MTG Initiative Explained: Rules, the Undercity Dungeon Room by Room, All 26 Initiative Cards, Why Five Are Banned, and a Budget Sefris Deck (2026)

The initiative has the worst ban record of any mechanic this site has measured. It appeared in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate on 10 June 2022 with 26 cards. Four years later there are still only those 26: no new initiative card has been printed since, and five of the 26 are banned somewhere. Pauper banned four of the commons after three months, and Legacy banned White Plume Adventurer after nine. That is 19% of the population, a higher share than storm (6 of 34), which ranks as the second-most-banned keyword in Magic.

This guide covers the rule word for word, how you take and lose the initiative, and the Undercity dungeon room by room, with the shortest path and which branch to take. It explains the difference between “venture into Undercity” and “venture into the dungeon”, which is the ruling most players get wrong. It then compares the initiative with the monarch, lists all 26 cards with Scryfall prices and EDHREC deck counts, covers the ban record in both formats, the rulings, the commanders and the four precons, and ends with a $84.22 Sefris of the Hidden Ways deck that takes the initiative again every turn.

What is the initiative in MTG?

The initiative is a designation that one player at a time can have, similar to the monarch. When you take it, you venture into Undercity, a special nine-room dungeon. While you have it, you venture again at the start of each of your upkeeps. If any player’s creatures deal combat damage to you, that player takes the initiative from you and ventures into Undercity themselves. If you take the initiative while you already have it, you still venture. That last point is why so many initiative cards are creatures with an enters trigger: flicker one and you move another room.

Question	Answer
What kind of rule is it?	A player designation (Comprehensive Rules 726), not a keyword ability. Scryfall has no keyword:initiative filter; the search o:initiative finds the cards.
How many cards mention it?	26 cards plus the Undercity dungeon card. 23 of the 26 make you take the initiative; three only reward you for having it (Imoen, Rasaad, Safana).
When was it introduced?	Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate (CLB), 10 June 2022. Every one of the 26 debuted there.
Printed since?	No new initiative card in any set since June 2022.
Where is it legal?	Commander, Legacy and Vintage (all 26, minus White Plume Adventurer in Legacy). Pauper: 3 legal, 4 banned. Never legal in Standard, Pioneer, Modern or any Arena format.
What does it do?	You venture into Undercity when you take it and at the start of each of your upkeeps. Combat damage to you moves it to the attacker.
How long to complete Undercity?	Five ventures along any path, e.g. take it and then keep it through four of your upkeeps.
Cheapest way in	22 of the 26 cost under $1. Only Avenging Hunter, Seasoned Dungeoneer, Sarevok’s Tome and White Plume Adventurer cost more than $2.

The rule, word for word

The Comprehensive Rules (7 August 2026 edition) cover the initiative in five short rules. Most tabletop arguments about it end once someone reads 726.2 and 726.5:

726.1. The initiative is a designation a player can have. There is no initiative in a game until an effect instructs a player to take the initiative. A player who currently has the initiative designation is said to have the initiative.

726.2. There are three inherent triggered abilities associated with having the initiative. These triggered abilities have no source and are controlled by the player who had the initiative at the time the abilities triggered. This is an exception to rule 113.8. The full text of these abilities are “At the beginning of the upkeep of the player who has the initiative, that player ventures into Undercity,” “Whenever one or more creatures a player controls deal combat damage to the player who has the initiative, the controller of those creatures takes the initiative,” and “Whenever a player takes the initiative, that player ventures into Undercity.”

726.3. Only one player can have the initiative at a time. As a player takes the initiative, the player who currently has the initiative ceases to have it.

726.4. If the player who has the initiative leaves the game, the active player takes the initiative at the same time that player leaves the game. If the active player is leaving the game or if there is no active player, the next player in turn order takes the initiative.

726.5. If the player who currently has the initiative is instructed to take the initiative, this causes the last triggered ability in 726.2 to trigger but does not create a second initiative designation.

Three consequences follow directly from the text:

• The triggers have no source. The initiative isn’t a permanent, so you can’t destroy it or exile it. It moves only when another player takes it: through combat damage or their own “take the initiative” card. Cards that stop “abilities of permanents” don’t stop it. Stifle-style effects can counter each trigger individually, because each is still a triggered ability on the stack.
• “One or more creatures” means one steal per combat damage step. Five creatures connecting at once make one trigger, not five. First strike and regular damage are separate combat damage steps, so a player whose first striker connects takes the initiative and then loses it in the regular damage step if someone else’s creature connects too. In multiplayer, only the player who has the initiative can be the target of a steal, so attacking anyone else doesn’t move it.
• Re-taking is a real venture. Rule 726.5 is the engine of every initiative deck. The designation doesn’t stack, but the “whenever a player takes the initiative” trigger fires every time.

