Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber 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
At the beginning of your end step, draw a card. If you control a Demon, each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life. Otherwise, you lose 2 life. (You may cast either half. That door unlocks on the battlefield. As a sorcery, you may pay the mana cost of a locked door to unlock it.) When you unlock this door, create a 6/6 black Demon creature token with flying. (You may cast either half. That door unlocks on the battlefield. As a sorcery, you may pay the mana cost of a locked door to unlock it.)
Complete guide
Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber is a powerful Room enchantment that rewards you for summoning dark forces. Whether you use it to draw cards or create a massive flying threat, this card provides incredible utility and life-draining pressure. Understanding how its doors work is the key to mastering its dark potential.
Dual Doors and Unlocking
This card consists of two halves called doors. When you cast it, you choose one side to pay for; only that door starts as unlocked. Unholy Annex focuses on card advantage and life manipulation, while Ritual Chamber provides immediate board presence. While on the battlefield, you can unlock the other door at any time you could cast a sorcery by paying its mana cost.
Triggering the Dark Ritual
The Unholy Annex door triggers at the beginning of your end step. It always draws you a card, but the life-loss effect depends on whether you control a Demon. If you do, you drain 2 life from every opponent and gain 2 life yourself. If you don't control a Demon, you must pay 2 life. The Ritual Chamber door triggers specifically when it becomes unlocked, granting you a 6/6 Demon token.
Room Characteristics
In your hand, library, or graveyard, this card has a combined mana value of 8. However, while on the stack, it only has the mana value of the door you are casting. Once on the battlefield, its mana value is the sum of its unlocked doors. If you blink this card (remove it from play and return it), it will enter with both doors locked and no abilities until you pay to unlock them again.
Strategic Implementation
Typically, you want to cast Unholy Annex early to start drawing cards, then unlock Ritual Chamber later to turn the life-loss into life-gain once you have your Demon token. Because unlocking a door is a special action, opponents cannot respond to the payment itself, though they can respond to the 'When you unlock this door' trigger that creates the Demon.
Interaction examples
Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
DemonIf you cast the Ritual Chamber side first for five mana, you immediately create a 6/6 Demon token. Then, during your next main phase, you pay three mana to unlock Unholy Annex. At your end step, because you control the Demon token, the Annex sees the Demon, draws you a card, and drains your opponent for 2 life instead of hurting you.
If you cast the Unholy Annex side on turn three without any Demons in play, the end step trigger will force you to draw a card and lose 2 life. This is a mandatory effect; you cannot choose not to draw to avoid the life loss.
Summon: BahamutIf you have both doors of Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber unlocked, the total mana value of the permanent is 8. When the IV chapter of Summon: Bahamut triggers, its 'Mega Flare' will count that 8 toward the total damage dealt to each opponent, representing the combined power of both doors.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
To cast a Room spell, choose a half (or "door") to cast. There's no way to cast both halves of a Room card. When the Room spell resolves, the corresponding door becomes unlocked as the Room enters.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Room cards have two card faces with a shared type line on a single card. The characteristics of the door you didn't cast are ignored while the spell is on the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Each Room card is a single card. For example, if you discard a Room card, you've discarded one card, not two. If an effect counts the number of enchantment cards in your graveyard, Bottomless Pool // Locker Room counts once, not twice.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Each Room card has two names. If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose one of those names, but not both.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect allows you to cast a spell with certain characteristics, consider only the characteristics of the door you're casting. For example, if an effect allows you to cast a permanent spell with mana value 3 or less from among cards in your graveyard, you could cast Bottomless Pool this way, but not Locker Room.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
While in any zone other than the stack or the battlefield, a Room card's characteristics are a combination of its two doors. For example, Bottomless Pool // Locker Room has a mana value of 6 while it's in your library. If an effect allows you to search your library for a card with mana value 4 or less, you can't find Bottomless Pool // Locker Room.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
While on the battlefield, a Room's characteristics are a combination of the characteristics of its unlocked doors. For example, if Bottomless Pool // Locker Room is on the battlefield with both doors unlocked, its names are Bottomless Pool and Locker Room, its mana value is 6, it's a Room Enchantment, and it has the abilities in each door's text box.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell or ability would create a copy of a Room spell on the stack, the copy retains the choice of which door was cast but also retains the full characteristics of the spell. The characteristics of the door that wasn't cast are still ignored while the copy is on the stack, and when the copy resolves, the token it becomes will enter with the appropriate door unlocked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
If a Room enters from any zone other than the stack, it will enter with both halves locked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
If neither door of a Room is unlocked, it's a Room enchantment with no name and no abilities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
Any time you have priority during a main phase of your turn and the stack is empty, you may pay the mana cost of a locked door (also called its "unlock cost"). That door becomes unlocked. This is a special action. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
An ability that triggers "when you unlock this door" triggers when that door becomes unlocked. This can happen one of two ways: (1) the door becomes unlocked on the battlefield or (2) the door becomes unlocked as the Room enters the battlefield because you cast the corresponding half. In the latter case, since the door becoming unlocked is what causes the ability to trigger, effects that cause abilities that trigger when a permanent enters to trigger an additional time (such as that of Panharmonicon) won't apply.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #13· Wizards of the Coast
Some abilities allow you to unlock a door of a Room you control. You can't choose to unlock a door that's already unlocked with such an ability. If such an ability requires a target, you can target a Room even if both of its doors are unlocked, but the ability won't do anything when it resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #14· Wizards of the Coast
Some abilities allow you to lock a door of a Room you control. You can't choose to lock a door that's already locked with such an ability. If such an ability requires a target, you can target a Room even if both of its doors are locked, but the ability won't do anything when it resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #15· Wizards of the Coast
Some doors have abilities that trigger whenever you unlock that door and require one or more targets. You can unlock that door even if there would be insufficient legal targets for that triggered ability. The triggered ability won't go on the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #16· Wizards of the Coast
An ability that triggers "whenever you fully unlock a Room" triggers when a door becomes unlocked and the other door of that Room is already unlocked, or when both doors of that Room become unlocked simultaneously.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Kiora's Follower
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Kiora's Follower by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Kelpie Guide
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Kelpie Guide by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Vizier of Tumbling Sands
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Vizier of Tumbling Sands by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Ioreth of the Healing House
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Ioreth of the Healing House by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Aphetto Alchemist
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Aphetto Alchemist by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Seeker of Skybreak
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Seeker of Skybreak by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Forensic Researcher
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Forensic Researcher by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
Marina Vendrell + Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber + Intruder Alarm + Clever Conjurer
- 1Activate Marina by tapping it, unlocking Ritual Chamber.
- 2Ritual Chamber triggers, creating a 6/6 Demon creature token with flying.
- 3When the Demon enters the battlefield, Intruder Alarm triggers, untapping all creatures.
- 4Activate Marina by tapping it, locking Ritual Chamber.
- 5Activate Clever Conjurer by tapping it, untapping Marina.
- 6Repeat.
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