| Survival | |
|---|---|
| Ability Word | |
| Introduced | Duskmourn: House of Horror |
| Last used | Duskmourn: House of Horror |
| Typical Text | Survival — At the beginning of your second main phase, if ~ is tapped, … |
| Statistics |
1 card  100% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| keyword:"Survival" | |
Survival is an ability word introduced in Duskmourn: House of Horror, where it is connected to the the plane's various survivors and to the Survivor creature type.[1]
Description[ | ]
A creature's survival ability is a triggered ability that triggers at the beginning of the controller's second main phase if the creature with the ability is tapped. If a survival ability does trigger, that ability will check again as it tries to resolve to see if the creature is still tapped. If the creature is still tapped, the ability resolves. If the creature is untapped at that time, the ability won't do anything.
Creatures with survival abilities represent the tenacity of the House's victims and their drive to continue living despite the horrors Valgavoth inflicts on them. The mechanic is linked to the second main phase as a way of theming the creature's survival through both the opponent's actions and the combat phase.
Although similar to raid in that survival abilities are typically triggered through attacking, it can also be triggered through other means that tap the creature, such as convoke. Conversely, although similar to inspired in that survival abilities are triggered by tapping creatures, survival abilities specifically trigger at the start of the controller's second main phase. Of note, this is the first keyword to directly refer to the second main phase.
Rulings[ | ]
- Survival abilities only trigger at the beginning of the second main phase. If a player has multiple main phases, either pre- or post-combat, it will only trigger once for the second one.[1]
- Survival abilities check if the creature is tapped both when they trigger and when they resolve.[1]
- If a creature with survival becomes untapped after its ability has gone on the stack but before it resolves, that ability won't do anything.
Examples[ | ]
Example
Veteran Survivor
Creature — Human Survivor
Survival — At the beginning of your second main phase, if Veteran Survivor is tapped, exile up to one target card from a graveyard.
As long as there are three or more cards exiled with Veteran Survivor, it gets +3/+3 and has hexproof (It can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.)
2/1
References[ | ]
- ↑ a b c Matt Tabak (August 31, 2024). "Duskmourn: House of Horror Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.