Thieving Skydiver 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
Kicker. X can't be 0. (You may pay an additional
Complete guide
Thieving Skydiver is a versatile Merfolk Rogue that specializes in liberating artifacts from your opponents. By utilizing its Kicker ability, you can turn the tide of battle by seizing control of key equipment or utility artifacts the moment it hits the battlefield.
Scaling Your Theft
Thieving Skydiver features a Kicker cost of {X}, where X must be greater than zero. When you cast this spell, you choose a value for X and pay that much additional mana. This value determines the maximum mana value of the artifact you can target once the Skydiver enters the battlefield. Remember that the mana value of the Skydiver itself remains 2 on the stack, regardless of how much you pay for X.
Resolution and Equipment
The control-change effect is permanent and does not end if Thieving Skydiver leaves the battlefield. If the artifact you steal is an Equipment, there is an extra bonus: it immediately attaches to Thieving Skydiver for free. This bypasses the normal equip cost, though your opponent can still pay to re-equip it to their own creatures later if they regain control of the Equipment.
Kicking Rules and Timing
A common mistake is trying to 'kick' the creature when it is put directly onto the battlefield by another effect; you can only pay the Kicker cost if you are actually casting the spell. Additionally, if the Skydiver is destroyed in response to its triggered ability, you still gain control of the artifact, but if it was an Equipment, it simply stays where it was or remains unattached since the Skydiver is no longer there to hold it.
Interaction examples
Ornithopter of ParadiseYou cast Thieving Skydiver and choose X=2, paying a total of {3}{U}. When it enters, you target an opponent's Ornithopter of Paradise (mana value 2). The ability resolves, and you gain control of the Thopter indefinitely. Since it is not an Equipment, it does not attach to the Skydiver.
Foundry InspectorIf you control Foundry Inspector and cast an artifact spell, it costs {1} less. However, Foundry Inspector does not reduce the cost of Thieving Skydiver because the Skydiver is a Creature spell, not an artifact spell. To steal a Foundry Inspector (mana value 3), you must choose X=3 and pay the full {3}{U} plus the base {1}{U} for a total of {4}{U}.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Thieving Skydiver
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
To determine a spell's total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card's effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The spell's mana value remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can't kick it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you copy a kicked spell on the stack, the copy is also kicked. If the copied spell is a permanent spell, the token the copy of that spell becomes when it enters is also kicked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a card or token enters as a copy of a permanent, the new permanent isn't kicked, even if the original was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell's kicker cost was paid, the spell is "kicked."
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
The kicker ability doesn't let you pay a kicker cost more than once.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Thieving Skydiver's ability can target an artifact you already control. You'll attach it to Thieving Skydiver if it's an Equipment.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
The control-change effect of Thieving Skydiver lasts indefinitely. It doesn't wear off during the cleanup step, and it doesn't expire if Thieving Skydiver leaves the battlefield. In a multiplayer game, it does expire if you leave the game.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
If the Equipment can't be attached to Thieving Skydiver, most likely because Thieving Skydiver has left the battlefield before its triggered ability resolves, the Equipment remains attached to whatever it's currently attached to or remains unattached if attached to nothing.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Thieving Skydiver
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