Cascade — what does it mean?
When you cast this spell, exile cards from your library until you hit a cheaper one, which you may cast for free.
Cascade appears on 38 cards.
How does Cascade work?
Cascade is a triggered ability that goes off when you cast the spell that has it. You exile cards from the top of your library one at a time until you exile a nonland card with a mana value strictly lower than the cascade spell's mana value. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Every other card exiled this way, plus the hit if you decline to cast it, goes to the bottom of your library in a random order. Lands are always skipped, and so is anything with an equal or higher mana value.
The order on the stack surprises a lot of players. The cascade trigger sits above the original spell, and you cast the hit while that trigger is resolving. That puts the hit on top of the stack, so it resolves first and your cascade spell resolves after it. Because you cast it during resolution, the normal timing restrictions don't apply: you can cascade into a sorcery or creature even if the cascade spell was cast at instant speed on someone else's turn. Countering the cascade spell doesn't stop the cascade, since the trigger already exists. Stopping it takes an effect that counters triggered abilities.
Casting for free has the usual consequences. If the hit has X in its mana cost, X is 0. Since the hit is cast, it triggers anything that cares about casting, and if it has cascade itself, that cascade triggers too and you can chain. A spell with multiple instances of cascade triggers once for each. The last step is always your choice: you decide whether to cast the card you hit.
An example at the table
You cast a spell with cascade that has mana value 5. The trigger goes on the stack and you start exiling: a land, another land, a creature with mana value 6, and then a sorcery with mana value 3. The lands are skipped and the 6 is too expensive, so you stop at the sorcery and cast it for free. It goes on top of the stack and resolves first. The two lands and the 6-drop go to the bottom of your library in a random order. Then your original 5-mana spell resolves. You got two spells for five mana.
Cards with Cascade
Apex DevastatorIllustration: Svetlin Velinov
Maelstrom WandererIllustration: Victor Adame Minguez
Call Forth the TempestIllustration: Campbell White
Imoti, Celebrant of BountyIllustration: Ekaterina Burmak
Annoyed AltisaurIllustration: Lars Grant-WestCommon mistakes
- Stopping at a card with the same mana value. The hit must have a strictly lower mana value than the cascade spell.
- Thinking that countering the cascade spell cancels the cascade. The trigger is already on the stack and resolves on its own.
- Paying for X on a cascaded spell. When you cast a spell without paying its mana cost, X is 0.
- Resolving the cascade spell first. The card you cascade into is cast later, ends up on top of the stack and resolves first.
Frequently asked questions
- Does cascade still work if I cast the spell for free?
- Yes. Cascade triggers on casting and compares against the spell's mana value, not against what you actually paid.
- Can I choose not to cast the card I hit?
- Yes. Casting it is optional. If you decline, it goes to the bottom of your library with the other exiled cards in a random order.
- What happens if there's no valid card?
- You exile your whole library looking for one, then put all of it back on the bottom in a random order. You don't lose the game for that.
- Does a cascaded spell count for storm and prowess?
- Yes. The card you cascade into is cast, so it counts for anything that cares about casting spells.
Official rule: Comprehensive Rules 702.85. More on where this rulebook comes from under Sources.
Often seen with
Which cards with Cascade do you own? →
Last updated: 26 October 2026