide
The Battle of Bywater is a unique board wipe from the Tales of Middle-earth set that rewards you for going wide with small creatures. For just three mana, you can clear the path of large threats while simultaneously setting up your resources for the long game. This sorcery perfectly captures the moment the Hobbits returned to reclaim their home from Saruman's forces.
What It Does
This spell performs two distinct actions in a specific order. First, it acts as a selective board wipe, targeting only creatures with power 3 or greater. This means your smaller utility creatures and tokens usually survive. Second, it generates value by creating a Food token for every creature you currently control. This ensures that even if you didn't destroy much, you are still progressing your board state with artifacts.
Step-by-Step Resolution
When The Battle of Bywater resolves, follow these steps: 1. Identify all creatures on the battlefield with power 3 or greater. 2. Destroy all identified creatures simultaneously. 3. Count the number of creatures you currently control that are still on the battlefield. 4. Create that many Food tokens. These tokens are artifacts with the ability to pay 2 mana and tap to sacrifice them for 3 life.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is miscounting the Food tokens. Because the destruction happens first, any of your creatures with power 3 or greater that are destroyed will NOT be counted for the Food generation part of the spell. Only the survivors contribute to your Food count. Additionally, remember that power is checked at the moment of resolution; if an opponent uses an effect to pump a creature's power to 3 in response, that creature will be destroyed.
When to Play It
This card is most effective in decks featuring many 1-power and 2-power creatures, such as Hobbit or Suture Priest strategies. It allows you to maintain your board presence while removing large blockers. Since it only costs three mana, it is also a fantastic target for graveyard recursion or low-mana searching effects.
Interaction examples
The Battle of BywaterYou control three 1/1 Hobbit tokens, while your opponent controls a 4/4 Beast and a 5/5 Dragon. You cast The Battle of Bywater. Both of your opponent's creatures are destroyed because their power is 3 or greater. Your three Hobbits survive. Afterward, you create three Food tokens because you control three creatures.
Sevinne's ReclamationIf The Battle of Bywater is in your graveyard, you can cast Sevinne's Reclamation targeting it, since the sorcery has a mana value of 3. This allows you to wipe the board of large threats and generate Food tokens even after the card has been used or discarded earlier in the game.
FoodIf you control five 1/1 creatures and cast The Battle of Bywater, none of your creatures die. You then create five Food tokens. Each of these tokens is an artifact that can be sacrificed later to gain life or used as fuel for other abilities that require sacrificing artifacts.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : The Battle of Bywater
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Food is an artifact type. Even though it appears on some creatures, it's never a creature type.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You can't sacrifice a Food to pay multiple costs. For example, you can't sacrifice a Food token to activate its own ability and also to activate Maraleaf Rider's ability.
Card named in this ruling
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Whatever you do, don't eat the delicious cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with The Battle of Bywater
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.