First printed in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (2023)
Creature — Merfolk Scout
Flying
When this creature enters, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "
, 
, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
2/2
- Illustrated by
- Alix Branwyn
Legality
- Legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Future Standard, Historic, Timeless, Penny Dreadful, Gladiator, Commander, Duel Commander, Pauper Commander, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Standard Brawl, Competitive Brawl
- Not legal in
- Alchemy, Premodern, Old School 93/94, PreDH
Rulings (7)
- If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard.
- Map tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one is a colorless artifact with the artifact subtype Map and the ability ", , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery."
- Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter.
- If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate.
- Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again.
- In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.)
- If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter.
Prices
Paper price: €0.07 / $0.13 , the cheapest non-foil print (Cardmarket, and TCGplayer, otherwise Mana Pool or Card Kingdom, through MTGJSON, 6 Nov 2026).
MTGO price: 0.002 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 6 Nov 2026).