Exert in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Last updated on October 16, 2026

Combat Celebrant | Illustration by Chris Rallis

The plane of Amonkhet was marked and shaped by Nicol Bolas’s influence. Everything about the plane’s society was modified and altered to follow the elder dragon’s schemes. All of society was rebuilt to serve as a way (unknowingly) to create a massive army, so physical prowess and ability were celebrated and sought after.

Warriors and heroes in Amonkhet would be pushed beyond their limits to achieve feats of greatness that would gain them a place amongst the eternals. The influence of Bolas’s manipulation and schemes were represented through the exert mechanic.

This keyword ability represents your potential to exert your influence and power over your creatures, pushing them past their limit to achieve certain feats. But we all know that once you’ve crossed your limit, you need some time to rest and recover, which is also represented in this mechanic.

How Does Exert Work in MTG?

Vizier of the True | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

A permanent that’s exerted doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step. Cards become exerted through abilities that allow you to exert the card when it attacks or uses a specific ability.

Every card with exert does so optionally, either as part of attacking, or as part of the cost of an activated ability.

The History of Exert in MTG

Exert was an improvement over an unreleased mechanic called reckless, which was designed for the Gruul guild during Gatecrash. This ability gave creatures some kind of combat advantage at the cost of them being sacrificed at the end of turn. The mechanic was abandoned after the drawback was deemed too steep, though it went on to serve as the eventual base for exert. Exert worked the same as what reckless would’ve been but with a less extreme drawback.

There were 17 cards with exert in Amonkhet, all with abilities that only worked during combat. Exert showed up again immediately after in Hour of Devastation, where it also appeared as an additional cost of activated abilities. Most of these cards had two activated abilities: a normal one and an exert alterative that improved upon the first. For example, Oasis Ritualist can fix a single colored mana each turn, but if you need an extra mana in a pinch, you can use its exert ability to get another extra mana at the cost of keeping it tapped for a turn.

The first appearance of exert outside Amonkhet block was on Themberchaud, and it’s show up sparingly in other sets, though it remains in the Naya colors (). Later uses include a Standard appearance on Basri, Tomorrow's Champion, as well as Arena of Glory from Modern Horizons 3, which was the first noncreature to use exert.

Can You Exert a Creature Twice?

You can exert a creature more than once if you have ways to do so. For creatures with activated abilities that allow you to exert them, you can reuse their ability if you have ways of untapping them.

In the case of creatures that can only be exerted during the attack phase, you can use cards like Seize the Day to untap them and the next time you attack you can exert them again.

If a creature was exerted more than once before its controller’s next untap step, all those exertions will only apply to that one untap step. They don’t carry over across multiple turns.

Does Vigilance Work With Exert?

If you give vigilance to a creature with exert, you can exert it when it attacks without suffering its drawback. Exert specifically states that an exerted creature won’t untap during its controller’s next untap step, but if the creature never taps in the first place, it simply won’t affect it at all.

Can I Untap an Exerted Creature?

Exert doesn’t prevent a creature from untapping through other means outside the untap step. Exert doesn’t work the same way as stun counters, and an exerted permanent can be untapped by other spells and abilities like normal.

What If You Take Control of an Exerted Creature?

Exert’s untap restriction only applies to the player who controlled the card when it was exerted. If your opponent exerts their creature and you later take control of it, it’ll untap as normal during your own untap step. Switching control of the creature doesn’t absolve it from being exerted, either, so if it ends up back under an opponent’s control, it’ll still be exerted during their untap step.

Is Exerting a Triggered Ability?

The exert keyword action isn’t a triggered ability, though choosing to exert a creature often causes other abilities to trigger. For creatures that exert on attacks, you choose to exert them as they attack, not when they attack, so the decision to exert doesn’t use the stack. Once the decision is made, choosing to exert a creature like Ahn-Crop Crasher or Oketra's Avenger causes their abilities to trigger, at which point that ability and the creature can be interacted with. There’s no opportunity between declaring attacks and choosing to exert in which players can respond to what’s happening.

Can You Exert a Creature With Summoning Sickness?

