The Foretold Soldier 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
This creature must be blocked if able. This creature can't be blocked by more than one creature. Whenever this creature deals damage, exile it face down. It becomes foretold. Foretell(During your turn, you may pay
and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.)
Complete guide
The Foretold Soldier is a relentless Alien Zombie Soldier that forces your opponent's hand while constantly slipping back into the shadows. By combining combat pressure with the Foretell mechanic, it ensures that it is never truly gone from the battlefield for long.
Master of the Duel
The Foretold Soldier has two static abilities that dictate how combat works. First, it must be blocked if able, forcing your opponent to put a creature in its path. Second, it cannot be blocked by more than one creature. This creates a 'stalker' effect where it singles out one defender, preventing your opponent from gang-blocking to kill it easily.
The Cycle of Foretelling
Whenever The Foretold Soldier deals damage—whether to a player or a creature—its triggered ability exiles it face down and it becomes foretold. This happens after the damage step. Once it is foretold in exile, its owner can cast it on a later turn for its reduced Foretell cost of {1}{G}. Note that even if an opponent controlled it when it dealt damage, only the card's owner can cast it from exile.
Timing and Strategy
You can use the Foretell keyword from your hand as a special action for {2} during your turn. However, the Soldier's own ability also turns it into a foretold card from the battlefield. Remember that you cannot cast a foretold card on the same turn it was exiled; you must wait until a future turn to redeploy your Soldier.
Interaction examples
The Foretold Soldier
Solemn SimulacrumIf you attack with The Foretold Soldier and your opponent controls Solemn Simulacrum, they must block with it. Because the Soldier can't be blocked by more than one creature, they cannot add a second creature to the block. After damage is dealt, the Soldier triggers, exiling itself face down to be cast again later.
If The Foretold Soldier attacks and is not blocked (perhaps the opponent has no creatures), it deals damage to the player. The trigger still occurs: the Soldier is exiled face down and becomes foretold. You can now cast it on your next turn for just {1}{G} instead of its full mana cost.
Eternal WitnessIf your Soldier is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can use Eternal Witness to return it to your hand. From your hand, you can then pay {2} during your turn to Foretell it manually, protecting it from hand disruption before casting it later.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : The Foretold Soldier
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Because exiling a card with foretell from your hand is a special action, you can do so any time you have priority during your turn, including in response to spells and abilities. Once you announce you're taking the action, no other player can respond by trying to remove the card from your hand.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Casting a foretold card from exile follows the timing rules for that card. If you foretell an instant card, you can cast it as soon as the next player's turn. In most cases, if you foretell a card that isn't an instant (like The Foretold Soldier), you'll have to wait until your next turn to cast it.
Card named in this ruling
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Regardless of who controlled The Foretold Soldier and exiled it with its triggered ability, only its owner may cast it from exile this way.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a card is a copy of The Foretold Soldier on the battlefield, it can be exiled by the triggered ability and will become foretold. However, it may only be cast this way if it has a foretell cost in exile.
Card named in this ruling
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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Meta decks with The Foretold Soldier
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.