Kicker in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Last updated on November 19, 2024

Everflowing Chalice | Illustration by Steve Argyle

Cards in MTG have an essential problem tied to the mana system. If I fill my deck with cheap cards, I won’t have power in the late game. If my deck is all expensive cards, I risk not getting to the late game alive. Kicker aims to solve this problem.

It's become one of Magic’s most popular mechanics, having been reprinted multiple times with variations and inspiring similar mechanics. Some even say that almost every mechanic is a take on kicker.

Today I'm taking a look at the famous kicker mechanic, its rules, when it was first printed, and the best kicker cards. Let's get into it!

How Does Kicker Work?

Blink of an Eye | Illustration by Igor Kieryluk

Kicker allows the card’s owner to pay an additional cost while casting the spell to obtain a greater benefit. It’s a simple and elegant mechanic. You can cast the spell for its mana cost or by paying the kicker cost on top. The card then tells you what happens if the kicker cost is paid.

Creatures usually enter the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters as you can see on Academy Drake and Baloth Gorger. The kicker cost can be anything, from paying extra mana to discarding a card, tapping a creature, or sacrificing lands.

The History of Kicker in MTG

The first MTG set to feature kicker was Invasion back in 2000. As one of the main mechanics of the set, it appeared on 35 cards, all of which had mana as the kicker cost.

Some cards asked for generic mana, like Vodalian Serpent. Others allowed you to pay colored mana (Skizzik, Thicket Elemental), and even colored mana different from the spell’s cost (Vigorous Charge, Verduran Emissary). It made sense to have kicker with different mana costs since Invasion was a multicolor set with lots of gold cards.

Planeshift, the next set in the Invasion block, had 16 cards with kicker that introduced variations to the kicker cost, allowing you to pay life and sacrifice lands, and some spells like Nightscape Battlemage had multiple kicker costs. Apocalypse rounded out the block with 13 more kicker designs, focusing on enemy-colored kicker costs.

Other sets that featured kicker were the Time Spiral block, Zendikar and Worldwake, Dominaria, Zendikar Rising, and Dominaria United. Kicker is also used in supplemental sets like Conspiracy sets, Commander precons, and Modern Horizons sets when needed.

Kicker's appearance on Final Flourish from March of the Machine brought the mechanic into the fold as a deciduous mechanic, which means the designers were more willing to use the mechanic in Standard-legal sets without forcing it to be a fully-supported set mechanic. It appeared on five main-set cards from Foundations but wasn't advertised as a set mechanic.

Is Kicker a Triggered Ability?

No, kicker is not a triggered ability, it's an additional cost. You cast the kicker spell by paying the extra cost, and it resolves with the kicker effects.

Is Kicker an Activated Ability?

Kicker isn’t an activated ability either, it's an additional cost.

Is Kicker an Additional Cost?

Bingo! Kicker is an optional additional cost to cast a spell. It can be cast for its normal cost, or with the additional cost. That's in contrast with cards where the additional cost to play is mandatory, like Stitched Drake and Skaab Goliath.

The optional cost is paid at the same time as the normal cost. In other words, everyone knows if a spell was “kicked” while it's still on the stack.

Can You Reduce Kicker Costs?

Yes, you can reduce kicker costs. Whenever you have an effect that reduces a spell’s cost you add the kicker cost first and then apply the cost reduction. But there isn’t an effect in MTG stating that kicker costs specifically are cheaper.

Can You Pay for Kicker on a Free Spell?

Yes. Whenever the game allows you to cast a spell for free you can pay any additional costs, like the kicker effect. Keep in mind that the kicker cost isn’t free in this case.

What Is a “Kicked” Spell?

A “kicked” spell is a spell where the kicker cost was paid. All cards with kicker state that “if the card was kicked, then do this.” There are a few cards like Roost of Drakes and Verazol, the Split Current that reference kicked cards. In these cases you get an extra benefit from casting kicked spells.

Does Kicker Increase Mana Value?

No, the mana value of a kicked spell is equal to the mana value of the printed card. Although you’ll spend more mana to cast the spell, kicker doesn't change the card's mana value.

Does Vadrik Reduce the Kicker Cost?

Yes, it does. Vadrik, Astral Archmage’s text reads, “Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost X less to cast, where X is Vadrik’s power.” This means that you pay all the cost of the spell (mana value + kicker) and then reduce the total cost by Vadrik’s power if you cast an instant or sorcery with kicker.

Does Kaza Reduce the Kicker Cost?

Yes, Kaza works the same way as Vadrik. The text on Kaza, Roil Chaser reads: “The next instant or sorcery spell you cast this turn costs X less to cast, where X is the number of Wizards you control as this ability resolves.” In the same vein as Vadrik, you get the total cost of the spell plus kicker, and then reduce the total cost.

Can You Copy Kicker?

Yes. If you were to copy a kicked spell, that copy would be kicked too.

What Is Multikicker?

Multikicker is a variation of kicker introduced in Worldwake that allows the player to pay the kicker cost as many times as they want. So you can cast a spell with multikicker without paying the kicker cost, or you can pay the kicker cost one or more times. Each time you pay the kicker cost you get more benefits.

So Apex Hawks can enter the battlefield with multiple +1/+1 counters as long as you pay the kicker cost lots of times.

Why Do People Say Every Mechanic is Kicker?

So many mechanics in Magic let you pay extra mana for some additional effect, which is exactly what kicker does on a fundamental level. When people say “everything is just kicker,” they're joking about the fact that many Magic mechanics could just be rewritten as kicker instead.

