Battle at the Bridge
Sorcery
Card text
Improvise (Your artifacts can help cast this spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for .)
Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. You gain X life.
"This is bigger than you. All of you." —Tezzeret
Showing Aether Revolt#53
Price
0.28 $
Foil 0.32 $
13 printings
Daily estimate from Scryfall, not a shop quote.
Battle at the Bridge rulings
There are many important moments in the story, but the most crucial—called “story spotlights”—are shown on cards. These cards have the Planeswalker symbol in their text box; this symbol has no effect on gameplay. You can read more about these events in the official Magic fiction at http://www.mtgstory.com.
Improvise doesn’t change a spell’s mana cost or mana value.
When calculating a spell’s total cost, include any alternative costs, additional costs, or anything else that increases or reduces the cost to cast the spell. Improvise applies after the total cost is calculated.
Because improvise isn’t an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs.
Improvise can’t pay for
,
,
,
,
, or
mana symbols in a spell’s total cost.
If the target creature becomes an illegal target, Battle at the Bridge doesn’t resolve and none of its effects happen. You won’t gain life.
If an artifact you control has a mana ability with
in the cost, activating that ability while casting a spell with improvise will result in the artifact being tapped when you pay the spell’s costs. You won’t be able to tap it again for improvise. Similarly, if you sacrifice an artifact to activate a mana ability while casting a spell with improvise, that artifact won’t be on the battlefield when you pay the spell’s costs, so you won’t be able to tap it for improvise.
Tapping an artifact won’t cause its abilities to stop applying unless those abilities say so.
Equipment attached to a creature doesn’t become tapped when that creature becomes tapped, and tapping that Equipment doesn’t cause the creature to become tapped.
When using improvise to cast a spell with
in its mana cost, first choose the value for X. That choice, plus any cost increases or decreases, will determine the spell’s total cost. Then you can tap artifacts you control to help pay that cost. For example, if you cast Whir of Invention (a spell with improvise and mana cost
) and choose X to be 3, the total cost is
. If you tap two artifacts, you’ll have to pay
.
Improvise can’t be used to pay for anything other than the cost of casting the spell. For example, it can’t be used during the resolution of an ability that says “Counter target spell unless its controller pays
.”
Battle at the Bridge keyword rules
Improvise Rule 702.126
Improvise is a static ability that functions while the spell with improvise is on the stack. “Improvise” means “For each generic mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped artifact you control rather than pay that mana.”
The improvise ability isn’t an additional or alternative cost and applies only after the total cost of the spell with improvise is determined.
Multiple instances of improvise on the same spell are redundant.
Battle at the Bridge format legality
Constructed
- StandardNot legal
- PioneerLegal
- ModernLegal
- Future StandardNot legal
Eternal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- PauperNot legal
- PremodernNot legal
- Old SchoolNot legal
- Penny DreadfulLegal
Commander
- CommanderLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
- Pauper CommanderNot legal
- Duel CommanderLegal
- PreDHNot legal
Arena & online
- HistoricLegal
- TimelessLegal
- AlchemyNot legal
- GladiatorLegal
- BrawlLegal
- Standard BrawlNot legal
- Competitive BrawlLegal
Other
- TLRLegal
All printings of Battle at the Bridge 13
Cards similar to Battle at the Bridge
Grisly SigilSorcery
Shamble BackSorcery
Feast of FleshSorcery
Vicious RumorsSorcery
Taste of BloodSorcery
Sly RequisitionerCreature — Human Artificer
Herald of AnguishCreature — Demon
Fen HaulerCreature — Insect
Arc ReactorArtifact
Foundry AssemblerArtifact Creature — Assembly-Worker
Show 20 more similar cards
Barricade BreakerArtifact Creature — Juggernaut
Cling to DustInstant
Night Market LookoutCreature — Human Rogue
Okiba Reckoner Raid // Nezumi Road CaptainEnchantment — Saga // Enchantment Creature — Rat Rogue
Bloodchief AscensionEnchantment
Blight KeeperCreature — Bat Imp
March of Wretched SorrowInstant
DeathgreeterCreature — Human Shaman
Erebos's InterventionInstant
Northern Air TempleLegendary Enchantment — Shrine
Grave ExpectationsInstant
Whiplash, Vengeful EngineerLegendary Creature — Human Artificer Villain
Reaper's TalismanArtifact — Equipment
Witch's CauldronArtifact
Curse of VengeanceEnchantment — Aura Curse
Cauldron FamiliarCreature — Cat
Vampire NeonateCreature — Vampire
Serrated ScorpionCreature — Scorpion
Shelob's AmbushInstant
Requiting HexInstant