Echo



Echo is a triggered ability that requires the affected permanent's controller to pay its echo cost at the beginning of the player's next upkeep after he or she gains control of it, or sacrifice it.

History
Echo is a mechanic introduced in Urza Block that got revisited in Time Spiral Block.

Originally, cards with echo needed to have their mana cost paid. However, when Time Spiral was released, echo's rules got revised so that each card with echo would have an "echo cost" associated with it, rather than just the card's mana cost. This did not have an immediate impact until Planar Chaos was released, when cards would have differing echo costs, such as Uktabi Drake.

Previous cards with echo received errata to match this rule so that their echo costs matched their mana costs.

Example
Abby casts an Uktabi Drake. When it becomes her next turn, she will have to pay in her upkeep, or sacrifice the Uktabi Drake.

Comprehensive Rules
702.29. Echo


 * 702.29a. Echo is a triggered ability. "Echo [cost]" means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay [cost]."


 * 702.29b. Urza block cards with the echo ability were printed without an echo cost. These cards have been given errata in the Oracle card reference; each one now has an echo cost equal to its mana cost.