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Whir of Invention

X generic manaone blue manaone blue manaone blue manaInstant

Card text

Improvise (Your artifacts can help cast this spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for one generic mana.)

Search your library for an artifact card with mana value X or less, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Showing Aether Revolt#49

Price

5.53 $

Foil 12.59 $

28 printings · up to 9.36 $

Daily estimate from Scryfall, not a shop quote.

Whir of Invention rulings

  • 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 one white mana, one blue mana, one black mana, one red mana, one green mana, or one colorless mana mana symbols in a spell's total cost.

  • 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 three generic mana."

  • If an artifact you control has a mana ability with tap this permanent 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 X generic mana 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 X generic manaone blue manaone blue manaone blue mana) and choose X to be 3, the total cost is three generic manaone blue manaone blue manaone blue mana. If you tap two artifacts, you'll have to pay one generic manaone blue manaone blue manaone blue mana.

Whir of Invention 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.

Whir of Invention 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 Whir of Invention 28

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