MTG Enlist: How It Works and What It Does

It’s that time again. Spoilers for Dominaria United are well underway, and with the new set comes new and exciting mechanics.

In this article, I’ll go over everything you need to know about the brand new Enlist mechanic!

Enlist is a Keyword ability first introduced in Dominaria United. When a creature with Enlist attacks, you may tap a different creature you control that isn’t attacking. If you do, the attacking creature with Enlist gains +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the power of the tapped creature.

As far as abilities go, Enlist is pretty straightforward. With that said, however, there are lots of potential interactions and questions that come along with any new mechanic. Read on for a detailed guide to Enlist!

What Is Enlist?

Enlist is a brand new mechanic introduced in the upcoming Dominaria United set. The Enlist ability lets you get any creature involved in the action, regardless of any limitations they might have, without ever putting the creature in harm’s way.

How Does Enlist Work?

Whenever you attack with a creature who has the Enlist ability, you can then tap one other untapped creature you control and the original creature will gain power equal to the tapped creatures power. Think of it like the original creature is borrowing power from the creature you’re tapping.

It’s also safe to assume that a lot of creatures with Enlist will grant you an extra bonus every time you use the ability. Guardian of New Benalia for example, lets you Scry 2 every time you Enlist a creature.

Rules

Enlist (As this creature attacks, you may tap a nonattacking creature you control without summoning sickness. When you do, add its power to this creature’s until end of turn.)
Official Reminder Text

FAQs

Can You Tap a Creature That Is Attacking?

No, you cannot tap a creature for an Enlist ability if the creature is attacking. Even if the creature is untapped due to having Vigilance, it still can’t be Enlisted.

Can You Enlist More Than One Creature?

No, you cannot tap more than one creature for an Enlist ability.

Is Enlist Good?

Right up there with rocket science and brain surgery, one of the most difficult undertakings in life is trying to predict the power level of a new card or ability in Magic: the Gathering. Combine that with the fact that there’s, as of now, only a handful of spoiled cards to go off of, and you have a nearly impossible task.

With that being said, however, here goes nothing.

As with most abilities, I think this one has a ton of potential in Limited. Building Enlist decks in a Dominaria United draft is probably going to be a solid strategy. In Constructed formats, I think it has some potential. But, of course, it all depends on the creatures Wizards of the Coast decides to print.

It’s definitely nice to be able to use a creature’s power without actually attacking with them. Enlist is going to be great for getting a high-powered Defender in on the action, as well as utilizing creatures that can’t attack for other reasons. It could also be really useful for dealing damage with important creatures that you can’t risk losing in combat.

We could very well get an Enlist creature that has a huge effect on multiple formats. With that said, however, I think the ability itself has a pretty low floor. Mainly because you need extra creatures to use it. If you drop an Enlist creature all by itself, the ability is going to be useless.

Overall, we’ll have to wait for more spoilers before we can do anything more than guess about the power level.

Full Spoilers List

So far, Wizard’s of the Coast has only spoiled a few creatures. There will be spoilers every day from now until the set is entirely spoiled. So be sure to check back soon for updates!

End Step

I love the flavor of the new mechanic, as well as all of the potential shenanigans the ability is sure to allow. Hopefully we get lots of awesome Enlist creatures when Dominaria United releases on September 9th.

Until then, be sure to check back here for all the latest spoilers.