MTG Copilot
← Back to search
Scolding Administrator

Scolding Administrator

Creature — Dwarf Cleric

uncommon

Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) Repartee — Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. When this creature dies, if it had counters on it, put those counters on up to one target creature.

2/2

$0.19 ✦ $0.28View on Scryfall →

Semantic Tags

Cares about +1/+1 counters — places, moves, doubles, or benefits from counters on creatures.

Dies Triggersmechanical

Benefits from creatures or permanents dying — death triggers, blood artist effects.

Evasivemechanical

Difficult to block or grants evasion. Includes flying, menace, fear, intimidate, shadow, skulk, horsemanship, unblockable effects, and cards that grant these abilities.

Menacemechanical

An evasion ability that makes creatures unblockable by a single creature. See rule 702.111, “Menace.”

Menacevector

An evasion ability that makes creatures unblockable by a single creature. See rule 702.111, “Menace.”

Cares about casting noncreature spells — magecraft, prowess-adjacent strategies.

Permanentmechanical

A card or token on the battlefield. See rule 110, “Permanents.”

Spellslingermechanical

Rewards casting instants and sorceries. Includes magecraft, prowess triggers, and spell-count payoffs.

Unblockablemechanical

Cannot be blocked or has an ability that makes it very hard to block.

Format Legality

commanderlegal
oathbreakerlegal
modernlegal
pioneerlegal
standardlegal
legacylegal
vintagelegal
paupernot legal
historiclegal
explorernot legal
alchemylegal

Price history

Loading price history…

Printings (1)

SetRarityTCGplayerCard KingdomCardmarket
Secrets of Strixhaven#224uncommon···

Related Concepts

Menace

An evasion ability that makes creatures unblockable by a single creature. See rule 702.111, “Menace.”

Related Rules

106.5

If an ability would produce one or more mana of an undefined type, it produces no mana instead.

106.7

Some abilities produce mana based on the type of mana another permanent or permanents “could produce.” The type of mana a permanent could produce at any time includes any type of mana that an ability of that permanent would produce if the ability were to resolve at that time, taking into account any applicable replacement effects in any possible order. Ignore whether any costs of the ability could or could not be paid. If that permanent wouldn’t produce any mana under these conditions, or no type of mana can be defined this way, there’s no type of mana it could produce.

106.12

To “tap [a permanent] for mana” is to activate a mana ability of that permanent that includes the {T} symbol in its activation cost. See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

106.12a

An ability that triggers whenever a permanent “is tapped for mana” or is tapped for mana of a specified type triggers whenever such a mana ability resolves and produces mana or the specified type of mana.

106.12b

A replacement effect that applies if a permanent “is tapped for mana” or tapped for mana of a specific type and/or amount modifies the mana production event while such an ability is resolving and producing mana or the specified type and/or amount of mana.

107.3m

If an object’s enters-the-battlefield triggered ability or replacement effect refers to X, and the spell that became that object as it resolved had a value of X chosen for any of its costs, the value of X for that ability is the same as the value of X for that spell, although the value of X for that permanent is 0. This is an exception to rule 107.3i.

107.5

The tap symbol is {T}. The tap symbol in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already tapped can’t be tapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

107.6

The untap symbol is {Q}. The untap symbol in an activation cost means “Untap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already untapped can’t be untapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

Rulings

2026-03-20

If Scolding Administrator has -1/-1 counters on it when it dies, that ability will include those as well. This may result in the recipient of the counters dying.

2026-03-20

Scolding Administrator's last ability doesn't cause you to move counters from Scolding Administrator onto the target creature. Rather, you put the same number of each kind of counter Scolding Administrator had when it died onto the target creature.

2026-03-20

If enough -1/-1 counters are put on Scolding Administrator at the same time to make its toughness 0 or less, its last ability will see all of the +1/+1 counters it had when it died as well as the -1/-1 counters it had, and an equal number of each of those types of counters (plus any other applicable counters) will be put onto the target creature.

2026-03-20

A repartee ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered or otherwise leaves the stack.

2026-03-20

In some unusual cases, you may end up putting the appropriate counters on more than one permanent. For example, if you control The Ozolith (a card from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set) when Scolding Administrator dies, you'll put the appropriate number of each kind of counter onto both The Ozolith and the target creature.

2026-03-20

It doesn't matter if the creature or creatures targeted by the spell that caused the repartee ability to trigger leave the battlefield or stop being creatures before that spell resolves. As long as that spell targeted one or more creatures when it was cast, the repartee ability will trigger and later resolve.

2026-03-20

Scolding Administrator's last ability puts all counters that were on Scolding Administrator onto the target creature, not just its +1/+1 counters.