Toxic Deluge 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
As an additional cost to cast this spell, pay X life. All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn.
Complete guide
Toxic Deluge is one of the most powerful and efficient board wipes in Magic: The Gathering history. By trading your life for the destruction of your enemies, you gain unparalleled control over the battlefield for just three mana. Understanding how to manage your resources is key to mastering this black sorcery.
The Price of Power
Toxic Deluge requires an additional cost to cast: you must pay X life. Unlike spells with X in their mana cost, you choose the value of X and pay that much life immediately as you cast the spell. This makes the spell incredibly flexible, as you can choose exactly how much health to sacrifice to remove the threats currently on the board.
Resolving the Deluge
When Toxic Deluge resolves, every creature currently on the battlefield gets -X/-X until the end of the turn. This is a static reduction, which means it bypasses Indestructible because creatures with 0 toughness are put into the graveyard as a state-based action. Note that it only affects creatures present during resolution; anything that enters the battlefield later in the turn will be unaffected.
Alternative Casting Costs
A common point of confusion arises when casting Toxic Deluge without paying its mana cost. Because X is not in the mana cost of the card, you must still choose a value for X and pay that life, even if you are using an effect that lets you cast the spell for free.
When to Unleash the Flood
Timing is everything. You should play Toxic Deluge when you can clear your opponent's side of the board while keeping your most important high-toughness creatures alive, or when you are desperate to remove an Indestructible threat that targeted removal cannot touch.
Interaction examples
Demonic TutorIf your opponent has a massive army, you can cast Demonic Tutor to search your library for Toxic Deluge. Once it is in your hand, you can immediately cast it. If the opponent's strongest creature has 5 toughness, you pay 5 life as an additional cost. Both cards go to your graveyard, and the board is cleared.
Feed the SwarmSuppose you use Feed the Swarm to destroy an opponent's enchantment, which causes you to lose life. When you later cast Toxic Deluge, you must be careful; you cannot pay more life than you currently have. If Feed the Swarm brought you to 5 life, the maximum value you can choose for X is 5, as you cannot pay life you do not have.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Toxic Deluge
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
All creatures on the battlefield when Toxic Deluge resolves are affected. Ones that enter the battlefield or become creatures later in the turn are not.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast Toxic Deluge without paying its mana cost, you'll still choose a value for X and pay X life. This is because it doesn't have
in its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Vizkopa Guildmage + Children of Korlis + Toxic Deluge
- 1Activate Vizkopa Guildmage's second ability by paying
. - 2Cast Toxic Deluge by paying
, and paying an amount of life equal to your life total minus 1. - 3Holding priority, activate Children of Korlis by sacrificing it, causing you to gain life equal to the amount of life you've lost this turn.
- 4Vizkopa Guildmage triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the life you gained.
Legal formats
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