Watchful Radstag 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
Evolve (Whenever a creature you control enters, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.) Whenever this creature evolves, create a token that's a copy of it.
How it works : Watchful Radstag
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
When comparing the stats of the two creatures for evolve, you always compare power to power and toughness to toughness.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, check its power and toughness against the power and toughness of the creature with evolve. If neither stat of the new creature is greater, evolve won’t trigger at all.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If evolve triggers, the stat comparison will happen again when the ability tries to resolve. If neither stat of the new creature is greater, the ability will do nothing. If the creature that entered the battlefield leaves the battlefield before evolve tries to resolve, use its last known power and toughness to compare the stats.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it, consider those counters when determining if evolve will trigger. For example, a 1/1 creature that enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it will cause the evolve ability of a 2/2 creature to trigger.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If multiple creatures enter the battlefield at the same time, evolve may trigger multiple times, although the stat comparison will take place each time one of those abilities tries to resolve. For example, if you control a 2/2 creature with evolve and two 3/3 creatures enter the battlefield, evolve will trigger twice. The first ability will resolve and put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. When the second ability tries to resolve, neither the power nor the toughness of the new creature is greater than that of the creature with evolve, so that ability does nothing.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
When comparing the stats as the evolve ability resolves, it’s possible that the stat that’s greater changes from power to toughness or vice versa. If this happens, the ability will still resolve and you’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve. For example, if you control a 2/2 creature with evolve and a 1/3 creature enters the battlefield under your control, its toughness is greater, so evolve will trigger. In response, the 1/3 creature gets +2/-2. When the evolve trigger tries to resolve, its power is greater. You’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the creature with evolve.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Watchful Radstag “evolves” when its evolve ability resolves and a +1/+1 counter is put on it. If a replacement effect causes the evolve ability to put more than one +1/+1 counter on Watchful Radstag, its last ability triggers only once. If no +1/+1 counter is put on it (perhaps because it left the battlefield while its evolve ability was still on the stack), then its last ability doesn’t trigger.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Watchful Radstag’s last ability won’t trigger if a +1/+1 counter is put on it for any reason other than its evolve ability resolving.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
The token copy will have Watchful Radstag’s abilities. It will also be able to create copies of itself.
Card named in this ruling
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
The token copy won’t copy counters or damage marked on Watchful Radstag, nor will it copy other effects that have changed Watchful Radstag’s power, toughness, types, color, and so on. Normally, this means the token will simply be a Watchful Radstag, but if any copy effects have affected the original Watchful Radstag, the token will take those into account.
Card named in this ruling
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
If Watchful Radstag leaves the battlefield before its last ability resolves, the token will still enter the battlefield as a copy of Watchful Radstag, using Watchful Radstag’s copiable values from when it was last on the battlefield.
Card named in this ruling
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
Rad counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They’re not associated with any specific permanents.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #13· Wizards of the Coast
Keep track of how many rad counters each player has. Potential ways to track this include writing them down on paper or using dice, but any method that is clear and mutually agreeable is fine.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #14· Wizards of the Coast
Rad counters don’t go away as steps, phases, or turns end. They only go away when an effect instructs a player to remove rad counters from themselves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #15· Wizards of the Coast
There is an inherent triggered ability associated with having rad counters. This triggered ability has no source and is controlled by the active player. The full text of this ability is “At the beginning of the precombat main phase of a player with rad counters, that player mills cards equal to the number of rad counters they have. For each nonland card milled this way, that player loses 1 life and removes one rad counter from themselves.”
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #16· Wizards of the Coast
In a game using the shared team turns option, such as an Archenemy or Two-Headed Giant game, the inherent triggered ability associated with rad counters triggers once for each player on the active team that has rad counters. Each instance of that ability is controlled by one of those players.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #17· Wizards of the Coast
Any effects (such as proliferate) that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with rad counters.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #18· Wizards of the Coast
The cards are milled all at once, which means abilities that trigger “whenever one or more nonland cards are milled” will trigger exactly once as long as at least one nonland card was milled.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #19· Wizards of the Coast
If a player has fewer cards remaining in their library than the number of rad counters they have when the triggered ability resolves, they’ll mill as many cards as they can.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Watchful Radstag + Master Biomancer + Tyranid Prime
- 1Cast Tyranid Prime by paying
. - 2When it enters, Watchful Radstag's evolve ability triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on it. Its second ability triggers, creating a token copy of it that enters with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to Master Biomancer's power.
- 3When the token enters, each creature you control's evolve ability will trigger if the token has lesser toughness or power.
- 4Resolve all evolve triggers except those from Watchful Radstags, putting a +1/+1 counter on each of them.
- 5Resolve a Watchful Radstag trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on it. Its second ability triggers, creating a token copy of it that enters with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to Master Biomancer's power.
- 6Repeat from step 3.
Arwen, Weaver of Hope + Watchful Radstag + Elegant Entourage
- 1Cast Elegant Entourage by paying
. It'll enter with a number of +1/+1 counters due to Arwen. - 2When Elegant Entourage enters, Watchful Radstag's evolve ability triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on it.
- 3Watchful Radstag's second ability triggers, creating a token copy of it. It'll enter with a number of +1/+1 counters due to Arwen.
- 4When the token Watchful Radstag enters, the nontoken Watchful Radstag's evolve ability and Elegant Entourage trigger.
- 5Resolve the Elegant Entourage trigger, giving Arwen +1/+1 until end of turn.
- 6Resolve the Watchful Radstag trigger, putting a +1/+1 counter on it.
- 7Repeat from step 3.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Watchful Radstag
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