For example, squad and replicate let you pay extra mana to copy creatures and spells multiple times, which is just multikicker with a more specific card type requirement.

Monstrosity is just “kicker on a permanent,” letting you pay the kicker cost later than upfront. Rooms from Duskmourn are very similar, letting you “kick” a room to unlock the other half later on.

Escalate and entwine are essentially kicker costs that have specific rules text for modal spells. The list goes on.

In an article about kicker written by Mark Rosewater in 2007, he writes: “It's too big of a mechanic… Almost any mechanic that requires paying extra mana (or extra anything) can get shoehorned into the kicker box.” That was 2007, imagine how many more kicker-like mechanics have been released since then.

Best Kicker Cards

#10. Tear Asunder

Kicker on Tear Asunder is a showcase in how this ability can produce what's essentially a split card. This is either 2 mana for an exiling Disenchant or 4 mana for Utter End, which a fairly middling piece of creature removal that sometimes snipes different permanent types for half the cost.

#9. Galadriel's Dismissal

Phasing is the best form of protection in Magic, but can also be used offensively to get a blocker out of the way. The kicker on Galadriel's Dismissal either saves your entire board or removes all of an opponent's blockers for a turn, which is a great amount of flexibility on a 1-mana spell.

#8. Thieving Skydiver

Everybody has good artifacts to be stolen in EDH, from mana rocks to powerful equipment. Thieving Skydiver is here to do precisely that. Kicker X adds flexibility to what can be stolen too. A 2/1 that steals something useful is good in my books.

#7. Nullpriest of Oblivion

Nullpriest of Oblivion saw some former Standard play since 6 mana to Reanimate a creature and have a menace/lifelink threat is good. It’s also a vampire and cleric, which are both popular typal themes.

#6. Goblin Bushwhacker

Goblin Bushwhacker is a finisher in red aggro and goblin decks that go wide. Adding a creature that's effectively a 2/1 haste for 2 mana and a goblin is okay, and giving +1/+0 to other creatures you control can lead to a very powerful attack.

#5. Tourach, Dread Cantor

Tourach, Dread Cantor is a powerful threat in Modern midrange decks. Its kicker effect and cost is basically Hymn to Tourach, a powerful card that’s not even legal in Modern.

You can have a 4/3 for 4 mana which has taken two cards at random from the opponent. It’s also a human and cleric for the decks that want those types of creatures, and protection from white helps in a lot of matchups.

#4. Bloodchief’s Thirst

Bloodchief's Thirst is a flexible removal spell that sees play in Pioneer/Explorer. Getting rid of a small creature for 1 mana is very good even at sorcery speed, and for 4 mana you can get rid of some troublesome creatures, or even planeswalkers.

#3. Rite of Replication

Rite of Replication is a Commander staple in my mind. It costs a bunch of mana, but gives you five copies of a creature! It doesn't get much more explosive that than. Just picture getting something like five Craterhoof Behemoths onto the board! You'll be doing a bit of math, but that's the fun part.

#2. Vines of Vastwood

Vines of Vastwood is a good combat trick to have since giving hexproof for 1 mana is good, and for 2 mana your creature will also get +4/+4 until end of turn. It's an infect staple in formats that have strong infect decks such as Modern and played in Pauper since it’s a common card.

Oh, and since it’s not technically hexproof that you’re giving, you can target your opponent’s creatures to prevent them from targeting their own creatures with spells or abilities.

#1. Everflowing Chalice

A staple in EDH decks, the more mana you pay, the merrier. You won't cast Everflowing Chalice for 0 mana since it’s almost useless, but for 2 mana you get a 1-mana mana rock. For 4 mana you get a 2-mana mana rock like Hedron Archive, and so on.

There used to be some decks in Modern that transferred charge counters from one artifact to another in order to turn Everflowing Chalice into a mana-generating beast, but most of the time you’re happy paying 4 mana here.

Decklist: Simic Kicker in Pioneer

Roost of Drakes | Illustration by Bayard Wu

This was a former Standard deck that's since rotated and now fits into Pioneer, though not in a competitive sense. This deck shows a mix of kicker payoff cards and kicker cards, and you can see it in action here. Simic () is the color combination that has the most kicker cards and payoffs. The main payoff cards are Roost of Drakes and Verazol, the Split Current.

Roost of Drakes makes a 2/2 token each time a spell is kicked and even works with itself since you can play a cheap Roost for 1 mana and kick the second one for 4. Verazol allows you to copy a kicked spell, generating card advantage while being a win condition. Another payoff is Coralhelm Commander since it cares about kicked spells, and you loot each time a kicked spell is cast.

You have some kicker removal in the form of Into the Roil and Bubble Snare. Vine Gecko is the glue that holds this deck together since it makes your kicked cards cheaper, and it grows with each kicked spell. Murasa Sproutling is card advantage and recursion like an Eternal Witness in this deck.

This is a fun budget deck, and it’s also easy to build on MTG Arena since it relies mainly on common and uncommon cards.

Wrap Up

Tourach, Dread Cantor | Illustration by Greg Staples

Kicker is bound to return from time to time since it’s a clean, elegant, and beloved mechanic that solves one of the game’s fundamental problems. And that's beside being a fun build-around mechanic with lots of design space. It’s a matter of when, not if kicker will return.

Dominaria United was the last time we saw kicker as a full set mechanic, but it's been trickled into a bunch of sets since then, and always has the chance of coming back with more support and payoffs.

Have I missed your favorite kicker card? Let me know in the comments below or over on Twitter.

Stay safe folks, and until next time!