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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesNo. Mutate does not automatically remove legendary status. When a mutate spell resolves legally, it merges with its target into one permanent. The top card or token supplies that permanent’s characteristics, including its name and legendary supertype, while every component contributes its abilities.
Put a nonlegendary card on top of a legendary creature and the resulting pile is not legendary merely because a legendary card is underneath. Put a legendary card on top and the merged permanent is legendary and remains subject to the legend rule.
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What a successful mutate actually creates
Mutate is a merging process, not a way to create a second creature beside the target. A mutating creature spell targets a non-Human creature that has the same owner as the spell. If that target is still legal when the spell begins resolving, the spell merges with it instead of entering the battlefield as a separate permanent.
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The controller of the mutating spell chooses whether the new pile puts the spell’s card or token on top or underneath the existing creature. The battlefield now contains one permanent represented by multiple components. You should not count each card in the pile as an independent creature for the legend rule, combat, or other permanent-counting effects.
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The merged permanent uses a split set of information:
- Top component: supplies the permanent’s other characteristics. These include its name, mana cost, color, card types, supertypes such as legendary, and other printed characteristics that apply to the top component.
- Every component: contributes its abilities. A lower card’s triggered, activated, static, and keyword abilities can still function on the merged permanent even though that card is not on top.
That distinction answers the question. Legendary is a supertype, not an ability. An underneath card can contribute abilities without contributing its name or legendary supertype to the merged permanent.
How the legend rule sees a mutated permanent
The legend rule is a state-based action. If one player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one and puts all the others into their owners’ graveyards. The check is made by name, by legendary status, and by controller.
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- A nonlegendary top card makes the merged permanent nonlegendary, even if one or more lower components are legendary.
- A legendary top card makes the merged permanent legendary. Its name is also the top card’s name.
- A lower legendary card does not cause a legend-rule check by itself.
- Two legendary mutated permanents with different names do not invoke the legend rule merely because both are legendary.
- The rule compares permanents controlled by the same player; an opponent’s legendary permanent is not part of your legend-rule choice.
The current Comprehensive Rules, dated January 16, 2026, state this interaction through the mutate procedure in rule 702.140 and the legend-rule state-based action in rule 704.5j.
Resolve a mutate spell step by step
- Check the target as the spell starts resolving. The target must still be a non-Human creature with the same owner as the mutating spell. A creature can become an illegal target after you cast the spell, so this check matters at resolution rather than only at casting.
- If the target is illegal, stop the merge. The spell ceases to be a mutating creature spell and resolves as a normal creature spell. It enters the battlefield separately, using its own characteristics. Any legendary status it has as a standalone creature is handled normally, including a possible legend-rule check against another permanent with the same name.
- If the target is legal, merge the components. The mutating card or token does not enter as a second creature. It becomes part of one permanent with the target.
- Choose the order. The spell’s controller decides whether its component is on top or on the bottom. That decision determines which component supplies the resulting permanent’s characteristics.
- Apply abilities from the whole pile. The merged permanent has the abilities of all its components. This does not change which component supplies the name or legendary supertype.
- Check state-based actions. Once the permanent exists, the game checks whether the player controls another legendary permanent with the same name. If so, the legend rule requires a choice.
