Urza's SylexHow it works & interactions with other cards

What it does

Urza's Sylex serves as a controlled 'board wipe' that hits almost every permanent type, including lands. By paying mana and exiling the Sylex, you force every player to choose exactly six lands they control and destroy everything else. Additionally, when the Sylex is exiled from the battlefield, it offers a triggered ability to search your library for a planeswalker card for an additional cost of two mana.

Resolution Step by Step

First, you activate the ability as a sorcery and pay the costs, exiling the Sylex. This puts a triggered ability on the stack above the main effect. You resolve the trigger first: you may pay {2} to search for a planeswalker. After the search is finished and the library is shuffled, the main ability resolves. Starting with the active player and proceeding in turn order, each player chooses six lands they control. Finally, every other permanent on the battlefield—including all non-chosen lands, creatures, and artifacts—is destroyed simultaneously.

Common Mistakes

A common point of confusion involves the timing of the search. Because the Sylex exiles itself as a cost, the 'search for a planeswalker' trigger happens and finishes before any permanents are destroyed. Your opponents will know exactly which planeswalker you searched for before they have to choose which six lands they are keeping. Also, remember that you cannot choose more or fewer than six lands; if a player has fewer than six lands, they simply keep all they have.

When to Play It

Urza's Sylex is most effective when you are facing a wide board of non-land permanents or when your opponents have a significant mana advantage with more than six lands. Since it requires a sorcery-speed activation, you should play it during your main phase when you have the extra {2} mana available to ensure you get your planeswalker follow-up for the next turn.

Interaction examples

Cleaning the Artifacts

Arcane SignetSwiftfoot Boots

If you have Arcane Signet and Swiftfoot Boots on the battlefield alongside seven lands, activating Urza's Sylex will force you to choose six of those lands. The seventh land, the Arcane Signet, and the Swiftfoot Boots will all be destroyed because they are not among the chosen six lands.

Recovering with a Planeswalker

You activate Urza's Sylex and pay the additional {2} for its triggered ability. You search your library for a planeswalker to put into your hand. Even though the Sylex destroys almost everything else on the board, you now have a powerful threat ready to be cast on your next turn while your opponents are restricted to just six lands.