Unleash the FluxHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Unleash the Flux is a Phenomenon card encountered during Planechase games. When it is revealed from the Planar deck, it triggers an immediate game effect requiring every player to sacrifice a nonland permanent. This is not a one-time event; the controller of the turn must flip a coin to see if the chaotic flux continues or dissipates.

Resolving the Flux Step by Step

First, the 'When you encounter' trigger is put on the stack. Upon resolution, every player simultaneously chooses one nonland permanent they control and sacrifices it. After the sacrifices are complete, you flip a coin. If the result is a loss, the entire process repeats: everyone sacrifices again, and you flip again. This loop continues until you win a coin flip. Once the flip is won, the Phenomenon is moved to the bottom of the Planar deck, and you planeswalk to the next card.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error is trying to sacrifice a land to satisfy the effect. Because the text explicitly specifies 'nonland permanent,' lands are safe from this flux. Additionally, players must choose what to sacrifice during the resolution of the ability; you cannot respond to the choice itself, only to the ability being put on the stack.

When to Play It

As a Phenomenon, you don't choose when to cast this card; it happens automatically when you roll a Planeswalk symbol or when an effect causes you to move through the Planar deck. It is most impactful when opponents have valuable artifacts or creatures and you have tokens or expendable permanents to offer instead.

Interaction examples

Sacrificing Artifacts

Sol Ring

If you control a Sol Ring and no other nonland permanents when Unleash the Flux appears, you must sacrifice the Sol Ring. If you then lose the coin flip, the process repeats, but since you have no nonland permanents left, you simply flip the coin again.

The Safety of Lands

Command Tower

If your only permanent is a Command Tower, you are exempt from the sacrifice because Command Tower is a land. You still perform the coin flip to determine if your opponents must continue sacrificing their nonland permanents.