How the initiative works, turn by turn

Taking it

Something tells you to “take the initiative”: usually a creature entering, sometimes a sorcery (Explore the Underdark, From the Catacombs) or an activated ability (Dungeoneer’s Pack, sorcery speed only). The initiative moves to you and you venture into Undercity immediately. If you weren’t in a dungeon, Undercity goes into the command zone and your marker goes on Secret Entrance, which searches your library for a basic land. So an initiative card is card advantage the moment it resolves.

Keeping it

At the beginning of your upkeep, if you still have the initiative, you venture again. Nothing else is required: no attack, no mana. A table that can’t deal combat damage to you lets you walk to the bottom of the dungeon in four more upkeeps.

Losing it

Apart from an opponent casting their own initiative card, the only way the initiative changes hands is combat damage to its holder. That is why initiative decks play defense: high-toughness creatures, untap effects, flying blockers and attack taxes like Propaganda. The opponent who connects takes the initiative and ventures into Undercity themselves, starting Undercity at Secret Entrance if they aren’t already in a dungeon. Their marker and yours are separate; each player tracks their own dungeon.

If the holder leaves the game

Rule 726.4 is identical in shape to the monarch’s: the active player takes the initiative, and because that counts as taking it, the active player also ventures. In a four-player game, knocking out the initiative holder on your own turn gives it to you.

Undercity, room by room

Undercity is the only dungeon you can enter through the initiative, and the initiative is the only way to enter it. It has nine rooms on five levels, so completing it always takes exactly five ventures, whichever path you choose. The “Venture #” column shows which venture puts your marker in each room:

Room	Venture #	Effect	Leads to
Secret Entrance	1	Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.	Forge, Lost Well
Forge	2	Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.	Trap!, Arena
Lost Well	2	Scry 2.	Arena, Stash
Trap!	3	Target player loses 5 life.	Archives
Arena	3	Goad target creature.	Archives, Catacombs
Stash	3	Create a Treasure token.	Catacombs
Archives	4	Draw a card.	Throne of the Dead Three
Catacombs	4	Create a 4/1 black Skeleton creature token with menace.	Throne of the Dead Three
Throne of the Dead Three	5	Reveal the top ten cards of your library. Put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. It gains hexproof until your next turn. Then shuffle.	Dungeon complete

Which way to go

• Venture 2: Forge or Lost Well. Forge (two +1/+1 counters) makes a blocker harder to get through, which protects the initiative. Lost Well (scry 2) leads to Stash and the Arena. Most players take Forge on an empty board and Lost Well when they need specific cards.
• Venture 3: Trap!, Arena or Stash. Trap! is five life from one player, which is the room that kills people in Commander. Arena goads a creature, which forces an attacker toward someone else and away from you. Stash makes a Treasure. From Forge you can only reach Trap! or Arena; from Lost Well only Arena or Stash.
• Venture 4: Archives or Catacombs. Trap! leads only to Archives (draw a card), Stash only to Catacombs (a 4/1 menace Skeleton), and Arena to either one.
• Venture 5: Throne of the Dead Three. Reveal ten cards, put a creature from among them onto the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters and hexproof until your next turn. The dungeon is then complete, which switches on every “if you’ve completed a dungeon” clause in the set.

Completing the dungeon doesn’t end anything. If you have the initiative at your next upkeep, you venture into Undercity again and start over at Secret Entrance. The completion counts forever, so the second half of cards like White Plume Adventurer, Undermountain Adventurer and Loot Dispute stays on for the rest of the game.

Venture into Undercity vs venture into the dungeon

This is the part of the rules most people get wrong, and the CLB release rulings (attached to the initiative cards on Scryfall) settle it:

1. You can’t start Undercity with a plain venture. If you aren’t in a dungeon and a card says “venture into the dungeon”, you have to pick one of the three AFR dungeons (Lost Mine of Phandelver, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Tomb of Annihilation). Undercity says on its face that you can’t enter it unless you “venture into Undercity”.
2. The initiative can’t start the other dungeons. If you aren’t in a dungeon when you take the initiative, you have to start Undercity.
3. Once you are in a dungeon, both instructions move the same marker. Venture into Undercity while you are in Tomb of Annihilation and you advance in Tomb of Annihilation. Venture into the dungeon while you are in Undercity and you advance in Undercity. Rule 701.49d says that if you already have a dungeon, “venture into [quality]” follows the normal procedure.
4. From the last room, either instruction completes the dungeon and starts the next one. The venture into Undercity instruction then starts Undercity, whatever dungeon you just finished.

