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Moxonomy

Illusory Ambusher

Creature — Cat Illusion4 generic manaBlue mana

Flash is the mechanic that turns a brittle 4/1 into a punishment device. Hold up five mana, let an attacker commit to a swing, and drop this in front of it: the damage-to-cards clause counts every point dealt at once, so blocking a 5/5 nets five cards before the body falls over. The trigger keys off damage dealt, not off dying, which is the part worth getting right: the toughness of one is a deliberate brake, not the engine. A sturdier body would draw more over time, since the creature could survive its trades and come back for another payout; instead, the small toughness caps how often the trick fires and stops the effect from snowballing out of a single combat. What makes the design tick is the inversion of incentive. A 4-power creature usually wants to attack; this one wants to be attacked, converting the opponent's combat math into raw cards rather than threatening to swing back. The damage need not come from combat, either. Any source that touches its toughness pays out, which opens the door to redirection and self-ping setups that turn a fragile blocker into a draw engine on demand. The lineage here is the "be dealt damage, draw cards" thread that shows up across blue's value pieces; pairing that trigger with flash is what hands the controlling player the timing, letting them choose the exact moment the trade resolves in their favor.

Illusory Ambusher (gn3)
GN3 · #29uncommon
Pricing
Normal: $0.10
Foil:
Oracle Text

Rules text

Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.) Whenever this creature is dealt damage, draw that many cards.
Legalities

Format Status

Standard
N/A
Pioneer
N/A
Modern
N/A
Legacy
Legal
Vintage
Legal
Commander
Legal
Pauper
N/A
Brawl
N/A
Historic
N/A
Alchemy
N/A
Timeless
N/A
Standard Brawl
N/A
More formats
Old School
N/A
Premodern
N/A
PreDH
N/A
Pauper Commander
N/A
Oathbreaker
Legal
Gladiator
N/A
Penny Dreadful
Legal
Duel Commander
Legal
Future Standard
N/A
COMPETITIVEBRAWL
N/A
TLR
N/A
Printings elsewhere

Other printings

6 sets
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