Zedruu the Greathearted 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
At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain X life and draw X cards, where X is the number of permanents you own that your opponents control.: Target opponent gains control of target permanent you control.
Complete guide
Zedruu the Greathearted is a unique commander that turns the spirit of giving into a strategic advantage. By donating your permanents to your rivals, you fuel a powerful engine that provides consistent life gain and card draw every turn.
The Art of Giving
Zedruu's first ability is a triggered ability that checks how many permanents you own but are currently controlled by your opponents. The value of X is determined only as the ability resolves during your upkeep. Her second ability is an activated ability that costs one Blue, one Red, and one White mana to transfer control of any permanent you control to an opponent.
Step-by-Step Resolution
When you activate Zedruu's ability, you choose both a target opponent and a target permanent you control. Upon resolution, the control change is permanent unless another effect changes it or a player leaves the game. During your next upkeep, Zedruu's triggered ability goes on the stack. It counts the number of permanents you own under opponent control at that exact moment to determine how much life you gain and how many cards you draw.
Common Mistakes
A common misconception is that you lose ownership of the cards you give away. You remain the owner of the card for the entire game; only the controller changes. Additionally, if the targeted permanent or the targeted opponent becomes illegal before the activated ability resolves—such as the permanent being destroyed—the ability does nothing and no control change occurs.
When to Play Zedruu
Zedruu excels in political games where you can give opponents beneficial cards to gain favors, or 'symmetrical' cards that affect the board regardless of who controls them. It is best to activate her ability at the end of an opponent's turn to ensure you have the mana available for your own spells while maximizing your X value for your upcoming upkeep.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumYou cast Solemn Simulacrum to ramp a land and then use Zedruu's ability to give the Golem to an opponent. You have already received the 'enters the battlefield' benefit. Because you still own the Golem, you will draw an extra card and gain 1 life during your upkeep. Note that when the Golem dies, the opponent (its current controller) will be the one who gets to draw the card from its death trigger.
Roaming ThroneIf Roaming Throne enters the battlefield and you choose 'Minotaur' or 'Monk', it will cause Zedruu's upkeep ability to trigger twice. If you have donated three permanents to your opponents, the first trigger will give you 3 life and 3 cards, and the second trigger will give you another 3 life and 3 cards, for a total of 6 each turn.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Zedruu the Greathearted
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If either the opponent or the permanent you control becomes an illegal target by the time Zedruu's last ability tries to resolve, the ability does nothing.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If an opponent leaves the game, all permanents you gave to them courtesy of Zedruu will return to your control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you leave the game, all permanents you own leave the game with you.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Zedruu the Greathearted + Transcendence
- 1Activate Zedruu the Greathearted for
to donate Transcendence to someone above 19 life. - 2That player loses the game, then control of Transcendence reverts to you.
- 3Repeat to cause all opponent with 20 or more life to lose the game.
Zedruu the Greathearted + Nine Lives + Austere Command
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , giving target opponent control of Nine Lives.
- 2Cast Austere Command by paying
, destroying all enchantments. - 3Nine Lives leaves the battlefield, causing its controller to lose the game.
Demonic Pact + Zedruu the Greathearted
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , giving control of Demonic Pact to an opponent.
- 2At the beginning of the opponent's upkeep, Demonic Pact triggers, causing them to select the fourth mode and lose the game.
Zedruu the Greathearted + Nine Lives + Cleansing Nova
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , giving target opponent control of Nine Lives.
- 2Cast Cleansing Nova by paying
, destroying all artifacts and enchantments. - 3Nine Lives leaves the battlefield, causing its controller to lose the game.
Zedruu the Greathearted + Lich's Mirror
- 1When an opponent is about to lose the game due to lethal infect and/or commander damage, before damage is dealt, activate Zedruu by paying , giving the opponent about to lose the game control of Lich's Mirror.
- 2When the opponent would lose the game, Lich's Mirror causes them to shuffle their hand, graveyard, and all permanents they own into their library, draw seven cards, and set their lifetotal to twenty.
- 3Because they don't own Lich's Mirror, they retain control of it, and because infect/commander damage is not reset, they will then attempt to lose the game as a state-based action.
- 4This creates a mandatory infinite loop, which ends the game in a draw.
Knowledge Pool + Moderation + Zedruu the Greathearted
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , giving control of Moderation to an opponent.
- 2Whenever the opponent that controls Moderation casts a spell from their hand, Knowledge Pool triggers, exiling that spell.
- 3Because Moderation prevents the opponent from casting more than one spell each turn, the opponent cannot cast the spell permitted by Knowledge Pool, or any other spell that turn.
Sacred Ground + Price of Glory + Zedruu the Greathearted
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , causing target opponent to gain control of Price of Glory.
- 2During an opponent's turn, activate any land by tapping it, adding at least
. - 3Price of Glory triggers, destroying the land.
- 4Sacred Ground triggers, returning the land from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- 5Repeat from step 2.
Zedruu the Greathearted + Shadowspear + Nine Lives
- 1Activate Zedruu by paying , giving an opponent control of Nine Lives.
- 2If needed, activate Shadowspear by paying , causing all permanents your opponents control to lose hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
- 3Cause Nine Lives to leave the battlefield.
- 4Nine Lives triggers, causing its controller to lose the game.
Legal formats
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