Unintuitive Rules Interaction Leaves Merfolk Players Confused

Last updated on February 11, 2026

Deeproot Pilgrimage | Illustration by Rémi Jacquot

Lorwyn Eclipsed (ECL) exposed a strange rules quirk with the combination of Wanderbrine Trapper, a new uncommon merfolk tapper, and Deeproot Pilgrimage, one of the strongest merfolk token generators. Activating Wanderbrine Trapper and tapping another merfolk creates not one but two hexproof Merfolk tokens, despite the “one or more” clause on Deeproot Pilgrimage. This synergy relies on a quirk of how the Magic game system handles paying multiple costs to activate an ability.

Unpacking the Synergy

Wanderbrine Trapper | Illustration by Iris Compiet

Depproot Pilgrimage

At a glance, the combo doesn’t make sense; Deeproot Pilgrimage specifies that it only creates a token when one or more merfolk are tapped. Since both Wanderbrine Trapper and our miscellaneous merfolk (let’s say Lord of Atlantis) are tapped as part of the activation cost of the Trapper’s ability, it seems like the action should count as a single event that falls under the “one or more” umbrella, like tapping them to convoke a Disruptor of Currents.

The reality is a little different; Magic is very specific about how costs are paid. To get to the depth of the problem, let’s consult everybody’s favorite pdf: Magic’s Comprehensive Rules!

The rules of activating an ability and paying its cost under rules section 602.2b helpfully sends you back up a few pages to consult rules 601.2b-i; these are the rules the govern the casting of a spell, which also apply to activating an ability. I won’t bore you with all of those. We only care about rule 601.2h:

601.2h The player pays the total cost. First, they pay all costs that don’t involve random elements or moving objects from the library to a public zone, in any order. Then they pay all remaining costs in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can’t be paid.

The important bit? A funny quirk about costs being paid in any order is that each cost paid counts as a separate game action. Because tapping Wanderbrine Trapper and tapping Lord of Atlantis are two different costs, they are treated as unique events as far as Deeproot Pilgrimage is concerned. You can even pay all that in any order. Maybe you tap Lord of Atlantis, then Wanderbrine Trapper, then pay the on one turn, then reverse it all the next time you activate it! But the order you pay costs in couldn’t matter.

Right?

Similar Cases

Vilis, Broker of Blood | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson

Activating Bloodsoaked Altar by sacrificing Vilis, Broker of Blood is a similarly complex process, but here, order matters greatly. The Altar has four distinct costs: Tapping it, losing two life, discarding a card, and sacrificing a creature. Let’s say you activate it in the following order:

• Sacrifice Vilis
• Pay 2 life
• Discard a card
• Tap Bloodsoaked Altar

This results in the expected outcome: You turn Vilis and a card in your hand into a much worse demon that cost 6 mana. There’s nothing to complain about; you sleeved this up for and got your thing. But it could be better.

Let’s say you pay the costs in the following order:

• Pay 2 life
• Sacrifice Vilis
• Discard a card
• Tap Bloodsoaked Altar

You still turn two cards into a demon token worse than the resources lost, but with a critical difference: A Vilis trigger. Because paying two life occurred before sacrificing Vilis, and because it counts as a separate event, Vilis sees that you paid the life. After Bloodsoaked Altar hits the stack, you’ll get a Vilis trigger to draw cards. That’s…still not worth sacrificing Vilis, but considerably more powerful than if the costs were paid in an order that sacrificed Vilis before paying life.

This isn’t even the only time in Magic where what appears to be a single event is treated instead as a series of unique events. Another one occurs with cascade. Each card you reveal while hunting for a card to cast counts as a single event for cards like Laelia, the Blade Reforged and The War Doctor that look for you exiling “one or more cards.”

If this subtle combo with Deeproot Pilgrimage and Wanderbrine Trapper has taught me anything, it’s that Magic always has another rules quirk to learn about, more obscure than the last.