This is why the venture cards from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (Nadaar, Radiant Solar, Acererak, the Planar Ally attackers) belong in an initiative deck. Once the initiative has put you in Undercity, every one of them pushes the same marker toward the Throne.

Initiative vs monarch

The initiative is essentially the monarch, redesigned six years later with a bigger reward and a faster clock. They are the only two designations in the Comprehensive Rules that one player holds and another can take in combat:

Rule	Monarch (CR 725)	Initiative (CR 726)
Introduced	Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 2016	Battle for Baldur’s Gate, June 2022
Cards	63 across eleven products	26, all from one set
Reward while held	Draw a card at your end step	Venture into Undercity at your upkeep
Reward for taking it	Nothing	Venture into Undercity immediately
Taken again while held	Nothing new	Another venture (726.5)
How it’s stolen	Combat damage to the monarch	Combat damage to the initiative holder
Holder leaves the game	Active player becomes the monarch	Active player takes the initiative (and ventures)
Payoff for finishing	None	Throne of the Dead Three, then every “completed a dungeon” clause
Bans	1 (Fall from Favor, Pauper, 2021)	5 (four in Pauper 2022, one in Legacy 2023)

The monarch gives you a card every turn and nothing for taking it. The initiative gives you a room when you take it and another every upkeep, and a Secret Entrance land plus two +1/+1 counters before your opponent’s next turn is already more than a monarch draw. That front-loading is the difference. In a two-player game there is only one opponent to take the initiative back, so a durable blocker can hold it for several turns.

All 26 initiative cards

Every card that mentions the initiative, sorted by how many EDHREC Commander decks play it. Prices are the cheapest ordinary printing on Scryfall on 24 September 2026. The “Legal in” column comes from Scryfall’s legality data:

