Unlucky Cabbage Merchant 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
When this creature enters, create a Food token. (It's an artifact with ",
, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.") Whenever you sacrifice a Food, you may search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. If you search your library this way, put this creature on the bottom of its owner's library, then shuffle.
Complete guide
Meet the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, a humble Human Citizen who brings both sustenance and the promise of new lands to your deck. While his luck with produce might be poor, he provides a powerful ramping engine if you are willing to let him move on to his next stall. This creature is a fantastic inclusion for any green deck looking to trade temporary resources for permanent mana development.
A Snack and a Search
When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters the battlefield, he immediately creates a Food token. This artifact can be sacrificed later for life or used to trigger the Merchant's second ability. Whenever you sacrifice a Food—whether it is the token he created, another Food artifact, or even a creature with the Food type—you have the option to search your library for a basic land card.
The Step-by-Step Resolution
When a Food is sacrificed, the Merchant's triggered ability goes on the stack. Upon resolution, you decide whether to search your library. If you choose to search, you must find a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. As part of that same resolution, you then move the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from the battlefield to the bottom of its owner's library and shuffle.
Important Timing and Costs
Note that the Merchant does not sacrifice the Food himself; you must have another way to sacrifice it, such as using the Food token's own activated ability. Additionally, you cannot sacrifice a single Food to pay for multiple costs simultaneously. If the Merchant leaves the battlefield before his triggered ability resolves, you can still search for the land, but the instruction to put him on the bottom of the library will simply fail to happen.
Strategic Considerations
Because the Merchant tucks himself away, he is best used when you have already established a board presence or desperately need to thin your deck of lands. Since he provides the Food himself, he represents a self-contained package that effectively replaces a creature spell with a land search later in the game.
Interaction examples
FoodYou cast Unlucky Cabbage Merchant and he enters the battlefield, creating a Food token. On your next turn, you pay two mana and tap the Food token to sacrifice it. This triggers the Merchant's ability. You search your library for a basic Forest, put it onto the battlefield tapped, and then place the Merchant on the bottom of your library before shuffling.
Llanowar ElvesWith a Llanowar Elves on the battlefield, you can cast the Merchant as early as turn two. This allows you to have the Food token ready to be sacrificed immediately on turn three, ensuring you hit your land drops and accelerate your mana production while the Elves continue to provide green mana.
Birds of ParadiseIf you have Birds of Paradise, you can use its mana-fixing to cast the Merchant. Later, when you sacrifice a Food, the Merchant allows you to search for any basic land. You can find a basic Plains or Island to further stabilize your mana base, even though the Merchant himself is gone.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Unlucky Cabbage Merchant
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect refers to a Food, it means any Food artifact, not just a Food artifact token. For example, you can sacrifice Tough Cookie (an Artifact Creature — Food Golem) to activate Bosco, Just a Bear's ability (an ability with "Sacrifice a Food" in its cost). You can't sacrifice a Food to pay multiple costs. For example, you can't sacrifice a Food token to activate its own ability and also to activate Bosco, Just a Bear's ability.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Some spells and abilities that create Food tokens may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't create any Food tokens.
Card named in this ruling
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Food is an artifact type. Even though it appears on some creatures, it's never a creature type.
Card named in this ruling
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Whatever you do, don't eat the delicious cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Tireless Provisioner + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Emiel the Blessed
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks twice by sacrificing two Foods, adding
. - 2Unlucky Cabbage Merchant triggers twice. Holding priority, activate Emiel by paying
, blinking Unlucky Cabbage Merchant. - 3Resolve the first Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger, causing you to search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
- 4When the land enters, Tireless Provisioner triggers, creating a Food token.
- 5Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger.
- 6Repeat from step 1.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Tireless Provisioner + Gourmand's Talent + Emiel the Blessed
- 1Activate three Treasures by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
- 2Because the Treasures are Foods due to Gourmand's Talent, Unlucky Cabbage Merchant triggers three times. Holding priority, activate Emiel by paying , blinking Unlucky Cabbage Merchant.
- 3Resolve the first Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger, causing you to search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
- 4When the land enters, Tireless Provisioner triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- 5Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining Unlucky Cabbage Merchant triggers.
