Vastwood Surge 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
Kicker(You may pay an additional
Complete guide
Vastwood Surge is a versatile green sorcery that bridges the gap between early-game mana acceleration and late-game finishers. Whether you need to fix your colors or bolster your army for a lethal swing, this Zendikar Rising favorite has you covered.
Dual Purpose Ramp
At its base, Vastwood Surge allows you to search your library for up to two basic land cards and put them directly onto the battlefield tapped. This thins your deck and prepares your mana for future turns. However, if you have eight mana available, you can pay the Kicker cost to turn this ramp spell into a massive anthem effect for your board.
Step-by-Step Resolution
When Vastwood Surge resolves, you first search for your lands and put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library. If the Kicker cost was paid, you immediately proceed to put two +1/+1 counters on each creature you control. Note that any landfall abilities triggered by the lands entering the battlefield will wait to be put on the stack until after the entire spell, including the counter placement, has finished resolving.
Timing and Mana Value
It is important to remember that the mana value of Vastwood Surge is always 4, regardless of whether you pay the Kicker cost. The additional {4} is an optional cost paid at the time of casting. You cannot choose to pay the Kicker cost more than once to get more counters, and you cannot pay it if the spell is put onto the stack by an effect that doesn't involve casting.
When to Cast
In the early game, use this to jump from four mana to seven on your next turn. In the late game, hold onto it until you have a wide board of creatures. The two +1/+1 counters are permanent, making your small utility creatures into legitimate threats while you also thin out the remaining lands in your deck.
Interaction examples
CultivateWhile Cultivate costs one less mana and puts one land into your hand, Vastwood Surge puts both lands onto the battlefield. This makes Vastwood Surge a more powerful ramp tool at the cost of being slightly slower to cast initially.
Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach is an excellent early-game play to ensure land drops, but it loses value in top-deck situations. Vastwood Surge remains a high-impact draw because the Kicker option allows it to act as a combat trick that permanently buffs your entire team, something Kodama's Reach cannot do.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Vastwood Surge
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can't kick it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell's kicker cost was paid, the spell is "kicked."
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The kicker ability doesn't let you pay a kicker cost more than once.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
To determine a spell's total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card's effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The spell's mana value remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you copy a kicked spell on the stack, the copy is also kicked. If the copied spell is a permanent spell, the token the copy of that spell becomes when it enters is also kicked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a card or token enters as a copy of a permanent, the new permanent isn't kicked, even if the original was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If any abilities trigger when the lands are put onto the battlefield and Vastwood Surge was kicked, those abilities won't resolve until after you've put two +1/+1 counters on creatures you control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Vastwood Surge
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.