Doubling Season and Planeswalkers

Random Thoughts from a Restless Mind

Created At: April 23, 2025 - 1:19 am
Updated At: April 23, 2025 - 1:19 am

I relearned something today that I'd known before, but today I learned the reason why, which I don't think I ever knew before, and I think this will help me better remember going forward! (That was a terrible first sentence, but here we are...)

If you control a Doubling Season and you successfully cast a Planeswalker spell, your Planeswalker enters with twice the number of loyalty counters; however, if you activate an ability that adds counters, like a +1, it doesn't double those. A +1 still only adds 1, a +2 still only adds 2, etc... I knew this, but often forgot and had to relook it up. But now, I've learned why!

Doubling Season doubles the number of counters put on something as an effect, but the loyalty counters that are put on when activating a planeswalker ability are put on as part of a cost, so they don't get doubled.

The more you know.

Relevant Gatherer ruling (11/8/2024): "Planeswalkers will enter with double the normal number of loyalty counters. However, if you activate an ability whose cost has you put loyalty counters on a planeswalker, the number you put on isn't doubled. This is because those counters are put on as a cost, not as an effect."