Star creature

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The title of this article is speculative or a fan-created nickname.
Nickname
The title of this article is speculative or a fan-created nickname. This article is about a subject that has not been identified with a specific name in official sources.
Star creature
Mechanic
Introduced Alpha
Last used Evergreen
Reminder Text This creature's power and toughness are each equal to ...
This creature's power is equal to ...
This creature's toughness is equal to ...
Scryfall Statistics

Star creatures have a star (*) for power and/or toughness.

These cards have a characteristic-defining ability that defines these values based on some game state and sometimes add a fixed number. These are true in all zones. While a vast majority of these abilities are on creatures, it is allowed for Vehicles and Spacecrafts to have them.

Multiple different mechanical concepts are based on this, which makes this an overall extremely varied concept.

Mechanical concepts

Warlord

Warlord is a slang term used by Magic R&D to describe creatures the following ability: "This creature's power and toughness is equal to the number of creatures you control."[1]

This ability started in red with Keldon Warlord in Alpha. R&D later moved it into green, as green is the color of creatures-matters. The ability then got moved into white because white is the army color that likes giving rewards for having lots of little creatures. The ability is still done a little in green, but it's primary in white these days. The ability also dropped from Rare to Common for the vanilla version. The ability overall tends to be supplemented with another, pushing it to uncommon.

Shanna, Sisay's Legacy has a different template for this ability.

Maro ability

The Maro ability is a slang term used by Magic R&D to describe the ability that a creature's power and toughness are equal to the number of cards in its controllers hand.[1] This ability is nicknamed after the first creature to have it: Maro from Mirage. In turn, this card was named after Mark Rosewater, the head designer of Magic R&D.

The ability is primary in blue and has become secondary in green. Blue is the color of knowledge and green is the color of wisdom, so those are the two colors that like to care about what you "know".[1][2]

The Saviors of Kamigawa expansion featured a cycle of "Maros": Kiyomaro, First to Stand, Soramaro, First to Dream, Kagemaro, First to Suffer, Adamaro, First to Desire, and Masumaro, First to Live.

Variants

Permanents

Permanents you control

P/T equal to number of Example
Nonland permanents Regal Bunnicorn
Red permanents Horde of Boggarts
Black permanents Crowd of Cinders
Green permanents Drove of Elves
Blue permanents Faerie Swarm
White permanents Kithkin Rabble
Snow permanents Abominable Treefolk
Lands Dakkon Blackblade
Forests People of the Woods
Swamps Nightmare
Islands Serpent of the Endless Sea
Basic land types among lands Aven Trailblazer (Domain)
Snow lands Drift of the Dead
Differently named lands Awakened Amalgam
Creatures Soulsurge Elemental
Creatures (times 2) Majestic Myriarch
Colorless creatures Vile Aggregate
Non-Wall creatures Keldon Warlord
Creatures in your party Archpriest of Iona
Rats Swarm of Rats
Spirits Kodama of the Center Tree
Soldiers and Warriors Aysen Crusader
Elves Jagged-Scar Archers
Soldiers Benalish Commander
Spirits and enchantments Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr
Crabs, Oozes, and Horrors Uchuulon
Robots Assembled Ensemble
Knights Wintermoor Commander
Fungi and Saprolings The Mycotyrant
Forests and Treefolk Dauntless Dourbark
Artifacts Broodstar
Artifacts and enchantments Shambling Suit
Total mana value of other creatures Ancient Ooze
Greatest mana value among creatures Dodgy Jalopy
Greatest mana value among artifacts Karn, Legacy Reforged
Untapped artifacts, creatures, and lands Maraxus of Keld
Green mana symbols in the mana costs of permanents Primalcrux (Chroma)
Order of the Widget watermarks among permanents Knight of the Widget (Acorn counter)

