WinnowingHow it works & interactions with other cards

Harnessing the Crowd with Convoke

Winnowing features the Convoke keyword, which allows you to pay for the spell's total cost of six mana by tapping creatures you control. Each creature you tap pays for one generic mana or one mana of that creature's color. Since this is an alternative way to pay, you can even tap creatures with 'summoning sickness' to help cast Winnowing, as Convoke does not use the tap symbol.

The Resolution Process

When Winnowing resolves, you follow a specific sequence. First, you choose one creature for every player in the game, including yourself. Once these creatures are selected, each player must sacrifice every other creature they control that does not share at least one creature type with their chosen creature. If a chosen creature is a Human Soldier, its controller keeps all their other Humans and Soldiers, but must sacrifice everything else.

Strategic Selection and Sacrifice

Because this spell results in sacrifice rather than destruction, it bypasses Indestructible and Regeneration. You should aim to choose your creature that shares the most types with your other valuable units. Note that if a player controls only one creature, you must choose it, and they will sacrifice nothing. If a player controls no creatures, no selection is made for them, and the spell continues for the other players.

When to Cast Winnowing

Winnowing is most effective in decks built around specific tribes or creature types. Unlike generic wipes, it allows you to keep a significant portion of your board while forcing opponents who play 'good-stuff' piles or diverse tokens to lose almost everything. It is best used when you have a wide board of untapped creatures to reduce the mana cost to zero.

Interaction examples

Comparing Board Wipes

Austere CommandFarewell

While Austere Command and Farewell offer flexibility in what types of permanents are removed, Winnowing is unique because it forces sacrifices based on tribal synergy. Unlike Farewell, which exiles, Winnowing forces a sacrifice, which can trigger 'dies' abilities but also bypasses shields like Indestructible that would protect against Austere Command.

Tribal Preservation

Invasion of Lorwyn // Winnowing Forces

If you control Winnowing Forces (an Elf Warrior) and several other Elves, you choose Winnowing Forces when you cast Winnowing. Because all your other creatures share the 'Elf' type with the chosen creature, they are all safe. If your opponent controls a Dragon and a Beast, you choose one (e.g., the Dragon); since the Beast does not share a type with the Dragon, the opponent must sacrifice it.