Card	Cost	Type	Rarity	How it gives the initiative	Rules text (besides taking it)	EDHREC decks	Price	Legal in
White Plume Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	Creature — Orc Cleric	rare	Takes it when it enters	At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, untap a creature you control. If you’ve completed a dungeon, untap all creatures you control instead.	49,605	$2.16	Banned in Legacy — Vintage · Commander
Seasoned Dungeoneer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{W}	Creature — Human Warrior	rare	Takes it when it enters	Whenever you attack, target attacking Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, or Wizard gains protection from creatures until end of turn. It explores.	34,831	$4.16	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Explore the Underdark Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{G}	Sorcery	uncommon	Spell — takes it on resolution	Search your library for up to two basic land cards and/or Gate cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. You take the initiative.	27,000	$0.22	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Ravenloft Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}	Creature — Human Rogue Assassin	rare	Takes it when it enters	If a creature an opponent controls would die, instead exile it and put a hit counter on it. Whenever this creature attacks, if you’ve completed a dungeon, defending player loses 1 life for each card they own in exile with a hit counter on it.	26,484	$0.37	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Sarevok’s Tome Buy on TCGplayer	{4}	Artifact — Book	rare	Takes it when it enters	{T}: Add {C}. If you have the initiative, add {C}{C} instead. {3}, {T}: Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Activate only if you’ve completed a dungeon.	25,987	$2.18	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Tomb of Horrors Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{5}{U}	Creature — Elf Monk	rare	Takes it when it enters	Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, copy it. If you’ve completed a dungeon, copy that spell twice instead. You may choose new targets for the copies.	24,666	$0.35	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Rilsa Rael, Kingpin Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{U}{B}	Legendary Creature — Human Rogue	uncommon	Takes it when it enters	Whenever you attack, target attacking creature gains deathtouch until end of turn. If you’ve completed a dungeon, that creature also gets +5/+0 and gains first strike and menace until end of turn.	19,154	$0.11	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Caves of Chaos Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{R}	Creature — Human Barbarian	rare	Takes it when it enters	Whenever this creature attacks, exile the top card of your library. If you’ve completed a dungeon, you may play that card this turn without paying its mana cost. Otherwise, you may play that card this turn.	18,395	$0.38	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
From the Catacombs Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}{B}	Sorcery	rare	Spell — takes it on resolution	Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control with a corpse counter on it. You take the initiative. If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else. Escape—{3}{B}{B}, Exile five other cards from your graveyard.	15,973	$0.91	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Aarakocra Sneak Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{U}	Creature — Bird Rogue	common	Takes it when it enters	—	14,269	$0.10	Banned in Pauper — Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Feywild Caretaker Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{U}	Creature — Orc Wizard	uncommon	Takes it when it enters	At the beginning of your end step, if you have the initiative, create a 1/1 blue Faerie Dragon creature token with flying.	13,445	$0.12	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Imoen, Mystic Trickster Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{U}	Legendary Creature — Human Rogue Wizard	uncommon	Payoff only — never takes it	At the beginning of your end step, if you have the initiative, draw a card. Draw another card if you’ve completed a dungeon.	11,356	$0.19	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Dungeoneer’s Pack Buy on TCGplayer	{3}	Artifact	uncommon	Activated (sorcery speed)	This artifact enters tapped. {2}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: You take the initiative, gain 3 life, draw a card, and create a Treasure token. Activate only as a sorcery.	10,946	$0.29	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Rasaad yn Bashir Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	Legendary Creature — Human Monk	uncommon	Payoff only — never takes it	Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power. Whenever Rasaad yn Bashir attacks, if you have the initiative, double the toughness of each creature you control until end of turn.	10,716	$0.17	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Undermountain Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{G}	Creature — Giant Warrior	rare	Takes it when it enters	{T}: Add {G}{G}. If you’ve completed a dungeon, add six {G} instead.	10,545	$0.38	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Stirring Bard Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{R}	Creature — Dragon Bard	common	Takes it when it enters	Mantle of Inspiration — {T}: Target creature gains menace and haste until end of turn.	10,136	$0.24	Banned in Pauper — Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Loot Dispute Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{R}	Enchantment	rare	Takes it when it enters	When this enchantment enters, you take the initiative and create a Treasure token. Whenever you attack the player who has the initiative, create a Treasure token. Loud Ruckus — Whenever you complete a dungeon, create a 5/5 red Dragon creature token with flying.	10,102	$0.31	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Trailblazer’s Torch Buy on TCGplayer	{4}	Artifact — Equipment	common	Takes it when it enters	Whenever equipped creature becomes blocked, it deals 2 damage to each creature blocking it. Equip {1}	10,027	$0.20	Legacy · Vintage · Commander · Pauper
Passageway Seer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}	Creature — Tiefling Warlock	uncommon	Takes it when it enters	At the beginning of your end step, if you have the initiative, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.	9,818	$0.19	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Vicious Battlerager Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}	Creature — Dwarf Barbarian	common	Takes it when it enters	Spiked Retribution — Whenever this creature becomes blocked by a creature, that creature’s controller loses 5 life.	9,459	$0.18	Banned in Pauper — Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Safana, Calimport Cutthroat Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{B}	Legendary Creature — Human Rogue	uncommon	Payoff only — never takes it	At the beginning of your end step, if you have the initiative, create a Treasure token. Create three of those tokens instead if you’ve completed a dungeon.	9,059	$0.10	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Undercellar Sweep Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{W}	Enchantment	uncommon	Takes it when it enters	Whenever you attack, if you or a player you’re attacking has the initiative, you create two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens that are tapped and attacking.	7,768	$0.16	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Bloodboil Sorcerer Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{R}	Creature — Human Shaman Sorcerer	uncommon	Takes it when it enters	Crown of Madness — {1}{R}, Sacrifice an artifact or creature: Goad target creature.	6,484	$0.24	Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Goliath Paladin Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{W}	Creature — Giant Knight	common	Takes it when it enters	—	6,353	$0.16	Legacy · Vintage · Commander · Pauper
Underdark Explorer Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{B}	Creature — Lizard Warrior	common	Takes it when it enters	—	5,981	$0.21	Banned in Pauper — Legacy · Vintage · Commander
Avenging Hunter Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{G}	Creature — Dragon Ranger	common	Takes it when it enters	—	4,527	$5.21	Legacy · Vintage · Commander · Pauper

Four ways to take it, and three cards that never do

Sorting the 26 by how they give you the initiative:

• 20 take it when they enter. Sixteen creatures plus Loot Dispute and Undercellar Sweep (enchantments), Sarevok’s Tome and Trailblazer’s Torch (artifacts). Every one of them gives you another venture if you flicker it.
• 2 are sorceries. Explore the Underdark ramps two lands. From the Catacombs reanimates from any graveyard and has escape, so you can cast it again from your graveyard and take the initiative again.
• 1 is an activated ability. Dungeoneer’s Pack: {2}, tap, sacrifice, at sorcery speed. The only initiative card you can hold back and use when the board is safe.
• 3 are payoffs that never take it. Imoen draws, Safana makes Treasure and Rasaad doubles toughness, but only while you have the initiative. All three are legendary with Choose a Background, so they were built to be commanders in an initiative deck.

