The Battlefield

Blowfly Infestation

$0.30

Nest of Scarabs

$10.34

AI DraftFeb 26, 2026

Blowfly Infestation + Nest of Scarabs

Overview

When a creature dies that had a -1/-1 counter on it, Blowfly Infestation’s triggered ability will trigger and (when it’s put on the stack and later resolves) put one or more -1/-1 counters on target creature. When those -1/-1 counters are put onto that creature, Nest of Scarabs’ triggered ability triggers and will create that many 1/1 Insect tokens (the number equals the number of counters actually put), even if those counters later cause changes in toughness or are later removed by state-based actions (see ruling [2017-04-18]).

Step 1

A creature that has one or more -1/-1 counters dies (is put into a graveyard). State-based actions handle the death immediately; when it leaves the battlefield its last known information is used for checks that depend on that information .

Step 2

Because the creature died, Blowfly Infestation’s triggered ability is checked and (if the creature had a -1/-1 counter at the time it died) that triggered ability is created and will be put on the stack according to the usual triggered-ability timing rules .

Step 3

When the Blowfly Infestation trigger is put on the stack the controller of that trigger chooses its target(s) (targets are chosen as the trigger is put on the stack). If there is no legal target at that time the trigger cannot be put on the stack; if there are legal targets the controller must choose one (see ruling [2008-05-01]).

Step 4

When the Blowfly Infestation trigger resolves, it puts the specified number of -1/-1 counters on the targeted creature. That action of putting counters is a single event; it is this event that Nest of Scarabs watches for ("Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature...").

Step 5

Putting the -1/-1 counters causes Nest of Scarabs’ triggered ability (for the controller of Nest) to trigger. The trigger records the number of counters that were put in that event and will create that many 1/1 Insect tokens when it resolves. This happens even if the newly placed counters later cause additional state-based actions (for example, causing the creature’s toughness to be 0 or less) or are later removed by state-based effects (see ruling [2017-04-18]).

Step 6

After the Blowfly ability has finished resolving and before players receive priority, state-based actions are checked; they may remove pairs of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters or put creatures with 0 or less toughness into graveyards as appropriate . Those subsequent changes do not retroactively change how many counters were put (and thus do not retroactively change how many Insects Nest will create).

Step 7

When Nest’s trigger resolves, it creates the number of 1/1 black Insect tokens equal to the number of -1/-1 counters that were put on the creature by Blowfly’s resolution (the count is based on the counters put during that event, even if some of those counters were immediately removed by state-based actions) (ruling [2017-04-18]).

Resolution

Sequence: Creature dies → state-based actions move it to the graveyard and its "dies" event causes Blowfly Infestation’s trigger (the conditional "if it had a -1/-1 counter on it" is checked using last known information) to be created and later put on the stack . When that trigger resolves, it puts -1/-1 counters on the chosen target. The act of putting those counters causes Nest of Scarabs’ trigger to be created; when Nest resolves it creates a number of 1/1 Insects equal to the number of -1/-1 counters that were put on the creature, even if those counters subsequently cause the creature to die or are immediately removed by interactions such as +1/+1 vs -1/-1 cancellation (ruling [2017-04-18]). Also note Blowfly’s triggered ability is mandatory and must target if a legal target exists when the trigger is created (ruling [2008-05-01]).

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