Zendikar Rising: Effect-o-pedia

Effect-o-pedia

Zendikar Rising

Limited formats will generally involve the same common gameplay effects which show up again and again. Use this guide to find out what common effects are in - and not in! - this format.

Board Wipes Bounce Counterspells Discard Disenchant Falter Fog Haste Life Gain Mana Fixing Mana Ramp Mass Pump Ping Mill Mind Control Threaten

Zendikar Rising Mechanics/Themes

Mechanic: Landfall Mechanic: Modal Double-Faced Cards Mechanic: Kicker Theme: +1/+1 Counters Mechanic: Party Theme: Clerics Theme: Life Gain Theme: Rogues Theme: Mill (8 Cards) Theme: Warriors Theme: Equipment Theme: Wizards

Board Wipes

Effects that can kill all creatures on the battlefield.

Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins

Shadows' Verdict

Cinderclasm

Not many available boardwipes in ZNR.

Bounce

Effects that return cards to their owners hand.

Cunning Geysermage

Inscription of Insight

Into the Roil

There are quite good bounce cards, so watch out for your tokens!

Counterspells

Effects that can counter your spells.

Anticognition

Concerted Defense

Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins

Negate

Not many counterspells, but watch out for Jwari Disruption!

Discard

Effects that can force you discard cards from your hand.

Acquisitions Expert

Inscription of Ruin

Mind Drain

Pelakka Predation // Pelakka Caverns

The mind rot effects seem a litle better than usual, so beware!

Disenchant

Effects that destroy artifacts or enchantments.

Hey look, its literal disenchant!

Falter

Effects that make it so multiple creatures temporarily cannot block.

Kargan Intimidator

Taunting Arbormage

A total absense of usual Falter type effects, only somewhat similar cards are listed here.

Fog

Effects that prevent combat damage for multiple or all creatures.

No cards in this format have this effect!

Haste

Effects that can grant haste to creatures, or creatures that have haste.

Shatterskull Minotaur

Song-Mad Treachery // Song-Mad Ruins

Nissa of Shadowed Boughs

Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats

That's a lot of haste! Green and red in particular have a lot of hastey threats, so watch out for big attacks.

Life Gain

Gaining life!

Skyclave Cleric // Skyclave Basilica

Malakir Blood-Priest

Mind Drain

Zof Consumption // Zof Bloodbog

Inscription of Abundance

Kazandu Nectarpot

Scale the Heights

Turntimber Ascetic

Cleric of Life's Bond

Life gain is a theme of White-Black, so there's a ton of lifegain effects.

Mana Fixing

Effects that fix for colors.

Suprisingly for a land-focused format, there is a huge lack of effective mana fixing in ZNR.

Mana Ramp

Effects that ramp mana.

Lotus Cobra

Roiling Regrowth

Scale the Heights

Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale

Still surprising for a land-focused format - there is not much ramp!

Mass Pump

Effects that pump all of a player's creatures.

Canyon Jerboa

Dauntless Unity

Makindi Stampede // Makindi Mesas

Sea Gate Banneret

Squad Commander

Kargan Warleader

Soaring Thought-Thief

Forsaken Monument

Go wide seems to be a viable strategy in ZNR, so beware the mass pump strategies.

Ping

Effects that can kill creatures with 1 toughness.

Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave

Subtle Strike will deal with many X/1s in the format, the other cards are somewhat playable so be careful!

Mill

Effects that can mill your opponent's deck.

Soaring Thought-Thief

Relic Golem

Mill is a strategy for Blue-Black, so there are a fair number of bonus mill effects in the format.

Mind Control

Effects that steal your permanents, permanently.

Lullmage's Domination

Thieving Skydiver

Lullmage's Domination is a bomb - watch out!

Threaten

Effects that steal your creatures temporarily and grant them haste.

Song-Mad Treachery // Song-Mad Ruins

A threaten effect attached to a land is an omnipresent threat, so watch out for Song-Mad Treachery!

Zendikar Rising Mechanics/Themes

Mechanic: Landfall

Landfall Enablers

Cleansing Wildfire

Nahiri's Lithoforming

Landfall Triggers

Landfall simply triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. As such, Landfall is inherently supported simply by playing normal Magic!

The Modal Double-Faced Cards also help ensure your landfall triggers more often, and there are several other enablers for multiple triggers per turn.

Mechanic: Modal Double-Faced Cards

Synergy Cards

Tazeem Raptor

Pyroclastic Hellion

Kazandu Stomper

All MDFCs

Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave

Kabira Takedown // Kabira Plateau

Makindi Stampede // Makindi Mesas

Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins

Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier

Skyclave Cleric // Skyclave Basilica

Beyeen Veil // Beyeen Coast

Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore

Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins

Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn

Silundi Vision // Silundi Isle

Umara Wizard // Umara Skyfalls

Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt

Blackbloom Rogue // Blackbloom Bog

Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit

Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire

Pelakka Predation // Pelakka Caverns

Zof Consumption // Zof Bloodbog

Akoum Warrior // Akoum Teeth

Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs

Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

Song-Mad Treachery // Song-Mad Ruins

Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave

Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge

Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary

Kazandu Mammoth // Kazandu Valley

Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory

Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale

Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood

Vastwood Fortification // Vastwood Thicket

Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway

Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway

Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway

Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway

Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway

Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway

Modal Double-Faced Cards have two sides, one of which is a land, and the other a spell. You choose which mode to use when you play the card.

These cards are all excellent and contribute to Zendikar being a very land-heavy set... because your lands can also be spells!

The synergy cards allow you to return lands to your hand, so you can return your spell-lands later in the game to play the spell side.

Mechanic: Kicker

Kicker Payoffs

Verazol, the Split Current

All Kicker Cards

Inscription of Insight

Nullpriest of Oblivion

Scourge of the Skyclaves

Inscription of Abundance

Kicker is an additional cost you can pay to get more effects from your cards.

Kicker has several payoff synergies, mostly in Blue and Green.

Theme: +1/+1 Counters

+1/+1 Counter Payoffs

Iridescent Hornbeetle

Oran-Rief Ooze

Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager

Moss-Pit Skeleton

+1/+1 Counter Enablers

Drana, the Last Bloodchief

Taborax, Hope's Demise

Inscription of Abundance

Oran-Rief Ooze

Territorial Scythecat

Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood

Vastwood Fortification // Vastwood Thicket

Vastwood Surge

Vine Gecko

Cleric of Life's Bond

Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager

Moss-Pit Skeleton

Nissa of Shadowed Boughs

Phylath, World Sculptor

Verazol, the Split Current

Myriad Construct

Skyclave Sentinel

Crawling Barrens

The +1/+1 counter theme is primarily paid off for in green and black, but also shows up in all colors.

Mechanic: Party

Party Enablers

Party Payoffs

Tazri, Beacon of Unity

Shatterskull Minotaur

Synchronized Spellcraft

Thundering Sparkmage

Strength of Solidarity

Veteran Adventurer

Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate

Ravager's Mace

Spoils of Adventure

Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats

Sea Gate Colossus

Party refers to four creature types: Cleric, Rogue, Warrior and Wizard - in ZNR there are payoffs to having more creatures on the battlefield to fill up your party.

This list does not show all creatures in the four groups - see below for specific guides on each tribal group.

Theme: Clerics

Cleric Payoffs

Attended Healer

Expedition Healer

Taborax, Hope's Demise

Cleric of Life's Bond

Orah, Skyclave Hierophant

Relic Vial

All Clerics