The white cards are the ones people actually play: White Plume Adventurer leads with 49,605 EDHREC decks and Seasoned Dungeoneer is second with 34,831. Both are cheap white creatures that do something after the initiative is gone.

One set, four years: why there are only 26

Scryfall has the whole history in one line: all 26 initiative cards debut in CLB (10 June 2022) and none has been printed in a new set since. Nothing has been printed in a Standard set (st:expansion 0, st:core 0) and nothing in a Commander precon product after CLB. The only other printings are CLB promos and one Secret Lair card (Seasoned Dungeoneer). The initiative has never been legal on MTG Arena (Historic, Timeless, Brawl and Alchemy all 0), because CLB never came to Arena.

Compare that with its predecessor. The monarch was printed in eleven products over ten years, including Commander Masters, the Lord of the Rings Commander decks and Marvel Super Heroes Commander in 2026. The initiative debuted in a draft set built around multiplayer Commander drafting, was banned twice within nine months, and was never revisited. We don’t know of any Wizards statement that the initiative is retired. The record shows it hasn’t been reprinted in four years, including in the 2024–2026 Commander products that brought back the monarch and goad.

That has two practical effects. First, the pool is frozen, so the table below is complete and will stay complete until Wizards decides otherwise. Second, because none of the cards has been reprinted in a precon, the prices come from one print run, and 22 of the 26 still cost under a dollar.

The ban record: five cards in nine months

Card	Format	Banned	Months after release	Rarity	Cost
Aarakocra Sneak Buy on TCGplayer	Pauper	19 Sep 2022	3	common	{3}{U}
Stirring Bard Buy on TCGplayer	Pauper	19 Sep 2022	3	common	{3}{R}
Underdark Explorer Buy on TCGplayer	Pauper	19 Sep 2022	3	common	{4}{B}
Vicious Battlerager Buy on TCGplayer	Pauper	19 Sep 2022	3	common	{3}{B}
White Plume Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	Legacy	6 Mar 2023	9	rare	{2}{W}

Pauper: four of seven commons gone in three months

The 19 September 2022 banned and restricted announcement (read directly on magic.wizards.com) banned Aarakocra Sneak, Stirring Bard, Underdark Explorer and Vicious Battlerager in Pauper, effective the same day on Magic Online and in tabletop. The announcement page itself gives no reasoning. It points to a video discussion instead. What’s on the cards is clear enough: four-mana bodies with 4 or 5 toughness (or a 5/3 menace) that take the initiative the turn they land and are hard to attack through. In Pauper, where removal is common-rarity and the opponent’s creatures are too, the first player to take the initiative usually kept it.

Card	Cost	Body	Pauper status	Price
Aarakocra Sneak Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{U}	Bird Rogue 1/4	Banned (19 Sep 2022)	$0.10
Stirring Bard Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{R}	Dragon Bard 0/4	Banned (19 Sep 2022)	$0.24
Underdark Explorer Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{B}	Lizard Warrior 5/3	Banned (19 Sep 2022)	$0.21
Vicious Battlerager Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}	Dwarf Barbarian 1/5	Banned (19 Sep 2022)	$0.18
Avenging Hunter Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{G}	Dragon Ranger 5/4	Legal	$5.21
Goliath Paladin Buy on TCGplayer	{4}{W}	Giant Knight 3/6	Legal	$0.16
Trailblazer’s Torch Buy on TCGplayer	{4}	Equipment	Legal	$0.20

Three commons survived. Goliath Paladin and Avenging Hunter cost five mana instead of four, and Trailblazer’s Torch is an artifact that takes the initiative but doesn’t block. Avenging Hunter is the odd one on price at $5.21, the only common in the population over a dollar.

Legacy: White Plume Adventurer, 6 March 2023

Wizards banned White Plume Adventurer in Legacy on 6 March 2023, nine months after release. The announcement (read directly) says the initiative had a large impact on the format and gives the goal as “to reduce the consistency and speed of this gameplay pattern.” White Plume is the one that untaps a creature during each opponent’s upkeep, which lets its controller attack and still block. It is also banned in Duel Commander.

