I don't know about anyone else, but I've seen the same effect on cards and DO MORE at 2 cost, and still generate the "same effect" for that of a 3 cost card... I feel that the designers for Cipher calculated their effects to go off more then twice in a duel, where more then likely in limited people wont know about this card until the second effect, and more then likely never let you get it off again.
Cipher is a very unappreciated keyword, and this kind of proves it. Evasion 1/1 flyer that could have easily been printed at 1 cost less without losing any of the benefits. Lingering Souls is a 3 cost that EASILY nets you 2 tokens RIGHT OFF THE BAT, and can be used again for 1 less mana to give you ANOTHER TWO CARDS RIGHT OFF THE BAT!
This card, you have to HIT someone with your creature to make another. Given this can self-cipher (which is nice), I feel it could have been much better if given the chance to shine.... Cipher is little more then a limited bomb outside of one or two cards that will shine so bright, it will make other Cipher cards look that much worse.
Dabok
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
@AlphaWolfs : Good point. I feel as though they have, once again, been too cautious about a mechanic. I say "once again", since in RtR, we've had the same experience with the Golgari's Scavenge. It's a very good mechanic, but the mechanic was just so costly that they're really only playable in limited (except for some cards of course). I feel the exact same way for Cipher. - That ain't gonna stop me from trying to make it work though :P
lorendorky
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Let's just be optimistic and hope that Dragon's Maze is where all of the broken cipher cards are :)
ThePinkBaron
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This card is really indicative of how most cipher cards have been shafted by their high CMC. I don't doubt that Wizards does a lot of playtesting with their sets before they're released, but this (along with a LOT of other cipher cards) seems too steep a cost for what it does. For four CMC in non-accelerating colors, I'd expect a lot more than *maybe* one token per turn, especially given that I can't even swing with these tokens until a turn later.
SyntheticDreamer
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is pretty weak. Sure, if you control no creatures, you can encode this on the token, but I'd rather be doing more than just getting one 1/1 dude (with flying, too!) a turn.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
insane in limited. don't look for it elsewhere.
Cyberium
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Well, it is expensive, but a creature with double strike could double the effect as well, not to mention Call fo the Nightwing generates cipher targets for your benefit.
But yeah, 1 less mana would be cool.
Purplerooster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A nice source of creatures for Dimir that they'll desperately need that is a combo with its self. Swing and Chump and Chump and Swing and Swing and Chump and Chump and Swing.
LordOfTheFlies87
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Creepy or bad Halloween decoration. You be the judge.
RedJaron
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
With the number of unblockables and have access to in this set, I think the ciphers will trigger more often than most people think.
handoflazav_414
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
CYPHER-CEPTION!!! Cypher the card and encode it on the Horror to attack with a hard- to- reach flier to get more tokens for chump-blocking!
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Add this to the list of things I want to use to create Batman with Magic Cards.
I will use proxied tokens that display "Blue-Black Horror Creature tokens with flying" that just happen to look like Phantasmal Bats. :) Because Scarecrow Fear Gas exposed to anyone except Batman, results in them seeing Blue-Black Horror Creature tokens with flying that look like Phantasmal Bats. :P
And Cipher/Encode is SUCH a Bat-move! :D
And it's called Nightwing.
AND I NEEDZ DIS CARD! XD
Opeth2010
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
All I did was look at the artwork, and I was like "Wow, that things a freakin' horror." Then I read the card text, "1/1 blue and black Horror creature token". Well done! Artwork approved!
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@AlphaWolfs If they printed a new Lingering Souls every block, the game might actually start to have problems with 1/1 fliers. Remember, cards like this are a limited plant.
CapmCrunch
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dimir is the sleeper guild of this set in Limited and this is one of the sleeper uncommons. People with no vision see a 1/1 flier for four. Lingering Souls and Talrand's Invocation have spoiled people, but they also aren't seeing it how out of control this card gets. Dimir has a lot more evasion creatures than people initially expected and with the variety of types of evasion (Unblockable, flying, can only be blocked by Rogues) you will get through and you'll likely continue getting through. The tokens chump gruul, kill Boros creatures outright, stall ciphered fliers and can stop Simic from dealing damage with their big, vanilla beaters. Illness in the ranks is trouble, but no one will maindeck it and it is uncommon. The super Lightning Bolt is good and will be played, but they have to choose between your army of tokens and the guy pumping them out. Not the greatest card ever seen in a limited format (still Jitte probably), but I assure you people will not unproudly be first picking it in a month.
Yuudoku
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
This is a good card. Play it and get a flyer, then encode on an invisible stalker... A flyer every turn
DoragonShinzui
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Something that irritates me about Cypher is that you can't re-encode. That could've made for an interesting mechanic, where instead of just casting a copy of the spell, you actually cast the original exiled spell, kinda like Rebound. That'd make them less like glorified auras and more like a set of instructions passed from agent to agent, quietly working their way around the battlefield, and would offer up some interesting perks and drawbacks. A Cyphered spell could be countered and the link could be broken, but it'd be possible to move spells onto new creatures if old one's start to become irrelevant, or may be a target for removal that others might not be. In addition, it'd be possible to simply drop the Cypher into your graveyard after casting, which some decks may actually prefer at times to prevent them from being exiled forever.
