Commit a Crime in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

alexis 19 days ago Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Rules

Last updated on April 15, 2024

Duelist of the Mind | Illustration by Darren Tan

Welcome to Thunder Junction, where crime is perfectly natural. We’re all outlaws here, which means that crime pays!

According to the rules of crime in Magic, we’ve apparently been committing crimes for our entire Magic careers. It’s like a secret ingredient or something.

Source

But what does it actually mean in terms of gameplay, and which cards reward you the most for your criminal behavior?

I am not, nor have I ever been a judge, but would you really want to learn about how to commit a crime from a judge? (Kidding).

Table of Contents show

How Does Commit a Crime Work?

Deepmuck Desperado | Illustration by Loïc Canavaggia

You commit a crime in Magic whenever you target an opposing player or their stuff, defined as their spells on the stack, their permanents on the battlefield, or cards in their graveyard. This includes anything that they control, even if they don’t own it, which means that targeting a permanent that you own but don’t control is also considered a crime.

Targeting is important when considering crime. Effects that refer to “all” or “each” don’t target, so they don’t count. You can, however, commit a crime even if you’re doing something that can be considered positive, like targeting an opponent’s creature to add a shield counter. Many cards that trigger when you commit a crime only trigger once per turn.

I wish that committing crimes worked more consistently with spree, because, well, “crime spree” is fun. Alas, not all spree cards have you commit a crime.

The History of Committing Crime in MTG

In terms of keyword actions, crime first appeared in 2024’s Outlaws of Thunder Junction. The first look at the set introduced us to Duelist of the Mind (which depicts 2022 World Champion Nathan Steuer) and Oko, the Ringleader. These cards give us different flavors of how crime works; the Duelist packages crime into a triggered ability (whenever you commit a crime), while Oko’s +1 loyalty ability checks whether the crime has happened as an event (if you have committed a crime).

OTJ features just under 30 cards with the “commit a crime” text on them, while many other cards in the set count as committing crimes, including desert lands that ping an opponent when they enter the battlefield. The set’s bonus sheet, Breaking News, is made up entirely of cards that can commit crimes.

Because there have been cards that target your opponent and their stuff since Alpha, you can say that crime has been part of Magic since the beginning. OTJ and its Commander precons turned committing a crime into a game action and feature cards that give you benefits for participating in crime.

You could consider the behavior of committing crime as evergreen (can you imagine an MTG set with no cards that target your opponents or their things?), but the keyword action itself isn’t evergreen.

Is Committing a Crime a Triggered Ability?

No. Committing a crime itself is considered a game action, but that action can be part of a triggered ability or activated ability.

Looking at Duelist of the Mind, its ability is worded, “whenever you commit a crime.” That “whenever” is your clue that this is a triggered ability, but committing a crime in and of itself is not a triggered ability.

Meanwhile, Oko, the Ringleader’s +1 loyalty ability is an activated ability that checks whether you’ve committed a crime before indicating how many cards you need to discard.

Do Board Wipes Trigger Crime?

Only if they target your opponent or their permanents.

The large majority of board wipes, like Wrath of God, Blasphemous Act, Toxic Deluge, and so forth don't target anything, and therefore are not crimes.

But effects like River's Rebuke, Settle the Wreckage, or Liliana of the Veil‘s ultimate all target a player, making you a criminal.

Interestingly, spells like Cyclonic Rift are not a crime if you pay their overload cost, since it effectively removes “target” from the effect.

Do Counterspells Trigger Crime?

Yes, as long as your chosen counterspell targets the spell that you’re countering.

Is Targeting Spells on the Stack a Crime?

Yes. If you target anything that your opponent controls, including spells on the stack, it’s considered a crime.

Gallery and List of Commit a Crime Cards

Best Commit a Crime Cards

For my money, Marchesa, Dealer of Death is most likely to become a crime-centric commander. It lets you play many of the other cards that care about when you commit a crime, but Grixis also accesses three important types of crime. Blue has counterspells, black has removal, and red has direct damage and burn, plus there’s a bunch of effects that let you take control of a target creature.

Magda, the Hoardmaster looks promising as a 2-mana Treasure generator that also lets you trade in your hoard for Scorpion Dragons.

Gisa, the Hellraiser is going to be a good lord and source of tokens for zombie and skeleton decks, and this set also has a Cult Conscript-type skeleton for it with Forsaken Miner.

Hardbristle Bandit, Bandit's Haul, and Freestrider Lookout give us a mana dork, a mana rock, and a tutor that care about committing crimes. Someone smarter than me can make some kind of “rampant crime” joke here.

Of course, Oko, the Ringleader looks really good, although that’s for all its abilities, not just the one that has “crime” in it.

Round Up

Oko, the Ringleader | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Ever since I saw what committing a crime was and how it worked, I’ve had Not a Crime by Gogol Bordello stuck in my head: “In the old time, it was not a crime.” Just like descending in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, WotC leans towards turning things we already do into keywords and game actions. It makes sense: They want new sets to be compatible with everything that came before, and this is an easy way to do it.

Which are your favorite crimes to commit in Magic? Which cards with “commit a crime” text do you think are the best? Let me know in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Discord.

Until next time, go out there and be a smooth criminal!

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alexis

Alexis is an editor and writer for Draftsim who is still proud of pulling a Xenagos in their M15 Starter Kit. Their lack of poker face is best suited for casual tables. Just don’t let this collector bug near any stores that offer $1 mystery packs….