Summoning sickness doesn’t prevent a creature from exerting, but most creatures can only exert when they attack or when they tap to activate an ability, neither of which you can do without haste. But creatures with haste or the assistance of a card like Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu could theoretically exert the turn they enter play.

How Do You Exert on MTG Arena?

You have to be very careful with exert on Arena. In order to do so, you have to manually select the creature you want to exert with, choose exert, then manually click every other attacker. If you choose “Attack All”, you’ll declare attackers and miss the opportunity to exert.

Outside of combat, exert is just an activated ability you can use on permanents by clicking them then choosing the exert option.

Does Isshin, Two Heavens as One Work With Exert?

Isshin, Two Heavens as One doesn’t work with exert because exert itself isn’t a triggered ability, and the abilities that are triggered by it are triggered by exert and not because of attacking.

Gallery and List of Exert Cards

• Angel of Condemnation
• Basri, Tomorrow's Champion
• Devoted Crop-Mate
• Glory-Bound Initiate
• Gust Walker
• Oketra's Avenger
• Rhet-Crop Spearmaster
• Steward of Solidarity
• Tah-Crop Elite
• Vizier of the True
• Ahn-Crop Crasher
• Anep, Vizier of Hazoret
• Battlefield Scavenger
• Combat Celebrant
• Emberhorn Minotaur
• Fervent Paincaster
• Glorybringer
• Khenra Scrapper
• Nef-Crop Entangler
• Sandstorm Crasher
• Themberchaud
• Trueheart Twins
• Bitterblade Warrior
• Champion of Rhonas
• Hooded Brawler
• Hope Tender
• Hydra Trainer
• Oasis Ritualist
• Pride Sovereign
• Rhonas's Stalwart
• Rohirrim Chargers
• Watchful Naga
• Ahn-Crop Champion
• Resolute Survivors
• Clockwork Droid
• Arena of Glory

Best Exert Cards

#4. Hope Tender

Tiny nod for Hope Tender, which has some minor combo potential alongside Ashaya, Soul of the Wild or anything else that turns it into a land. At that point it can exert to untap itself alongside another land that produces 2 or more mana for infinite mana.

#3. Glorybringer

You won’t see Glorybringer tearing up Constructed the way it did a decade ago, but this dragon was so far ahead of its time. The scourge of Amonkhet Limited was one of the most ridiculous non-mythics of the 2010s, though it’s barely even good in most Cube environments these days.

#2. Combat Celebrant

Exert on Combat Celebrant is a means to try and prevent taking infinite combats, and yet that’s exactly what this card is best known for. Effects that can untap it on each combat or make a hastey copy each combat can help you chain infinite combats, sometimes without ever getting the original in the mix.

#1. Arena of Glory

Arena of Glory is an incredibly powerful red utility land, with the only opportunity cost being the occasional tapped Mountain or being soft to Wasteland. Going down a mana on a subsequent turn to give one, maybe even two creatures haste is a huge tradeoff, and this just operates like any old red source in the meantime.

Decklist: Exert in EDH

Samut, Voice of Dissent | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

This deck is firmly in Bracket 1-2 with the intent of showing off what it’d look like to build around exert. You have lots of room to tweak, upgrade, and adjust this list as you see fit. Second, exert, even though it may not have as much support as other abilities, is relatively easy to build around.

It’s an aggro deck with plenty of ways to untap your creatures or grant them vigilance so you can use exert while avoiding the drawback.

I chose Samut, Voice of Dissent as the commander for this deck because it’s pretty decent for Naya aggro decks and it has an ability that lets you untap your creatures, which is good to have at hand. Marisi, Breaker of the Coil is a fine alternative commander if you want less exert synergy and more of a combat payoff.

Wrap Up

Oketra's Avenger | Illustration by Anthony Palumbo

I personally like exert as an ability. It’s definitely useful and it feels super flavorful, especially the way it was changed to fit the story progression of Amonkhet block. That said, it’s not very deep, and only makes minor appearances outside its debut set.

What’s your opinion on exert? Do you like it or do you find it unfun to play with? What’s your favorite exert card? Feel free to leave a comment letting me know! While you’re at it, make sure to pay our Discord server a visit! And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

That’s all from me for now! Have a good one and I’ll see you next time.