MisterAction
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I can see this going into a Dimir mill deck alongside Sage's Row Denizen. A new chump-blocker every turn whose appearance chips off two more cards? Not a bad deal at all.
Torquebacklash
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
There are some good cipher cards. I don't understand why this one is an uncommon. I kinda like the token but paying 4 for a 1/1 flying creating is weak sauce. If it had haste I think it may merit another look.
gamemaker443
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I think it would work pretty amazing with Tricks of the Trade leting you put a 1/1 creature on the battlefield every time the creature attacks
wolfspirit89
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I would like to ask with this card if you add it to the token creature it summons and that one deals damage dose the same effect apply to every token creature that is made with that ability?. As in the 1st attack makes 2 and then if both deal damge you then get 4 and so on and so on
TheWaddleDeeKing
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
While in theory attaching this to something with trample or unblockable would make for a pretty decent card, it just isn't. Four mana to cast a 1/1 token is just bad, even if you can make more of them. You'd be better off just running Talrand, Sky Summoner imo, since you're probably not going to run this in anything other than a deck around cipher (you're doing it wrong otherwise) and for the same four mana you can benefit from other cipher cards as well. Pretty bad, I'd pass up on it.
Smoke_Stack
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Cipher doesn't do it for me. I love to play U/B and I love a lot of the mill based strategy that Dimir has but cipher is just too unreliable for me to make it really worthwhile. Unless I'm running 4 Invisible Stalkers, I wouldn't paint a target that big on any of my creatures.
At the same time, I watched some guy demolish his opponent in a GP with this card so I know it works. I just wish they had made a few low cost cipher cards to compare these to. I think the real reason they're all so overcosted is consuming aberration. If you connect with your cipher, you "recast" the spell and trigger his ability. I'd love to see a deck take advantage of that...
GhostCounselor
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I don't know why this card is rated so low, especially in the context of Dimir. Yes, the Cipher cards aren't great, but it works out really well if you know how to use it. In fact, I've built a deck that maximizes it.
The deck revolves around Blood Artist and Undercity Informer. Put this onto an evasion creature (I recommend Cloudfin Raptor, it's cheap and will evolve immediately once you get the token in) after you get the token. Then build up your token base, tap land, and start sacking creatures to deal damage and to mill out your opponents. This card gives you the token engine a blue/black deck would otherwise lack. So this card, while not very efficient, is not completely useless. In fact, it's quite useful.
LordRandomness
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Similar to Spawnwrithe, when you think about it, although less multiplicative. Still, the ability to encode this on the token that it creates gets around the potential aura problem some Cipher cards face (it's not as bad as actual auras resulting in two-for-ones, but given that Cipher spells are underwhelming with a single cast it still sucks pretty bad), and the fact that the token has evasion only sweetens the deal. It's not particularly fast, but you're in blue/black, find some way to stall :p
Pollinosis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Most of the time this card is kind of like a 4 mana sorcery speed Midnight Haunting which is fine. If things go your way though, this card will get you a bunch of extra fliers in the coming turns. This card deserves a 3/5 for its respectable potential.
Aelvr
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Did you guys know that you can cipher the card onto its own token? Indeed you can! Yes, Dimir mages can now build their own flying, over-costed, and extremely fragile Giant Adephage!
Comments (27)
Cipher is a very unappreciated keyword, and this kind of proves it. Evasion 1/1 flyer that could have easily been printed at 1 cost less without losing any of the benefits. Lingering Souls is a 3 cost that EASILY nets you 2 tokens RIGHT OFF THE BAT, and can be used again for 1 less mana to give you ANOTHER TWO CARDS RIGHT OFF THE BAT!
This card, you have to HIT someone with your creature to make another. Given this can self-cipher (which is nice), I feel it could have been much better if given the chance to shine.... Cipher is little more then a limited bomb outside of one or two cards that will shine so bright, it will make other Cipher cards look that much worse.
I feel the exact same way for Cipher.
-
That ain't gonna stop me from trying to make it work though :P
But yeah, 1 less mana would be cool.
Swing and Chump and Chump and Swing and Swing and Chump and Chump and Swing.
You be the judge.
I will use proxied tokens that display "Blue-Black Horror Creature tokens with flying" that just happen to look like Phantasmal Bats. :) Because Scarecrow Fear Gas exposed to anyone except Batman, results in them seeing Blue-Black Horror Creature tokens with flying that look like Phantasmal Bats. :P
And Cipher/Encode is SUCH a Bat-move! :D
And it's called Nightwing.
AND I NEEDZ DIS CARD! XD
If they printed a new Lingering Souls every block, the game might actually start to have problems with 1/1 fliers.
Remember, cards like this are a limited plant.
At the same time, I watched some guy demolish his opponent in a GP with this card so I know it works. I just wish they had made a few low cost cipher cards to compare these to. I think the real reason they're all so overcosted is consuming aberration. If you connect with your cipher, you "recast" the spell and trigger his ability. I'd love to see a deck take advantage of that...
The deck revolves around Blood Artist and Undercity Informer. Put this onto an evasion creature (I recommend Cloudfin Raptor, it's cheap and will evolve immediately once you get the token in) after you get the token. Then build up your token base, tap land, and start sacking creatures to deal damage and to mill out your opponents. This card gives you the token engine a blue/black deck would otherwise lack. So this card, while not very efficient, is not completely useless. In fact, it's quite useful.
...Yay.