Are you trying to figure out exactly how Reconnaissance rules work in Magic: The Gathering? You’re not alone.
The Magic: The Gathering card Reconnaissance is being reprinted in the upcoming MTG x Assassin’s Creed crossover. This means the card will become Modern legal with the set’s release on July 5th.
It also means many more Commander players will gain access to the card, potentially seeing it for the first time. The card has only previously been printed twice: first in Exodus in 1998, and earlier this year in the limited edition Hard-Boiled Thriller’s Secret Lair Drop.
There is one very unintuitive rule around Reconnaissance that every MTG player needs to know. It’s one of those examples of when reading the card doesn’t explain the card. At least, if you have the original printing.
Reconnaissance MTG Rules: How It Gives Pseudo-Vigilance After Damage
As you can see, for zero mana Reconnaissance can remove any number of attacking creatures you control from combat and untap them. The original printing also reminds players that if they do so, the creature neither deals nor receives combat damage.
This seems simple enough. If you don’t like the way blockers are declared, for zero mana, you can untap that creature and remove it from combat.
However, Reconnaissance can do more than that. You can actually deal combat damage with a creature and then untap it!
The reason for this is that there are five steps in the combat phase. Per MTG comprehensive rules they are:
506.1. The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat.
MTG Comprehensive Rules
As shown above, damage is dealt first in the “combat damage” step of the combat phase. After the damage is dealt, there is the “end of combat” step. At this time, creatures are still considered in combat and attacking, even though damage has already been dealt.
This all means you can activate Reconnaissance’s ability at the “end of combat”, effectively giving all of your creatures pseudo-vigilance.
This rule is quite confusing as many players don’t know or typically don’t need to know all the steps in the combat phase. Even large YouTube channels such as The Commander’s Quarters have previously vented frustration around Reconnaissance card rulings.
Perhaps as a result of these frustrations, MTG has clarified how the card works in updated reminder text in the new Assassin’s Creed version. The reminder text now reads, “If you activate Reconnaissance during end of combat, the creature will untap after it deals combat damage”.
That’s all there it is to it! Next time someone swings all out at you with Reconnaissance, remember that they can wait until after damage is dealt and then untap all their creatures.
READ MORE: The Most Expensive Cards from MTG Assassin’s Creed Set
