Tourach's GateHow it works & interactions with other cards

Maintaining the Gate

Tourach's Gate functions using time counters, but unlike the Vanishing keyword, you can replenish these counters by sacrificing a Thrull. At the beginning of each of your upkeeps, you must remove one time counter. If the Aura has no time counters left after this removal, or if it ever has zero counters during your upkeep, it is sacrificed. You can activate the ability to add three time counters at any time you have priority by sacrificing a Thrull, including in response to the upkeep trigger.

Activating the Land

The primary benefit of this Aura is the activated ability it grants the enchanted land. By tapping the enchanted land, your attacking creatures receive a significant +2/-1 bonus until end of turn. Note that you can only activate this ability if the enchanted land is currently untapped. Furthermore, because the bonus provides -1 to toughness, you must be careful not to accidentally kill your own small creatures with 1 toughness.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error is forgetting that the +2/-1 bonus only applies to creatures that are already declared as attacking. You cannot activate the land's ability before the 'Declare Attackers' step to buff creatures that haven't been declared as attackers yet. Additionally, players often forget that the sacrifice trigger happens at the beginning of the upkeep; if you start your upkeep with zero counters and don't sacrifice a Thrull in response to the trigger, the Gate will be lost.

When to Play It

Tourach's Gate is best utilized in aggressive decks that can generate disposable creatures or specifically Thrulls. It is most effective when you have a wide board of creatures with at least 2 toughness, ensuring they survive the -1 penalty while delivering massive amounts of extra damage. It is a finisher designed to close the game within a few turns of activation.

Interaction examples

Generating Fuel with Connections

Black Market Connections

During your pre-combat main phase, you can use Black Market Connections to 'Hire a Mercenary.' Because the resulting Shapeshifter token has Changeling, it is considered a Thrull. You can then sacrifice this token to Tourach's Gate to add three time counters, ensuring the Gate stays on the battlefield for three more turns.

Managing Upkeep Triggers

Phyrexian Arena

If you control both cards, both trigger at the start of your upkeep. As the controller, you choose the order in which they are put on the stack. You can choose to draw from Phyrexian Arena first, then resolve the Tourach's Gate trigger to remove a time counter. If that was the last counter, the Gate is sacrificed unless you sacrifice a Thrull in response to its trigger.