Gruul Turf + Kodama of the East Tree + Scute Swarm
Overview
When you play Gruul Turf as your land for the turn (a special action) , it enters the battlefield and creates three relevant triggered abilities: Gruul Turf’s “when this land enters, return a land you control to its owner’s hand,” Scute Swarm’s landfall trigger (because a land you control entered) [Ruling 2024-11-08], and Kodama of the East Tree’s “Whenever another permanent you control enters…” trigger. Kodama’s trigger can put a permanent card with mana value equal to or less than the entering permanent’s mana value (Gruul Turf’s mana value is 0) from your hand onto the battlefield; because Gruul Turf’s mana value is 0, that generally means Kodama can only put a land (mana value 0) onto the battlefield. If Kodama puts a land onto the battlefield, that land will itself cause Scute Swarm’s landfall trigger and a Kodama trigger, but Kodama’s text prevents recursion for permanents put onto the battlefield by Kodama’s own ability. If Gruul Turf’s return ability has no other legal land to return, it will force you to return Gruul Turf to your hand [Ruling 2013-04-15].
Step 1
You play Gruul Turf from your hand as your land for the turn; playing a land is a special action .
Step 2
Gruul Turf enters the battlefield (it enters tapped per its oracle text). Because a land entered under your control, Scute Swarm2s landfall triggered ability triggers [Ruling 2024-11-08].
Step 3
When Gruul Turf enters, Gruul Turf2s triggered ability "When this land enters, return a land you control to its owner's hand" is also triggered, and Kodama of the East Tree sees "another permanent you control enters" and triggers as well.
Step 4
All three triggered abilities (Gruul Turf2s return, Scute Swarm2s landfall, and Kodama2s trigger) are put on the stack according to the normal rules for handling simultaneous triggers.
Step 5
If Kodama's trigger resolves and you choose to use it, you may put a permanent card from your hand with mana value equal to or less than Gruul Turf's mana value (0) onto the battlefield. Because Gruul Turf's mana value is 0, that generally means you can only put a land (mana value 0) onto the battlefield.
Step 6
If Kodama put a land onto the battlefield, that land entering will itself cause Scute Swarm2s landfall to trigger again and will cause Kodama to trigger again. However, Kodama2s text contains the restriction "if it wasn't put onto the battlefield with this ability," so Kodama will not let you put another permanent onto the battlefield in response to the land that Kodama just put onto the battlefield.
Step 7
Gruul Turf2s ETB return ability will resolve when its place on the stack resolves; you choose a land you control (which could be the land you just had Kodama put onto the battlefield, depending on trigger ordering) and return it to its owner's hand. If you had no other lands to return when Gruul Turf's ETB resolves, Gruul Turf will be returned to your hand [Ruling 2013-04-15].
Step 8
Any Scute Swarm triggers that resolve will create 1/1 insect tokens (or a copy of Scute Swarm if you control six or more lands at the time that trigger resolves). If Scute Swarm left the battlefield before one of its triggers resolved, the resulting token copy still enters as a copy using Scute Swarm's last copiable values [Ruling 2020-09-25].
Resolution
Play Gruul Turf (special action) . The Gruul Turf ETB trigger, Scute Swarm’s landfall trigger (land entering) [Ruling 2024-11-08], and Kodama’s trigger all are created. Kodama’s trigger can only put a permanent with mana value ≤ Gruul Turf’s mana value (0) from your hand onto the battlefield, so in practice you can put a land (mana value 0). If Kodama puts a land onto the battlefield, that land produces its own Scute Swarm landfall trigger and a Kodama trigger, but the Kodama trigger sees that the new land was put onto the battlefield by Kodama’s ability and therefore won’t allow another card to be put in via Kodama’s ability (the “if it wasn't put onto the battlefield with this ability” restriction). If Gruul Turf’s return resolution has no other land to return, it will return Gruul Turf itself to your hand [Ruling 2013-04-15]. If a Scute Swarm triggered ability resolves after Scute Swarm has left the battlefield, the token copy still enters as a copy using Scute Swarm’s last copiable values [Ruling 2020-09-25].