How that compares

Five of 26 is 19.2%. For the other player-level mechanics measured on this site: the monarch has 1 ban in 63 cards (1.6%), goad has 0 in 84, and storm, the second-most-banned keyword in Magic, has 6 in 34 (17.6%). For every format’s current list, see the MTG banned list. All 26 remain legal in Commander (see the Commander banned list).

Rulings players get wrong

Each point is from the CLB release rulings on Scryfall (attached to every initiative card) or the Comprehensive Rules:

1. There is no initiative until a card creates it. No one starts the game with it.
2. Taking it while you have it still ventures. You get one designation and one more room (726.5).
3. A plain “venture into the dungeon” can’t start Undercity, and the initiative can’t start any other dungeon.
4. Once you are in a dungeon, either instruction advances it, whichever dungeon it is.
5. From the Throne, the next venture into Undercity completes the dungeon and starts Undercity again. This is true whether you are in Undercity or any other dungeon.
6. Combat damage from any number of creatures moves it once. “One or more creatures” is one trigger per combat damage step.
7. Only combat damage steals it. Direct damage, life loss and noncombat fights don’t move it.
8. The triggers have no source, so nothing that stops permanents’ abilities stops them (726.2).
9. If the holder leaves, the active player takes it and ventures. If the active player is the one leaving, the next player in turn order takes it (726.4).
10. In Two-Headed Giant, if both teammates connect, both take it in turn. The holder orders the triggers, each teammate ventures, and the last one to take it keeps it.
11. “If you have the initiative” end-step triggers check twice. Imoen and Safana only trigger if you have it as your end step begins, and only resolve if you still have it. A completed dungeon alone does nothing for them.
12. Caves of Chaos Adventurer checks the dungeon when it exiles the card. Completing the dungeon later that turn doesn’t make the exiled card free. If it is free, you can’t choose to pay for it instead.
13. From the Catacombs’ creature is exiled if it would leave the battlefield, even if the corpse counter is gone. The counter is only a reminder. Moving it does nothing.

The best initiative commanders

EDHREC has no initiative tag. Players file these decks under Dungeon, which also covers the AFR venture decks. That tag has 4,460 decks, and its top commanders are:

Commander	Decks tagged Dungeon on EDHREC	Share of the tag
Sefris of the Hidden Ways Buy on TCGplayer	1,365	30.6%
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds Buy on TCGplayer	256	5.7%
Tazri, Beacon of Unity Buy on TCGplayer	170	3.8%
Acererak the Archlich Buy on TCGplayer	159	3.6%
Rilsa Rael, Kingpin Buy on TCGplayer	153	3.4%
Safana, Calimport Cutthroat Buy on TCGplayer	135	3.0%
Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker Buy on TCGplayer	132	3.0%
The Destined Warrior Buy on TCGplayer	123	2.8%
Varis, Silverymoon Ranger Buy on TCGplayer	87	2.0%
Nadaar, Selfless Paladin Buy on TCGplayer	85	1.9%

• Sefris of the Hidden Ways (Esper) leads by a factor of five. She ventures once each turn when creature cards reach your graveyard and reanimates a creature whenever you complete a dungeon. Every initiative creature that dies feeds her, and Throne of the Dead Three plus Create Undead can give you two creatures per completion. She is the commander for the deck below.
• Obeka, Splitter of Seconds gives you one additional upkeep step for each point of combat damage she deals to a player. The initiative’s venture triggers “at the beginning of the upkeep”, so each extra upkeep is an extra room.
• Acererak the Archlich ventures every time you cast him, and Hama Pashar doubles every room, which turns Trap! into ten life.
• Rilsa Rael and Safana are the only initiative cards in the top ten. Rilsa takes the initiative herself and gives an attacker deathtouch. Safana makes a Treasure each end step you have it and pairs with a Background.

For pure initiative decks built on the payoffs, Imoen, Mystic Trickster (draws at end step) or Safana with a Background are the budget options. White is essential in any build: White Plume, Seasoned Dungeoneer, Goliath Paladin and Undercellar Sweep are four of the best initiative cards, and white has the flicker.

Initiative in the precons

Only 4 of the 174 precons on the site hold an initiative card, and all four are the CLB decks, with one card each. The initiative was a draft-booster mechanic. The precons got a single rare each:

Precon	Set	Commander	Initiative card
Draconic Dissent	CLB (2022-06-10)	Firkraag, Cunning Instigator	Loot Dispute
Exit from Exile	CLB (2022-06-10)	Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald	Sarevok’s Tome
Mind Flayarrrs	CLB (2022-06-10)	Captain N’ghathrod	From the Catacombs
Party Time	CLB (2022-06-10)	Nalia de’Arnise	Seasoned Dungeoneer

If you own Party Time, Seasoned Dungeoneer is already in the box. Browse every precon’s full list in the precon browser.