- 6Repeat from step 1.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Nim Deathmantle + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Ygra, Eater of All
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, as it's an artifact due to Ygra, adding .
- 2When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Ygra and Nim Deathmantle trigger.
- 3Resolve the Ygra trigger, putting two +1/+1 counters on it.
- 4Resolve the Nim Deathmantle trigger, causing you to pay
to return Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield and attach Nim Deathmantle to it. - 5When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, its first ability triggers, creating a Food token.
- 6Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing the Food, adding .
- 7Unlucky Cabbage Merchant's second ability and Ygra trigger.
- 8Resolve the Ygra trigger, putting two +1/+1 counters on it.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Nim Deathmantle + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Ashnod's Altar
- 1Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, adding .
- 2When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Nim Deathmantle triggers, causing you to pay to return Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield and attach Nim Deathmantle to it.
- 3When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, its first ability triggers, creating a Food token.
- 4Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing the Food, adding .
- 5Unlucky Cabbage Merchant's second ability triggers. Holding priority, repeat steps 1 through 3 one additional time.
- 6Resolve the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger from step 5, searching your library for a basic land card and putting it onto the battlefield tapped. You will not shuffle Unlucky Cabbage Merchant as it's a new object.
- 7Repeat from step 4.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Nim Deathmantle + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Encroaching Mycosynth
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, as it's an artifact due to Encroaching Mycosynth, adding .
- 2When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Nim Deathmantle triggers, causing you to pay to return Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield and attach Nim Deathmantle to it.
- 3When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, its first ability triggers, creating a Food token.
- 4Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing the Food, adding .
- 5Unlucky Cabbage Merchant's second ability triggers. Holding priority, repeat steps 1 through 3 one additional time.
- 6Resolve the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger from step 5, searching your library for a basic land card and putting it onto the battlefield tapped. You will not shuffle Unlucky Cabbage Merchant as it's a new object.
- 7Repeat from step 4.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Nim Deathmantle + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Mycosynth Lattice
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, as it's an artifact due to Mycosynth Lattice, adding .
- 2When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Nim Deathmantle triggers, causing you to pay to return Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield and attach Nim Deathmantle to it.
- 3When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, its first ability triggers, creating a Food token.
- 4Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing the Food, adding .
- 5Unlucky Cabbage Merchant's second ability triggers. Holding priority, repeat steps 1 through 3 one additional time.
- 6Resolve the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger from step 5, searching your library for a basic land card and putting it onto the battlefield tapped. You will not shuffle Unlucky Cabbage Merchant as it's a new object.
- 7Repeat from step 4.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Nim Deathmantle + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Biotransference
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, as it's an artifact due to Biotransference, adding .
- 2When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Nim Deathmantle triggers, causing you to pay to return Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield and attach Nim Deathmantle to it.
- 3When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, its first ability triggers, creating a Food token.
- 4Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing the Food, adding .
- 5Unlucky Cabbage Merchant's second ability triggers. Holding priority, repeat steps 1 through 3 one additional time.
- 6Resolve the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant trigger from step 5, searching your library for a basic land card and putting it onto the battlefield tapped. You will not shuffle Unlucky Cabbage Merchant as it's a new object.
- 7Repeat from step 4.
Unlucky Cabbage Merchant + Evolution Witness + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Phyrexian Altar
- 1Activate Krark-Clan Ironworks by sacrificing a Food, adding .
- 2Unlucky Cabbage Merchant triggers. Holding priority, activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Unlucky Cabbage Merchant, adding
. - 3When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant dies, Blade of the Bloodchief triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Evolution Witness.
- 4Evolution Witness triggers, returning Unlucky Cabbage Merchant from your graveyard to your hand.
- 5Resolve the Unlucky Cabbage Merchant ability from step 2, causing you to search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped.
- 6Cast Unlucky Cabbage Merchant by paying .
- 7When Unlucky Cabbage Merchant enters, it triggers, creating a Food token.
- 8Repeat.
Related cards and tokens
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Meta decks with Unlucky Cabbage Merchant
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