Permanents on the battlefield

P/T equal to number of Example
Snow permanents Rimefeather Owl
Creatures Altar Golem
Creatures with shadow Dauthi Warlord
Creatures named Plague Rats Plague Rats
Creatures of the chosen type Caller of the Hunt
Green creatures An-Havva Constable
Red creatures Yavimaya Kavu
Face-down creatures Ixidron
Other Rats Pestilence Rats
Goblins Reckless One
Clerics Doubtless One
Elves Heedless One
Illusions Krovikan Mist
Wizards Nameless One
Forests Coiling Woodworm

Permanents your opponents controls

P/T equal to number of Example
Permanents of chosen color Chameleon Spirit
Swamps Angry Mob
Artifacts Gaea's Avenger
Nonbasic lands Wilderness Elemental

Permanents target opponent controls

P/T equal to number of Example
Creatures Lost Order of Jarkeld
Nonbasic lands Skyshroud War Beast
Tapped lands Pallimud

Graveyards (Lhurgoyf ability)

Your graveyard

P/T equal to number of Example
Cards Apocalypse Demon
Permanent cards Souls of the Lost
Creature cards Urborg Lhurgoyf
Land cards Uurg, Spawn of Turg
Instant and sorcery cards Enigma Drake
Card types among cards Nethergoyf
Black mana symbols in the mana costs of cards Umbra Stalker
Greatest mana value among cards Monstrous War-Leech
Cards with flavor text Graveyard Busybody (Acorn counter)

Your opponents' graveyards

P/T equal to number of Example
Cards Consuming Aberration
Nonbasic land cards Detritivore
Card types among cards Nighthawk Scavenger

Chosen player's graveyard

P/T equal to number of Example
Cards Sewer Nemesis
Green creature cards Haunting Apparition

All graveyards

P/T equal to number of Example
Cards Lord of Extinction
Creature cards Mortivore
Land cards Terravore
Enchantment cards Cantivore
Instant cards Cognivore
Sorcery cards Magnivore
Artifact cards Slag Fiend
Card types among cards Tarmogoyf

Hands (Maro ability)

P/T equal to number of Example
Cards in your hand Maro
Cards in all players' hands Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Cards in the chosen player’s hand Entropic Specter
Cards in the hand of the opponent with the most cards in hand Adamaro, First to Desire

Devotion

P/T equal to your devotion to Example
White Daxos, Blessed by the Sun
Blue Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea
Black Tymaret, Chosen from Death
Red Anax, Hardened in the Forge
Green Renata, Called to the Hunt

Life

P/T equal to Example
Your life total Serra Avatar
The life paid as it entered Minion of the Wastes
20 minus the highest life total among players Scourge of the Skyclaves
Half the highest life total among your opponents, rounded up Malignus
Your life total minus the life total of an opponent with the most life Roiling Horror

Exiled or sacrificed by the creature

P/T equal to Example
The exiled card's mana value Living Lore
Greatest mana value among cards exiled Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant
The number of cards exiled Unlicensed Hearse
The number of colors among the exiled cards Sunbird Effigy
Total power of the exiled cards Wretched Bonemass
Total power/toughness of the exiled cards Sutured Ghoul
Forests sacrificed Wood Elemental

Counters

P/T equal to the number of Example
+1/+1 counters on creatures you control Fungal Behemoth
Age counters on it (times 2) Mwonvuli Ooze
Fade counters on it Rusting Golem
Time counters on it Tidewalker
Oil counters on it (times 2) Darksteel Hydra

Other conditions

P/T equal to (the number of) Example
Cards you've drawn this turn Duelist of the Mind
The last chosen number (between 0 and 7)/7 minus that number Shapeshifter
Instant and sorcery cards you own in exile and in your graveyard Crackling Drake
Elf cards you control or in your graveyard Abomination of Llanowar
Zombie cards on the battlefield or in all graveyards Soulless One
Permanent cards with an art sticker you control or in your graveyard Roxi, Publicist to the Stars (Acorn counter)
The current hour, using the twelve-hour system Elvish House Party (Acorn counter)
Your height in feet/Your American shoe size (Round to the nearest ½.) Avatar of Me (Acorn counter)

References

  1. a b c Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2017). "Mechanical Color Pie 2017". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2021). "Mechanical Color Pie 2021 Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18.