Examples: top card, name, and legend-rule result
| Top component | Resulting permanent | Legend-rule outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Legendary mutate creature | The pile has the top creature’s name and is legendary. Lower components still add their abilities. | If its controller also controls another legendary permanent with that same name, that player chooses one to keep and puts the others into their owners’ graveyards. |
| Nonlegendary mutate creature over a legendary creature | The pile has the nonlegendary top creature’s name and is not legendary. The lower legendary card’s abilities remain available. | The lower card does not create a legend-rule check, because it is not a separate legendary permanent and its legendary supertype is not being used. |
| Legendary creature underneath a nonlegendary creature already on top | The pile remains one nonlegendary permanent with the existing top creature’s characteristics. | No legend-rule action occurs because of the legendary component underneath. |
| Two piles whose top components are legendary but have different names | Each pile is a legendary permanent, with its own top card’s name. | The legend rule does not apply solely because both are legendary; their names differ. |
| Two piles whose top components are legendary and share a name | Each pile is a legendary permanent with that same top-card name. | Their controller must choose one and put the others into their owners’ graveyards. |
| A mutate target becomes illegal before resolution | The mutating card enters separately as a normal creature rather than merging. | Evaluate that new creature by its own characteristics. If it is legendary and shares a name with another legendary permanent its controller has, the legend rule applies. |
Why putting a legendary card underneath does not “keep” legendary
It is easy to imagine that every card in a pile retains all of its characteristics and that the game simply stacks them together. Mutate does not work that way. The rules deliberately divide characteristics from abilities: the top component supplies the former, while all components supply the latter.
Suppose a legendary creature is the original target and a nonlegendary mutate creature is placed on top. The pile can still have the legendary creature’s abilities, including abilities that refer to its own name or to legendary creatures. Those abilities do not make the permanent legendary. An ability can care about legendary status without granting that status, and a lower component’s printed supertype is not used while it is underneath.
Conversely, placing the legendary component on top makes the entire merged permanent legendary, even when the lower component is nonlegendary. The pile then uses the top legendary card’s name for the legend-rule comparison. It is not treated as both the lower card’s name and the top card’s name.
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Common board-state mistakes
Counting cards instead of permanents
A pile containing three cards is still one permanent. You do not control three creatures for purposes of the legend rule, and an opponent cannot force a choice between the individual components. Only the merged permanent’s top-card characteristics are checked.
Assuming every legendary permanent conflicts
Legendary status alone is not enough. The same player must control two or more legendary permanents with the same name. A legendary mutated creature and a different-named legendary creature can coexist under that player’s control.
Using the bottom card’s name
The name used for the legend rule is the name of the top component. A lower card’s name is not an extra name on the pile, even though its abilities remain part of the permanent.
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Forgetting the resolution check
A legal target is required when the spell begins resolving. If the target has become illegal, the spell does not merge and instead enters as a normal creature. Treating it as a merge after the target has changed can produce an incorrect legendary status and an incorrect permanent count.
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Applying the rule across players
Your legendary mutated permanent does not force your opponent to sacrifice or put away their matching legendary permanent. The legend rule is checked separately for each player’s own permanents.
A practical checklist at the table
When a mutate pile might interact with legendary permanents, ask these questions in order:
- Did the mutate spell begin resolving with a legal non-Human target owned by the same player as the spell?
- If yes, which component is on top after the controller makes the ordering choice?
- What is the top component’s name?
- Is that top component legendary?
- Does the same player control another legendary permanent with that exact name?
If the answer to the first question is no, there is no pile: resolve the spell as a normal creature. If the answer is yes, ignore the lower components when determining name and legendary status, but include their abilities when determining what the permanent can do.
What “get rid of legendary” means in practice
Mutate does not erase a legendary card’s printed supertype. It changes which component supplies the merged permanent’s characteristics. A legendary card moved underneath a nonlegendary top component is still a legendary card within the pile, but the permanent on the battlefield is not legendary for as long as that nonlegendary component remains on top.
If the pile later changes order through an effect that moves a component, reassess the permanent using whichever component is on top at that time. The same principle applies: the current top component supplies the name and legendary status, while the components together supply abilities. The legend rule is then checked using the resulting permanent’s current characteristics.
Rules sources and dates
The governing source is Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules, January 16, 2026 edition, especially rules 702.140 and 704.5j. The mutate procedure is also explained in the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Commander (2020 Edition) Release Notes dated April 10, 2020, and the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Mechanics article dated April 2, 2020. Wizards’ Common Keywords glossary describes the same-player, same-name condition for the legend rule; its page date is not stated and it was accessed October 13, 2026.
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