Wormfang Manta 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

Flying When this creature enters, you skip your next turn. When this creature leaves the battlefield, you take an extra turn after this one.

Complete guide

Wormfang Manta is a high-risk, high-reward Nightmare Fish Beast that plays with the very flow of time. By entering the battlefield, it forces you to pause your momentum, but its departure grants you an immediate chance to reclaim the initiative. Navigating its abilities requires careful timing to ensure you don't lose the game before your extra turn arrives.

A Trade-Off in Time

Wormfang Manta features two linked triggered abilities. The first is an 'enters-the-battlefield' trigger that creates a replacement effect: you skip your next turn. The second is a 'leaves-the-battlefield' trigger that grants you an extra turn. Essentially, the Manta 'stores' a turn inside itself, depriving you of one now to provide one later.

Step-by-Step Resolution

When Wormfang Manta enters the battlefield, its first ability goes on the stack. Once it resolves, a mandate is set for your next turn to be skipped. If the Manta leaves the battlefield for any reason—whether it is destroyed, exiled, or returned to your hand—its second ability triggers. This puts an extra turn into the schedule immediately following the current turn. Note that if the Manta leaves the battlefield before its first trigger resolves, you will still skip your next turn, but you will also gain an extra turn, effectively neutralizing the penalty.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is assuming that skipping a turn and taking an extra turn cancel each other out automatically. They are separate effects. If you have already skipped a turn due to the Manta and then it leaves, you get a brand new extra turn. However, if the Manta is 'flickered' (exiled and returned immediately), you will stack multiple skipped turns. Be wary of opponents who might remove the Manta while you are already low on resources, as you must survive the gap where your turn was skipped.

Strategic Timing

The best time to play Wormfang Manta is when you have a way to trigger its 'leaves the battlefield' ability on your terms. Returning it to your hand is often safer than letting it be destroyed, as it allows you to reset the cycle. It is also a powerful tool when you have a board state that can defend itself during the opponent's consecutive turns.

Interaction examples

Bouncing for Time

Hullbreaker Horror

With Hullbreaker Horror on the battlefield, you cast a spell. You choose the ability to return a nonland permanent to its owner's hand, targeting your own Wormfang Manta. As the Manta leaves the battlefield, its trigger goes on the stack to grant you an extra turn. Because you can repeat this process by re-casting the Manta, you can effectively generate a sequence of extra turns, provided you can manage the 'skip your next turn' triggers.

The Price of Knowledge

Consecrated Sphinx

If you play Wormfang Manta while you have Consecrated Sphinx out, you will skip your next turn. During the turns your opponents take while you are waiting, Consecrated Sphinx will still trigger every time they draw for their turn. This allows you to draw a massive amount of cards during the gap, ensuring that when the Manta finally leaves and you take your extra turn, you have a full hand to win the game.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.