TYPE
Creature — Demon

ABILITY
Kicker {4}{B} When you cast this spell, if it was kicked, each player loses half their life, rounded up. Scourge of the Skyclaves's power and toughness are each equal to 20 minus the highest life total among players.

POWER/TOUGHNESS
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ILLUSTRATOR
Chase Stone

LEGALITIES
Standard Future Historic Timeless Gladiator Pioneer Explorer Modern Legacy Pauper Vintage Penny Commander Oathbreaker Standardbrawl Brawl Alchemy Paupercommander Duel Oldschool Premodern Predh

LANGUAGES
EN FR DE IT JP KR PT RU ES ZH-CN ZH-TW

RULINGS

• 2020-09-25 You can't pay a kicker cost more than once.
• 2020-09-25 To determine a spell's total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card's effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
• 2020-09-25 If you copy a kicked spell, the copy is also kicked. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that's already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn't kicked, even if the original was.
• 2020-09-25 An ability that triggers when a player casts a spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered. Notably, Scourge of the Skyclaves may have its toughness change from less than 0 to greater than 0 as a result of its triggered ability before it resolves and enters the battlefield.
• 2020-09-25 If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can't kick it.
• 2020-09-25 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Scourge of the Skyclaves causes each team to lose twice half their life rounded up, which is their full life total or, if it's odd, that much life plus 1. This causes the game to end in a draw.
• 2020-09-25 If the highest life total among players is greater than 20, Scourge of the Skyclaves has negative power and toughness equal to the difference.
• 2020-09-25 Kicker represents an optional additional cost that you may choose to pay as you cast the spell. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is "kicked."
• 2020-09-25 Some instant or sorcery spells require alternative or additional targets if they're kicked. You ignore these targeting requirements if those spells aren't kicked, and you can't kick those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can kick a permanent spell even if you won't be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves.
• 2020-09-25 The ability that defines Scourge of the Skyclaves's power and toughness applies in all zones, not just the battlefield.
• 2020-09-25 An ability that triggers when a player casts a kicked spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger, but after targets have been chosen for that spell. It resolves even if that spell is countered.