Forecast

Forecast
Keyword Ability
Type	Activated
Introduced	Dissension
Last used	Modern Horizons 2
Reminder Text	Forecast [cost] (Activate this ability only during your upkeep and only once each turn.)
Storm Scale	8
Statistics	11 cards 45.5% 27.3% 27.3%
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Forecast"

Forecast is a keyword ability of cards from the Azorius guild in Dissension. It was designed by Mark Rosewater.

Description

Forecast is an activated ability that a player can only use when the card is in their hand, and only during their upkeep. What the individual card does is usually related to what it does normally, either a scaled down effect of the spell, or something that supports the spell once it's cast. (See the examples below.)

The design of the mechanic was inspired by the Unglued card Infernal Spawn of Evil.

Forecast was unpopular, repetitive, narrow in space and hard to interact with, and despite looking like a defensive mana sink mechanic, ended up creating cards in the vein of landfall's proactive style due to the small number of effects that could be done on one's own turn without snowballing advantages. This all led to an 8 on the Storm Scale.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Forecast

A keyword ability that allows an activated ability to be activated from a player’s hand. See rule 702.57, “Forecast.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 702.57. Forecast
  • 702.57a A forecast ability is a special kind of activated ability that can be activated only from a player’s hand. It’s written “Forecast — [Activated ability].”
  • 702.57b A forecast ability may be activated only during the upkeep step of the card’s owner and only once each turn. The controller of the forecast ability reveals the card with that ability from their hand as the ability is activated. That player plays with that card revealed in their hand until it leaves the player’s hand or until a step or phase that isn’t an upkeep step begins, whichever comes first.

Rulings

• Activating a forecast ability doesn't cause the card to leave its owner's hand.
• Unless the card that the forecast ability is on leaves its owner's hand, that card remains continuously revealed from the time the ability is announced until that upkeep step ends.
• When a card that's been revealed to activate a forecast ability leaves its owner's hand, it stops being revealed.
  • If that happens before the forecast ability resolves, it will resolve as normal.
• A player may activate the forecast ability of any number of cards during their upkeep. However, the forecast ability of any card in that player's hand may be activated a maximum of once during that upkeep.
• If a player plays a card's forecast ability, then that card leaves that player's hand, then that card is returned to that player's hand, all during the same upkeep, the card is considered a new object. The player may activate that card's forecast ability again during that upkeep.

Examples

Example 1

Pride of the Clouds
Creature — Elemental Cat
1/1
Flying
Pride of the Clouds gets +1/+1 for each other creature with flying on the battlefield.
Forecast — , Reveal Pride of the Clouds from your hand: Create a 1/1 white and blue Bird creature token with flying. (Activate this ability only during your upkeep and only once each turn.)

Example 2

Steeling Stance
Instant
Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Forecast — , Reveal Steeling Stance from your hand: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. (Activate this ability only during your upkeep and only once each turn.)