Explore is a keyword action with two possible outcomes, and the top card of your library decides which one you get. When a creature explores, you reveal the top card of your library. If it is a land, it goes into your hand. If it is anything else, the creature gets a +1/+1 counter and you choose whether that card stays on top of your library or goes to your graveyard. The reminder text says it in one breath: "Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard." The rule behind the reminder text is 701.44a, and the whole mechanic lives in that one fork: land or nonland, hand or counter. You never choose the branch. You only choose, on the nonland branch, whether the card you saw stays on top for your next draw.
This guide is part of our MTG keywords and mechanics glossary, the index of every mechanic guide on Mana Grove.
Below: the rule line by line, what happens at each branch, the edge cases players get wrong (an empty library, a creature that has already left, two explores in a row, counter doublers), the things explore does not do, and the explore cards Commander players run, read from our card database.
The rule, line by line
Explore is a keyword action rather than a keyword ability, which is why it never appears alone on a card. A spell or an ability tells a permanent to explore, and the Comprehensive Rules then take over.
Rule 701.44a
Certain spells and abilities instruct a permanent to explore. To do so, that permanent's controller reveals the top card of their library. If a land card is revealed this way, that player puts that card into their hand. Otherwise, that player puts a +1/+1 counter on the exploring permanent and may put the revealed card into their graveyard.
Rule 701.44b
A permanent "explores" after the process described in rule 701.44a is complete, even if some or all of those actions were impossible.
Four details do the work:
- It is an instruction, not a cost. "When this creature enters, it explores" is a triggered ability. It goes on the stack, your opponents can respond to it, and the explore happens when the ability resolves. Nothing is paid, and you cannot decide not to reveal.
- One card, revealed. Rule 701.20b says revealing a card does not cause it to leave the zone it is in, so the card sits on top of your library until the branch moves it, and everyone at the table sees what it is.
- A land goes to your hand. Any land card, basic or not. It goes to your hand, not onto the battlefield, so it is not a land drop and it does not trigger landfall by itself.
- A nonland card means a counter and a choice. The +1/+1 counter is mandatory. Putting the card into your graveyard is optional: the rule says "may". Keep it on top and you know your next draw; bin it and you draw something new.
The second line, 701.44b, is the one that answers most table arguments. The permanent counts as having explored once the process is finished, even when part of it was impossible, so anything that says "whenever a creature you control explores" still triggers.
Land or nonland: how explore resolves
Every explore ends on one of two branches, and the revealed card picks the branch for you:
| A land card is revealed | A nonland card is revealed | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the revealed card goes | Into your hand | It stays on top of your library, unless you choose to put it into your graveyard |
| +1/+1 counter on the exploring permanent | No | Yes, if it is still on the battlefield (701.44c) |
| Your only choice | None | Leave the card on top, or put it into your graveyard |
| Counts as drawing a card | No (121.1) | No |
| Counts as having explored | Yes (701.44b) | Yes (701.44b) |
Three details sit around the table. The land goes to your hand, not onto the battlefield, so it is not a land drop and it does not trigger landfall until you play it. The +1/+1 counter goes on the permanent that explored, never on another creature. And the graveyard is reachable only on the nonland branch: a revealed land always goes to your hand, and a nonland card goes to the graveyard only if you choose, which makes explore a small engine for graveyard decks as well as a filter.
How explore actually works
What happens if my library is empty?
The rule has exactly two branches, and the second one is "otherwise". With no card to reveal, the reveal itself is impossible, and rule 101.3 says that "any part of an instruction that's impossible to perform is ignored". No land card was revealed, so the second branch applies: the exploring creature gets its +1/+1 counter, and there is no revealed card to put into a graveyard. Rule 701.44b then says the permanent still explored, so Wildgrowth Walker still gives you its counter and three life. You do not lose the game either. Losing for an empty library is a state-based action that only cares about a player who "attempted to draw a card from a library with no cards in it" (704.5b), and explore never draws.
What if the creature has already left the battlefield?
Rule 701.44c covers it: "If a permanent is no longer on the battlefield as an effect instructs it to explore, its last known information is used to determine which object explored and who controlled it." Kill Jadelight Ranger in response to its trigger and its controller still explores twice: they still reveal, a land still goes to their hand, a nonland card can still go to their graveyard. The only thing that fails is the counter, because there is nothing left to put it on. And because 701.44b says the Ranger still explored, the payoffs still trigger.
Two explores in a row are two separate reveals
Jadelight Ranger "explores, then it explores again", and Topography Tracker turns every explore into two. These are sequential. You finish the first explore completely, including the decision to keep the card on top or put it in the graveyard, before you reveal for the second. So if you keep a nonland card on top, the second explore reveals that same card, gives a second counter, and asks you the same question again. If you binned it, the second explore sees a fresh card.
