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Sinister Sabotage

Sinister Sabotage

Instant

common

Counter target spell. Surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.)

$0.20 ✦ $0.24View on Scryfall →

Semantic Tags

Counterspellmechanical

Prevents a spell or ability from resolving.

Cares about cards in the graveyard, puts cards into the graveyard, or benefits from things dying.

Removalmechanical

Answers an opponent's threat by destroying, exiling, bouncing, or otherwise removing a permanent or spell.

Cares about or manipulates the top card(s) of your library. Includes scry, surveil, and top-deck payoffs.

Topdeck Mattersmechanical

Cares about or manipulates the top of library — Sensei's Top, miracles, Future Sight.

Wardvector

A triggered ability that can counter spells or abilities that target the permanent with ward. See rule 702.21, “Ward.”

Format Legality

commanderlegal
oathbreakerlegal
modernlegal
pioneerlegal
standardnot legal
legacylegal
vintagelegal
pauperlegal
historiclegal
explorernot legal
alchemynot legal

Price history

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Printings (4)

SetRarityTCGplayerCard KingdomCardmarket
Ravnica Remastered#61common···
Starter Commander Decks#60uncommon···
Guilds of Ravnica Promos#54uncommon···
Guilds of Ravnica#54uncommon···

Related Concepts

Surveil

To manipulate some of the cards on top of your library, sending some of them to your graveyard and rearranging the rest. See rule 701.25, “Surveil.”

Related Rules

111.10m

A Royal Role token is a colorless Aura Role enchantment token named Royal with enchant creature and “Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward {1}.”

206.3b

One card (Golgothian Sylex) refers to permanents with a name originally printed in the Antiquities™ expansion. Those names are Amulet of Kroog, Argivian Archaeologist, Argivian Blacksmith, Argothian Pixies, Argothian Treefolk, Armageddon Clock, Artifact Blast, Artifact Possession, Artifact Ward, Ashnod’s Altar, Ashnod’s Battle Gear, Ashnod’s Transmogrant, Atog, Battering Ram, Bronze Tablet, Candelabra of Tawnos, Circle of Protection: Artifacts, Citanul Druid, Clay Statue, Clockwork Avian, Colossus of Sardia, Coral Helm, Crumble, Cursed Rack, Damping Field, Detonate, Drafna’s Restoration, Dragon Engine, Dwarven Weaponsmith, Energy Flux, Feldon’s Cane, Gaea’s Avenger, Gate to Phyrexia, Goblin Artisans, Golgothian Sylex, Grapeshot Catapult, Haunting Wind, Hurkyl’s Recall, Ivory Tower, Jalum Tome, Martyrs of Korlis, Mightstone, Millstone, Mishra’s Factory, Mishra’s War Machine, Mishra’s Workshop, Obelisk of Undoing, Onulet, Orcish Mechanics, Ornithopter, Phyrexian Gremlins, Power Artifact, Powerleech, Priest of Yawgmoth, Primal Clay, The Rack, Rakalite, Reconstruction, Reverse Polarity, Rocket Launcher, Sage of Lat-Nam, Shapeshifter, Shatterstorm, Staff of Zegon, Strip Mine, Su-Chi, Tablet of Epityr, Tawnos’s Coffin, Tawnos’s Wand, Tawnos’s Weaponry, Tetravus, Titania’s Song, Transmute Artifact, Triskelion, Urza’s Avenger, Urza’s Chalice, Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Miter, Urza’s Power Plant, Urza’s Tower, Wall of Spears, Weakstone, Xenic Poltergeist, Yawgmoth Demon, and Yotian Soldier.

701.25

Surveil

701.25a

To “surveil N” means to look at the top N cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.

701.25b

If an effect allows you to look at additional cards while you surveil, those cards are included among the cards you may put into your graveyard and on top of your library in any order.

701.25c

If a player is instructed to surveil 0, no surveil event occurs. Abilities that trigger whenever a player surveils won’t trigger.

701.58a

To cloak a card, turn it face down. It becomes a 2/2 face-down creature card with ward {2}, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost. Put that card onto the battlefield face down. That permanent is a cloaked permanent for as long as it remains face down. The effect defining its characteristics works while the card is face down and ends when it’s turned face up.

702.21

Ward

Rulings

2018-10-05

A spell that can't be countered is a legal target for Sinister Sabotage. The spell won't be countered when Sinister Sabotage resolves, but you'll still surveil 1.

2024-01-12

You perform the actions stated on a card in sequence. For some spells and abilities, you'll surveil last. For others, you'll surveil and then perform other actions.

2024-01-12

Some spells that instruct you to surveil require targets. You can't cast a spell without choosing legal targets. If all of those targets become illegal, the spell doesn't resolve and you won't surveil.