Budget Sefris initiative deck: $84.22

This deck plays 19 of the 26 initiative cards: all nineteen that fit in Esper. It builds around rule 726.5: taking the initiative while you have it is still a venture. Every enters-the-battlefield initiative creature is a room, every flicker of one is another room, and Sefris turns creature cards going to your graveyard into a third source. Completing Undercity reanimates a creature twice: once from Throne of the Dead Three and once from Sefris’s Create Undead. Then you start again.

The list is 100 cards, Commander-legal, all within Sefris’s white-blue-black identity (validated card by card on Scryfall), with 36 lands. Cheapest ordinary printing total: $84.22. Teleportation Circle ($10.47) is the only card over $6.

The flicker engine

Each blink of an initiative creature is one more venture, and at the end step it lands before your opponents’ turns. Teleportation Circle, Soulherder and Conjurer’s Closet do it every turn, so one of them plus one initiative creature is a room per turn on top of your upkeep venture:

Card	Cost	Why it gives you another venture	Price
Ephemerate Buy on TCGplayer	{W}	Instant blink, then rebound blinks again at your next upkeep: two extra ventures for one mana.	$5.16
Momentary Blink Buy on TCGplayer	{1}{W}	Instant blink with flashback {3}{U}: two uses from one card.	$0.12
Teleportation Circle Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{W}	Blinks a creature or artifact at your end step, every turn. Sarevok’s Tome and Trailblazer’s Torch are artifacts, so it resets them too.	$10.47
Conjurer’s Closet Buy on TCGplayer	{5}	The colorless version: optional blink at your end step, creatures only.	$3.41
Soulherder Buy on TCGplayer	{1}{W}{U}	End-step blink on a body that grows each time a creature is exiled from the battlefield.	$1.84
Restoration Angel Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{W}	Flash blink on a 3/4 flier; non-Angels only, so not Radiant Solar.	$0.34
Charming Prince Buy on TCGplayer	{1}{W}	Exiles another creature you own and returns it at the beginning of the next end step.	$0.35

Dungeon support

The Adventures in the Forgotten Realms venture cards push the same marker once you are in Undercity (see the rulings above). Radiant Solar and Hama Pashar are the two to protect:

Card	Cost	Dungeon support (read from its rules text)	Price
Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker Buy on TCGplayer	{1}{W}{U}	Room abilities of your dungeons trigger an additional time: Trap! becomes 10 life, Catacombs two Skeletons, Throne two creatures.	$0.27
Radiant Solar Buy on TCGplayer	{5}{W}	Ventures whenever it or another nontoken creature of yours enters, so every initiative creature moves the marker twice.	$3.28
Nadaar, Selfless Paladin Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	Ventures when it enters and when it attacks; your other creatures get +1/+1 once you have completed a dungeon.	$0.37
Midnight Pathlighter Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}{U}	Your creatures can’t be blocked except by legendary creatures, which is how you take the initiative back.	$1.84
Triumphant Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{W}{B}	Two-mana deathtouch attacker (first strike on your turn) that ventures each time it attacks.	$0.35
Barrowin of Clan Undurr Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}{B}	Ventures on entering; once a dungeon is complete, each attack returns a creature card with mana value 3 or less.	$0.17
Acererak the Archlich Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{B}	Until you have completed Tomb of Annihilation, it returns to your hand and ventures each time it enters: a repeatable venture for {2}{B}.	$4.36
Yuan-Ti Malison Buy on TCGplayer	{1}{U}	Can’t be blocked while attacking alone; ventures on combat damage to a player.	$0.32
Cloister Gargoyle Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	Ventures on entering; +3/+0 and flying once you have completed a dungeon.	$0.22
Planar Ally Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{W}{W}	Flying 3/3 that ventures each time it attacks.	$0.19
Shortcut Seeker Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{U}	Ventures on combat damage to a player.	$0.19

Protecting the initiative

You lose the initiative only to combat damage, so the deck plays like a pillow fort: tax attacks, keep blockers up, remove what gets through.

