Threshold in MTG: Rules, History, and FAQ

Last updated on September 25, 2024

Cabal Ritual | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Hello planeswalkers! There are many thresholds in life and MTG. The amount of money that you’d pay for a deck, the copies of one specific card you can have in a deck, and the number of energy drinks consumed before you can no longer function properly. All these thresholds exist, but let’s take a closer look at the threshold ability word in MTG.

I am not, and have never been, a judge. I get my insights and determinations through my years of playing and researching. That said, I feel confident I can guide you through the intricacies of the threshold mechanic, and give you a solid example of what it may look like in a deck.

How Does Threshold Work?

Thought Scour | Illustration by Julie Dillon

Threshold is an ability word that gives a card extra or different abilities if its controller has seven or more cards in their graveyard.

It was created to use your graveyard as a resource and diversify the game. It became incredibly complex as the number of cards in a player’s graveyard could change rapidly and even during interactions on the stack.

Nonetheless, threshold is easy to grasp (seven cards in your graveyard = extra effects or better spells) but has some amazing, and sometimes confusing, interactions.

The History of Threshold in MTG

Threshold was introduced in the Odyssey MTG set in 2001, a part of the Odyssey block which also included Torment and Judgment. These Magic sets, and especially Odyssey, were labeled “graveyard-matters” sets. Prior to this block, the graveyard didn’t have an oversized role in matches, but now it was going to become a key resource.

One of the graveyard interactions added in this block was threshold. It was included in all colors, but heavily favoring green cards and black cards.

The Odyssey block had a whopping 84 cards with threshold, and there are 87 threshold cards in MTG in total. The mechanic has since inspired many of the graveyard strategies and mechanics we now know and love.

What Happens if My Graveyard Drops Below the Threshold of Seven Cards?

Well, it depends on what kind of card with threshold you’re using. The official rulings have a few different stipulations for different interactions of cards with threshold.

Instants and sorceries like Stitch Together check the graveyard requirements when they resolve. This means if you had seven cards in your graveyard when you cast it, but something happened on the stack to change that, this spell still resolves but won't resolve with its threshold bonus.

Triggered abilities or activated abilities like Cephalid Coliseum check the graveyard when they’re activated or triggered. This means that once you activate or trigger the ability it doesn’t matter if your graveyard changes size during the stack.

Finally, if you have a static threshold ability on a permanent like Werebear, it’ll be in effect when you have seven cards in your graveyard and not in effect when you don’t. Timing doesn’t matter here; the static threshold ability is either “on” or “off” depending on the number of cards in your graveyard.

How Can I Quickly Fill My Graveyard to Activate Threshold?

There are a few solid ways to fill your graveyard quickly to activate threshold. Let’s talk about self-mill, surveil, discard, and card filtering.

Self-mill is the best way to fill up your graveyard quickly. Self-mill refers to abilities, spells, and triggers that cause a player to put the top card of their library into their graveyard. There are many great self-mill cards and effects, but cheap creatures and spells like Stitcher's Supplier or Thought Scour will get your graveyard to the threshold in no time.

Surveil is a great way to get cards in your graveyard while finding the cards you need. Surveil X lets you look at the top X cards and place them on top of your library, in any order, or any amount of them into your graveyard. Cards like Starving Revenant and Thought Erasure can give you great options for playing or for filling up your graveyard.

Discard is a cost for some abilities that should be embraced when paired with threshold. Cards like Diplomatic Escort or Tolarian Winds can seem taxing or sometimes like a disadvantage. That is, unless you need more or specific cards in your graveyard of course.

Card filtering has a similar effect to the other strategies above. Card filtering effects allow you to draw cards and discard cards in either order. Cards like Frantic Search, Thrill of Possibility, and Greater Good can help you sort through your deck and fill up your graveyard at the same time.

How Can I Tell if a Card Has a Threshold Effect?

Threshold is an ability word, so a card will have a threshold effect if it has the word threshold printed on it. That said, there are a few variations to keep an eye out for similar effects.

If any card has some wording like “…as long as there are X (card type) in your graveyard…”, then this acts like a threshold event. It doesn’t have the exact same definition as the threshold keyword, but Elvish Reclaimer has a similar playstyle that focuses on lands in your graveyard. Cemetery Tampering would be another extreme example of a non-threshold card with a threshold-like effect. There are too many to list, so as a tip for your research, I searched “more cards in your graveyard” on scryfall.com.

I also want to mention the descend mechanic, the descended keyword action, and the descend X ability word. Descended cares about putting permanent cards in your graveyard this turn, while descend X focuses on how many permanent cards are in your graveyard. Cards like The Ancient One and Akawalli, the Seething Tower have a similar vibe to cards with threshold and can be paired right alongside them.

If a Card Is Exiled Out of My Graveyard, Do I Lose Threshold?

If your graveyard goes below seven cards, then yes you lose threshold. When cards are exiled from a graveyard they leave the graveyard for the exiled zone. As a note, timing can matter here. If a card from your graveyard is exiled after you have activated a threshold ability, it still resolves as though you had threshold.

I want to highlight that the flashback mechanic was also released during the Odyssey block. Since threshold and flashback both deal with your graveyard, they’re sometimes used together or in similar ways. Be careful when you use your flashback if you want to keep your threshold!

Does Self-Mill Work with Threshold?

It absolutely does! Self-mill might be the fastest and most efficient way to fill your graveyard and activate threshold.

How Does Delirium Compare with Threshold?

Delirium is considered to be an alteration of threshold. The mechanics work pretty much the same, with the big difference being that delirium cares about card type. Delirium effects and abilities are satisfied when you have four or more different card types in your graveyard. Since they’re very similar in play style and design, both keywords should be considered when building a graveyard deck.

Decklist: Threshold in Pauper

Rhizome Lurcher | Illustration by Mathias Kollros

The inspiration for this deck comes from the user Kirbynator on mtggoldfish.com. I love some of the Pauper decks that result when restricting the rarity of cards available. This deck helps you to be ahead of the curve and use your graveyard as a resource. The main focus is to fill up your graveyard, apply pressure with threshold cards like Werebear, and then in the endgame create big creatures with Rhizome Lurcher or Moldgraf Millipede.

Wrap Up

The Ancient One | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

We’ve reached the end, or the threshold. I hope the rules, interactions, and explanations of the threshold mechanic are much clearer for you. It’s a solid and historic mechanic that can use your graveyard as another resource in the fight for victory.

Well, let me tell you, I haven’t reached my threshold of talking about MTG. If you haven’t either then make sure to check out all the wonderful articles on Draftsim, follow us on Draftsim's Twitter/X, and join the official Draftsim Discord.

Stay safe and hopefully, you draw all the cards you need!