Thumbscrews · CommanderView

Thumbscrews

Thumbscrews

Artifact

Oracle text

At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have five or more cards in hand, this artifact deals 1 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.

"We will start small, I think." —Volrath

Illustrated by Charles Gillespie

Released on October 14, 1997

Tags

burnburn planeswalkerburn planeswalkerburn playercard nameshand size mattershand size mattershand size mattershand size mattersintervening if clausepingerpingerremovalremoval burnremoval planeswalkerrepeatable crimerepeatable removalsingle english word nametriggered ability

Legality

Commander
Standard
Modern
Legacy
1v1 Commander
Alchemy
Standard Brawl
Pioneer
Pauper
Historic
Vintage
Timeless
Brawl
Competitive Brawl
Future
Gladiator
Oathbreaker
Old School
Pauper Commander
Penny Dreadful
PreDH
Premodern
Tiny Leaders: Reborn

LegalNot legalBanned / restrictedUnknown

Rulings

2004-10-04
It checks the number of cards in your hand at the beginning of upkeep, and if you have 4 or fewer cards in hand it will not trigger. It checks again when it resolves and will not deal damage unless you still have 5 or more cards in hand.