When several permanents are told to explore at the same time, for example every Merfolk you control at the start of combat under Hakbal of the Surging Soul, rule 701.44d has the controller pick one, resolve its explore in full, then pick the next. You always see the result of one explore before you choose the next, which is what makes a chain of explores a genuine card-quality engine rather than a lottery.
Counter doublers make the nonland branch bigger
The +1/+1 counter is placed by an effect, so anything that modifies counters placed on your creatures applies. Rule 614.1a makes these replacement effects: "Effects that use the word 'instead' are replacement effects." Hardened Scales reads "If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead", so an explore that would give one counter gives two. Branching Evolution and Doubling Season double it, and Winding Constrictor adds one. None of them touch the land branch, because the land branch never places a counter.
Map tokens are explore on a timer
Ten of the Commander-legal explore cards in our database work through Map tokens, and the token itself is defined in the rules. Rule 111.10s: "A Map token is a colorless Map artifact token with '{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.'" A Map lets you decide when to explore and which creature does it, at sorcery speed, for one mana. Get Lost destroys a creature, enchantment or planeswalker and hands its controller two Maps as the consolation prize, which is why it is the most played card on this list despite never exploring anything of yours.
What explore does not do
This is the section that settles most disagreements.
- It does not draw a card. Rule 121.1 defines a draw as "putting the top card of their library into their hand", as a draw step action or as part of a cost or effect that says draw. Explore reveals and then puts; nothing that triggers on drawing sees it, and nothing that punishes drawing catches it.
- It does not put the land onto the battlefield. Land to hand means you still need a land drop. Enter the Unknown grants an extra land drop separately, precisely because explore does not.
- It does not let you choose the branch. A revealed land is always a land in hand. A revealed nonland card is always a counter.
- It does not look deeper than one card. Each explore reveals exactly one card. To see more, explore more.
- It does not search or shuffle. Nothing is searched for, so effects that punish or tax searching do not apply, and your library stays in order apart from the one card you may have binned.
- It is not scry. Keeping a nonland card on top or sending it to the graveyard feels like scry, but no card that triggers on scrying sees it.
- The counter goes on the exploring permanent only. Nicanzil, Current Conductor grows when another creature explores a nonland card, but that is Nicanzil's own trigger, not part of the explore.
The best explore cards in Commander
Our card database holds 53 Commander-legal cards that carry the explore keyword: 18 green, 10 blue, 10 black, 7 white, 5 multicolour, 2 colourless and a single red card, and ten of the 53 do their exploring through Map tokens. These are the ones Commander players run most, ordered by how often they appear in Commander decks.
| Card | Cost | What it is doing in the deck |
|---|---|---|
| Get Lost | {1}{W} | Premium instant-speed removal whose only drawback is two Map tokens for the victim |
| Worldwalker Helm | {2}{U} | Every batch of artifact tokens you create comes with an extra Map, and it copies a token artifact for {1}{U} |
| Hakbal of the Surging Soul | {2}{G}{U} | Every Merfolk you control explores at the start of your combat, then Hakbal's attack puts a land from hand onto the battlefield or draws a card |
| Path of Discovery | {3}{G} | Every creature you control explores as it enters, which turns a creature deck into a card-quality engine |
| Amalia Benavides Aguirre | {W}{B} | Explores whenever you gain life, and destroys every other creature the moment its power is exactly 20 |
| Fanatical Offering | {1}{B} | Sacrifice an artifact or creature, draw two cards and keep a Map for later |
| Seasoned Dungeoneer | {3}{W} | Takes the initiative on entry, then gives an attacking Cleric, Rogue, Warrior or Wizard protection from creatures and an explore |
| Nicanzil, Current Conductor | {G}{U} | Turns explored lands into free land drops and explored nonland cards into counters on itself |
| Topography Tracker | {2}{G} | A Map on entry, and every explore you make becomes two |
| Over the Edge | {1}{G} | Destroy an artifact or enchantment, or explore twice, chosen when you cast it |
| Enter the Unknown | {G} | One mana for an explore and an extra land drop this turn |
| Jadelight Spelunker | {X}{G} | Explores X times on entry, so it scales from a two-mana filter to a late-game engine |
| Wildgrowth Walker | {1}{G} | The payoff: a +1/+1 counter and three life every time any creature you control explores |
| Jadelight Ranger | {1}{G}{G} | Explores twice on entry, the cleanest three-mana explore body ever printed |
| Merfolk Branchwalker | {1}{G} | The two-mana original, still the right shape for a low curve |
Two patterns to take from the list. First, explore is at its best when both branches are welcome: in a deck that wants lands early and counters late, every reveal is a good one. Second, the mechanic rewards repetition rather than size. One explore is a small filter; Path of Discovery plus a payoff like Wildgrowth Walker or Merfolk Cave-Diver, which gets +1/+0 and becomes unblockable whenever a creature you control explores, is a plan.
