Thieves' AuctionHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

When Thieves' Auction resolves, every nontoken permanent currently on the battlefield is exiled. This includes lands, creatures, enchantments, and artifacts. Then, starting with the player who cast the spell, players take turns selecting one card from the exiled pile and putting it onto the battlefield tapped under their control. This process continues until every card that can be legally returned has been picked.

How It Resolves Step by Step

First, identify all nontoken permanents and move them to the exile zone. The player whose turn it is (usually the caster) picks one card and places it on the battlefield tapped. The next player in turn order then picks one, and so on. If a player picks an Aura, they must attach it to a legal permanent already on the battlefield. Because this happens during resolution, the Aura does not target the permanent. If there are no legal permanents to enchant, that Aura remains in exile and can be picked again later if a valid target appears. Any 'enters the battlefield' or 'leaves the battlefield' triggers are put onto the stack only after the entire auction process is complete.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error is trying to pick tokens; Thieves' Auction specifically ignores tokens, so they remain exactly where they were. Another mistake involves Auras: you cannot pick an Aura if there is nothing for it to enchant. If only Auras remain and no legal targets exist, those Auras stay in exile forever. Finally, remember that all permanents enter the battlefield tapped, regardless of their previous state or their usual entry requirements.

When to Play It

Thieves' Auction is best used when your opponents have built a superior board state and you need to steal their key pieces to survive. Since the caster picks first, you are guaranteed to get the best permanent on the table. It is also a powerful tool in decks that thrive on chaos or have few permanents of their own, as you essentially trade your lack of a board for a share of everyone else's resources.

Interaction examples

The Clean Slate

If you cast Thieves' Auction while you only have five lands and your opponent has a massive army of creatures, all those creatures and lands are exiled. Since you pick first, you can take your opponent's strongest creature. Even though it enters tapped, you have successfully removed their advantage and taken their best threat for yourself.

Handling Global Effects

All Is Dust

If All Is Dust is cast earlier in the round, many colored permanents might already be in the graveyard. When Thieves' Auction is later cast, it will only exile what remains on the battlefield. This illustrates that Thieves' Auction only interacts with the current battlefield state; it cannot 'auction' cards that are already in graveyards or other zones.

Phases and Tapping

Full Throttle

If you cast Full Throttle to gain extra combat phases and then cast Thieves' Auction in your first main phase, all creatures you draft from the auction will enter the battlefield tapped. Even though Full Throttle untaps creatures that attacked, the creatures entered the battlefield after the combat started or are new permanents, meaning they won't typically be able to use those extra combat phases effectively unless they gain haste and a way to untap.