Card	Cost	How it protects the initiative	Price
Propaganda Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{U}	Each creature attacking you costs {2}. The initiative moves on combat damage, so a tax on attacks protects it.	$2.01
Ghostly Prison Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	The white copy of Propaganda.	$5.48
White Plume Adventurer Buy on TCGplayer	{2}{W}	Untaps one of your creatures at the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep (all of them once a dungeon is complete), so you can attack and still block.	$2.16
Crux of Fate Buy on TCGplayer	{3}{B}{B}	Destroys all non-Dragon creatures, including yours. Save it for when the table has taken the initiative from you and you are behind on board.	$0.32

The decklist

How it plays

• Turns 1–3: ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, the three Talismans, Fellwar Stone, Mind Stone). Hold a two-mana counterspell or removal spell. Don’t take the initiative on a board where you can’t block. Anyone with a creature will just take it from you.
• Turns 3–5: land a high-toughness initiative creature (Goliath Paladin 3/6, Vicious Battlerager 1/5, Passageway Seer with lifelink) or White Plume, which untaps a blocker. Take Forge on venture 2 to make the blocker bigger.
• Turns 5+: Teleportation Circle or Soulherder turns every end step into a room. Take Trap! when an opponent is low. Throne plus Create Undead can bring back two creatures. If you lose the initiative, Midnight Pathlighter makes your team unblockable by nonlegendary creatures and takes it back.
• Win: Trap! for ten life with Hama Pashar, combat with Nadaar’s anthem and Cloister Gargoyle, or grinding the table out with card advantage from Archives and Imoen.

Want a version with your own collection? The AI deck builder will build around Sefris or any initiative commander, and the deck analyzer checks the mana curve. You can also browse community decks for other dungeon lists.

Initiative FAQ

What does “take the initiative” mean in MTG?

You become the player with the initiative, and you venture into Undercity right away. Any other player who had it loses it. If you already had it, you keep it and venture again.

How do you get the initiative back?

Deal combat damage to the player who has it with one or more creatures. You can also cast or blink a card that says “take the initiative”, or knock the holder out of the game on your own turn.

Is the initiative the same as the monarch?

No. They are separate designations (CR 725 and 726) and can be held by different players at once. Both move on combat damage. The monarch draws a card at the end step. The initiative ventures into Undercity when taken and at each upkeep.

Can you venture into Undercity with a normal venture card?

Not to start it. A plain “venture into the dungeon” can’t put Undercity into the command zone. Once you are already in Undercity, a plain venture advances you through it.

How many turns does it take to complete Undercity?

Five ventures. If you take the initiative and keep it, that’s the venture for taking it plus four upkeeps. Blinks, re-takes and AFR venture cards make it faster.

What happens after you complete Undercity?

The dungeon leaves the command zone and you’ve “completed a dungeon” for the rest of the game. At your next upkeep with the initiative you venture into Undercity again and start over at Secret Entrance.

Is the initiative banned in Commander?

No. All 26 initiative cards are legal in Commander. White Plume Adventurer is banned in Legacy and Duel Commander, and four commons are banned in Pauper.

Why were the initiative cards banned in Pauper?

The 19 September 2022 announcement lists the four bans (Aarakocra Sneak, Stirring Bard, Underdark Explorer, Vicious Battlerager) without explaining them on the page. The cards are durable four-mana bodies that took the initiative and were hard to attack through in a commons-only format.

Is the initiative on MTG Arena?

No. None of the 26 cards is legal in any Arena format. Battle for Baldur’s Gate never came to Arena.

Will Wizards print more initiative cards?

Nothing has been announced. The record is 26 cards in June 2022 and none since, while the monarch and goad were both reprinted in Commander products through 2026.

Does goad from the Arena room protect the initiative?

Yes, partly. A creature goaded by the Arena room must attack each combat if able, and must attack a player other than you if able. In a multiplayer game that points one threat away from you. Goad is covered in full in its own guide.

Can the initiative be stolen by first strike damage?

Yes. Each combat damage step is separate. A first striker that connects takes it for its controller in the first-strike step, and a different player’s creature connecting in the regular step takes it again.

Does flickering an initiative creature give another venture?

Yes. It re-enters as a new object, its enters trigger tells you to take the initiative, and rule 726.5 says that triggers the venture even if you already have it. See the best blink commanders for more flicker engines.

Keep reading

• MTG Monarch Explained: the initiative’s predecessor, 63 cards and one ban.
• MTG Goad Explained: the Arena room’s effect, and 84 more goad cards.
• Best Blink Commanders: every flicker archetype for re-taking the initiative.
• MTG Stax Explained: pillow fort, attack taxes and how to keep what you hold.