Want the rest of the list in your colours? Ask Scry for cards that reveal the top card of your library and put a land into your hand, and it will search on what the card does rather than on the word explore, so the Map makers and the payoffs come back together.
Using explore in a deck
Explore is a deck-building decision more than a rules one. Three lines of advice from the tables we play at:
- Count the branches. Explore smooths a land count rather than replacing it. Stay near the usual 36 or 37 lands in a Commander deck (see how many lands your deck needs) and let explore turn the extras into counters and the shortfalls into hands with a land in them.
- Run payoffs, not just explorers. Eight to twelve explore effects want two or three cards that reward the trigger: Wildgrowth Walker, Nicanzil and Merfolk Cave-Diver are the obvious three, and Hardened Scales turns every nonland reveal into two counters.
- Use the graveyard choice. Binning a card you do not want is free filtering, and in a deck with reanimation or graveyard payoffs it is also free fuel.
The commanders that want the mechanic are the ones already listed: Hakbal for Merfolk, Nicanzil for a lands-and-counters plan in Simic, and Amalia for a lifegain deck that wants a growing threat. Browse the Commander hub for the full page on each.
Frequently asked questions
What does explore mean in MTG?
When a permanent explores, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it is a land card, it goes into their hand. Otherwise the permanent gets a +1/+1 counter and the controller may put the revealed card into their graveyard (Comprehensive Rules 701.44a). Only one card is revealed per explore.
Does explore count as drawing a card?
No. A draw is defined in rule 121.1 as putting the top card of your library into your hand as a draw. Explore reveals the card and then moves it, so "whenever you draw" abilities do not trigger and drawing-based punishments do not apply.
What happens if I explore with no cards in my library?
Nothing is revealed, so no land card was revealed, and the rule's "otherwise" branch applies: the creature gets its +1/+1 counter and there is no card to put into your graveyard. Rule 701.44b confirms the permanent still counts as having explored. You do not lose the game, because rule 704.5b only punishes an attempted draw from an empty library.
Does my creature get a +1/+1 counter if explore reveals a land?
No. The counter comes only on the nonland branch (701.44a). When a land card is revealed, it goes into your hand and the exploring creature gets nothing, although it still counts as having explored for any "whenever a creature explores" ability (701.44b).
Does explore trigger landfall?
No. The land goes into your hand, not onto the battlefield. You still need a land drop or an effect that puts the land onto the battlefield, which is exactly what Nicanzil, Current Conductor provides.
Can I put a land into my graveyard when I explore?
No. A revealed land always goes to your hand. The graveyard option exists only on the nonland branch, and even there it is optional.
If my creature dies before its explore trigger resolves, do I still explore?
Yes. Rule 701.44c uses the creature's last known information to work out who explored, so you still reveal, a land still goes to your hand and a nonland card can still go to your graveyard. The counter has nowhere to go, but your "whenever a creature explores" payoffs still trigger (701.44b).
Do Hardened Scales and Doubling Season work with explore?
Yes. The +1/+1 counter from an explore is placed by an effect, so replacement effects that add or double counters apply (rule 614.1a). They do nothing on the land branch, which places no counter.
Does the revealed card stay on top if I keep it?
Yes, and every player knows what it is. Rule 701.20b says revealing a card does not move it, so keeping it means your next draw is public information until something shuffles your library.
Build a deck that explores on purpose
Open a list in the deck builder and count two things: how many cards explore, and how many cards care that something explored. If the first number is large and the second is zero, you have a filtering deck without a reward. Grover can take a brief such as "add payoffs for explore in Simic without raising the curve" and propose swaps in plain language, and the Suggestions tab, powered by Tutor, scores them against the rest of your list. New to the format? Start with the deck builder basics, or try the deck builder without an account.
Create a free Mana Grove account to build with the full deck builder and format legality checks, see plans and pricing for more time with Grover, Scry and Tutor, and read the rest of the MTG keywords and mechanics glossary, including proliferate, the other mechanic that puts counters where they already are.
Sources
- Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules, effective September 25, 2026: https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules. Read on October 13, 2026. Rule 701.44 (Explore) including 701.44a to 701.44d, rule 111.10s (Map tokens), rule 121.1 (drawing a card), rule 614.1a (replacement effects), rule 701.20b (revealing a card), rule 101.3 (impossible instructions) and rule 704.5b (state-based actions) are quoted above.
- Mana Grove card database, MTGJSON build of September 14, 2026: the explore keyword, the Commander legality, the mana cost and the rules text of every card named above, and the count of 53 Commander-legal explore cards (ten of them Map token makers) with its colour split. Commander play frequency is the deck-inclusion popularity rank carried in the same data.
This article is updated when the Comprehensive Rules change the explore entry or when a set adds an explore card worth listing. The date at the top is the last revision.