Emerge
| Emerge | |
|---|---|
| Keyword Ability | |
| Type | Static |
| Introduced | Eldritch Moon |
| Last used | Modern Horizons 3 |
| Reminder Text | Emerge [cost] (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's mana value.) |
| Storm Scale | 6[1] |
| Statistics |
15 cards
By emerge cost: 80%  6.7%  6.7%  6.7% 15 cards 6.7% 40% 20%  6.7%  20%  6.7% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| keyword:"Emerge" | |
Emerge is a keyword ability introduced in Eldritch Moon that provides an alternative cost for a spell which requires sacrificing a permanent.[2]
Description
Emerge was designed by Sam Stoddard's development team, and inspired by the ninjutsu mechanic.[3][4]
In Eldritch Moon, each emerge cost was 1 mana lower than the mana value, but included at least one colored mana. Emerge was associated with Green, Black, and Blue. It was only present on expensive colorless Eldrazi creatures, all but one of which contained a "When you cast this..." ability. By and large, the ability is usually high impact and is worth sacrificing a creature to, though some trend towards tempo plays rather than literal card parity. This is due to the fact that getting a large creature by sacrificing a smaller one is typically a tempo play in itself already.
While various creatures in Eldritch Moon are designed to be enablers for emerge, Foul Emissary is the only card to specifically reward emerge mechanically.
History
Emerge is occasionally reused sparingly in supplemental sets. Doctor Who debuted Adipose Offspring, which is unique in several ways: it is the first non-Eldrazi emerge card, the first colored emerge card, the first with a white color identity, the first with a more expensive emerge cost than its casting cost, and the first trigger that is improved by using the emerge cost. The mechanic also appeared in Jurassic World Collection and Modern Horizons 3. The latter introduced the first emerge card with a red color identity.
Emerge from
"Emerge from (quality)" is variant of the emerge mechanic introduced in Modern Horizons 3. It requires that the item sacrificed have the named quality. For example, Crabomination has "Emerge from Artifact", which means an artifact must be sacrificed as part of the emerge alternative cost.
Rules
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)
- Emerge
- A keyword ability that lets a player cast a spell for less by sacrificing a creature. See rule 702.119, “Emerge.”
From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)
- 702.119. Emerge
- 702.119a Emerge represents two static abilities that function while the spell with emerge is on the stack. “Emerge [cost]” means “You may cast this spell by paying [cost] and sacrificing a creature rather than paying its mana cost” and “If you chose to pay this spell’s emerge cost, its total cost is reduced by an amount of generic mana equal to the sacrificed creature’s mana value.” Casting a spell using its emerge ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
- 702.119b Emerge from [quality] is a variant of emerge. “Emerge from [quality] [cost]” means “You may cast this spell by paying [cost] and sacrificing a [quality] permanent rather than paying its mana cost” and “If you pay this spell’s emerge cost, its total cost is reduced by an amount of generic mana equal to the sacrificed permanent’s mana value.”
- 702.119c You choose which permanent to sacrifice as you choose to pay a spell’s emerge cost (see rule 601.2b), and you sacrifice that permanent as you pay the total cost (see rule 601.2h).
Examples
Example
Decimator of the Provinces 
Creature — Eldrazi Boar
7/7
Emerge 
(You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's mana value.)
When you cast this spell, creatures you control get +2/+2 and gain trample until end of turn.
Trample, haste
See also
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (2022-12-16). "I was wondering where Emerge is on the Storm scale?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Matt Tabak (June 27, 2016). "Eldritch Moon Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 4, 2016). "Over the Moon, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sam Stoddard (July 15, 2016). "A Little Change Will Do You Good". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08.