Hand of the Praetors

Hand of the Praetors card image

Hand of the Praetors: Creature - Phyrexian Zombie, Scars of Mirrodin. Infect. Other creatures you control with infect get +1/+1. On Mana Grove.

Mana cost
{3}{B}
Mana value
4
Type
Creature - Phyrexian Zombie
Colour identity
Black (B)
Power / toughness
3/2
Rarity
Rare
Set
Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)
Released
2010-10-01
Collector number
66
Artist
Izzy
Commander rank
9,155 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Keywords
Infect

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About Hand of the Praetors

Hand of the Praetors is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare black creature from Scars of Mirrodin (SOM), an expansion set released in October 2010. It is collector number 66 in that set, with art by Izzy. It costs {3}{B} (three generic and one black mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. It is a 3/2 creature. Its colour identity is black. It is legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, PreDH and Penny Dreadful. Scars of Mirrodin is its only printing so far. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $5.85 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-03).

Card text

Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)

Other creatures you control with infect get +1/+1.

Whenever you cast a creature spell with infect, target player gets a poison counter.

Market price

Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $5.85 (as of 2026-11-03).

The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.

Format legality

Legality of Hand of the Praetors by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.

ModernLegal
LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
CommanderLegal
Duel CommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PreDHLegal
Penny DreadfulLegal

Official rulings

The 8 most recent official rulings for Hand of the Praetors, newest first.

  • Damage from a source with infect is damage in all respects. If the source with infect also has lifelink, damage dealt by that source also causes its controller to gain that much life. Damage from a source with infect can be prevented or redirected. Abilities that trigger on damage being dealt will trigger if a source with infect deals damage, if appropriate.
  • The last ability triggers only if Hand of the Praetors is already on the battlefield at the time you cast a creature spell with infect. Casting Hand of the Praetors itself will not cause its own last ability to trigger.
  • Damage from a source with infect affects planeswalkers normally.
  • The -1/-1 counters remain on the creature indefinitely. They’re not removed if the creature regenerates or the turn ends.
  • Infect’s effect applies to any damage, not just combat damage.
  • If damage from a source with infect that would be dealt to a player is prevented, that player doesn’t get poison counters. If damage from a source with infect that would be dealt to a creature is prevented, that creature doesn’t get -1/-1 counters.
  • Whenever you cast a creature spell with infect, Hand of the Praetors’s last ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of it. It will resolve before the creature spell does.
  • A player who has ten or more poison counters loses the game. This is a state-based action.

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