Topiary StomperHow it works & interactions with other cards

Land Search and Vigilance

When Topiary Stomper enters the battlefield, you search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. This ensures you are always progressing toward the seven-land requirement. Additionally, the creature has Vigilance, which means once it is eligible to attack, it can do so without tapping, leaving it ready to defend on your opponent's turn.

The Seven Land Restriction

The restriction on Topiary Stomper is a static ability that checks your land count continuously. If you control fewer than seven lands, it cannot be declared as an attacker or a blocker. Note that this only checks the number of lands, not their names or whether they are tapped. As soon as you play your seventh land, Topiary Stomper immediately becomes eligible to participate in combat.

When to Play Topiary Stomper

This creature is best played early to maximize the ramp effect, or in the mid-game when you are one land away from reaching the seven-land threshold. Because it provides a land upon entry, it effectively helps fulfill its own condition. Even if you cannot attack or block yet, it serves as a large body that forces your opponent to prepare for the moment you hit your seventh land.

Interaction examples

Accelerating the Threshold

Solemn Simulacrum

You cast Topiary Stomper as your third land is played, searching for a fourth land. On the next turn, you cast Solemn Simulacrum to search for a fifth land. Because both creatures provide lands that enter tapped, you are rapidly approaching the seven-land requirement needed for Topiary Stomper to start attacking.

Reaching Seven Lands Instantly

Sakura-Tribe Elder

If you control six lands and cast Topiary Stomper, its triggered ability puts a seventh land onto the battlefield. Even though that land is tapped, you now control seven lands. If Topiary Stomper does not have summoning sickness, it can now be declared as an attacker. If you are attacked on your opponent's turn, you can sacrifice Sakura-Tribe Elder to find a land; if that land becomes your seventh, Topiary Stomper can immediately be declared as a blocker.