Will of the Naga 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
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for.) Tap up to two target creatures. Those creatures don't untap during their controller's next untap step.
Complete guide
Will of the Naga is a powerful frost-style instant from the Fate Reforged expansion that can lock down your opponent's board. By utilizing the Delve mechanic, you can turn your used resources into a significant mana discount to keep threats out of the fight. This blue spell is perfect for tempo decks looking to cross the finish line while opponents are frozen in place.
Harnessing the Graveyard with Delve
Will of the Naga costs six mana, but you rarely pay the full price. As you cast the spell, you may exile any number of cards from your graveyard to pay for the generic mana portion of the cost. Each card exiled this way pays for {1}. Note that you must still pay the {U}{U} requirement with actual blue mana, and exiling cards does not change the spell's mana value, which remains 6 regardless of how much mana you actually spent.
Freezing the Targets
When you cast this spell, you choose up to two target creatures. Upon resolution, those creatures are tapped and gain a lingering effect: they will not untap during their controller's next untap step. If a target is already tapped, the spell still functions; it simply applies the 'does not untap' effect to that creature. The effect follows the creature even if it changes control before the next untap step occurs.
Resolution and Illegal Targets
If you target two creatures and one becomes an illegal target (for example, by gaining Hexproof or leaving the battlefield), the remaining legal target is still tapped and frozen. However, the illegal target is completely unaffected. If all targets become illegal, the spell is removed from the stack and does nothing, meaning no cards are tapped and the 'freeze' effect is not applied.
Strategic Timing
Because this is an instant, the best time to cast it is usually during your opponent's Beginning of Combat step or at the end of their turn. If you cast it during their combat step, you can prevent their largest creatures from attacking and ensure they stay tapped through their next turn, effectively removing those threats for two full combat cycles.
Interaction examples
MisdirectionIf you cast Will of the Naga choosing only one target, your opponent can respond with Misdirection to change that target to one of your own creatures. Because Will of the Naga tracks the target's next untap step, your creature will then stay tapped during your own next untap step. However, if you chose two targets, Misdirection cannot be cast against it because it only targets spells with a single target.
Force of WillImagine you cast Will of the Naga by exiling four cards from your graveyard and paying {U}{U}. If your opponent tries to counter it, you can use Force of Will by exiling a blue card from your hand and paying 1 life. This sequence allows you to protect your 'freeze' effect even when you are low on available mana, showcasing how blue decks can control the flow of the game using alternative casting costs.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Will of the Naga
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Delve doesn't change a spell's mana cost or mana value. For example, Treasure Cruise's mana value is 8 even if you exiled three cards to cast it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You can exile cards to pay only for generic mana, and you can't exile more cards than the generic mana requirement of a spell with delve. For example, you can't exile more than seven cards from your graveyard to cast Treasure Cruise unless an effect has increased its cost.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Because delve isn't an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs, such as flashback. It can also be used to pay for additional costs that include generic mana.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Will of the Naga can target creatures that are already tapped. Those creatures won't untap during their controller's next untap step.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Will of the Naga tracks the creatures, but not their controllers. If any of those creatures changes controllers before its first controller's next untap step, then it won't untap during its new controller's next untap step.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If you chose two targets and one is an illegal target as Will of the Naga resolves, that creature won't become tapped and it won't be stopped from untapping during its controller's next untap step. It won't be affected by Will of the Naga in any way.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Will of the Naga
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.