I mean it has some potential... But it really should cost less...
Yozuk
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is bizarre. It doesn't do what you want it to in the decks that want to use cipher. And the decks that want the blinking have better options. So where is this things home? and why was it printed in the first place?
lethal_coffee
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
I see it as Dimir's anti-Smic card: exile beefy creature (remove all it's counters) and potentially get in with a critical attack, or another ciphered spell
Dabok
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Wow what's with the low rating? (2.5 as of now...) With 4 you can potentially trigger this spell twice in a turn, and have the effect recurring. With a little bit of imagination, you can have fun with this card with ETB effects. Add in some cheap/unblockable guys and you got yourself a deck. The really good thing about this card is it's recurring effect. It's pretty much comparable to Conjurer's Closet, PLUS you have the ability to bounce back enemy creatures until end of turn (make their evolve guys weaker, destroy some tokens, etc.)
Blasphemale
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Have to agree with Dabok this card deserves way better, how about Eternal witness to get a card back every turn? Put it on detainers for endless detainment, use it to remove counters from creatures or destroy tokens. AND people this can actually be used to evolve every turn by exiling creatures with high power/toughness because not every fking card in your deck is gonna have evolve. 4/5 because of so many combos
Flyheight
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Screw my opponent's creatures I'm targetting my own for their ETB triggers!
The best of the Cipher cards imo. It costs very little in comparison to other cards. Esper colors idea... incoming...
Put this on an Invisible Stalker and bounce something. Next turn, cast Obzedat, Ghost Council, do the 2life/2life dance. Attack with your stalker and bounce him for the dance again. When your endstep comes around, put obzedat back on the field and bounce him again with him abilitiy, then he'll have haste forever and you'll be able to attack and bounce him every turn. Throw in other scary things with ETB effects, maybe a Goblin Electromancer to make this cost even less, plus Ghostly Flicker and Nephalia Smuggler for epicness... All the potential here and its only a 2.5/5 so far??
Wake up gatherer, this card is really good you just don't know it yet. 4.5/5, only becuase it's the beginning of the end step and not immediate return. (that would combo with Aurelia too well tho...)
Purplerooster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pave the way for some more ciphering or abuse some ETBs.
Tiggurix
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
While I don't think this card is bad, its effect really doesn't work well with Cipher, because if you try to flicker a creature with one or more encoded spell, it will lose its encoded spell(s) when it is exiled, so you can't for example encode a Sage Owl and make it bounce itself each turn, which would be possible if Cipher cards remained encoded on exiled creatures... Overall, not the best choice of effect on a Cipher spell.
Afroofthenight
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Honestly, with Simic having things like Evolve Mage (that does well with resetting) and Elusive Krasis (unblockable), I think this works pretty well IN Simic.
NoobOfLore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"It's too expensive!" You only have to pay for it once, but cast it for every time the ciphered creature connects. Not amazing, but decent.
chrome_dome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
4/5. That Viashino whiffed!!!
DoragonShinzui
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Not much of a synergy with Dimir's own creatures (though I can see some hilarity ensuing with Dinrova Horror), but as anti-aura/counter tech, I can see some uses for it.
Exilyth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Elusive Krasis + this might be nice... bounce a fatty to evolve or (ab-)use an ETB effect like Prime Speaker Zegana. Mhh... thinking about it... the primordials are both big and have an ETB effect....
Aside from that, anti cipher & anti evolve. Maybe for the mirror match?
Guest1503904935
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If voidwalk is encoded on a creature then another voidwalk is played and removes the creature with voidwalk encoded on it, when the creature returns does it still have the encoded spell on it?
azure_drake222222
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Guest1503904935: No.
Cyber_Squirrel
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Uses I can see: Untapping your own creature so it can block next turn (has SS so no good for tap effects) Anti-Simic (Counter removal, and Token removal if you run into oozes) Anti-Golgari (Counter removal) Anti-Selensya (Token removal) Anti-Dimir (Encoding removal) Aura removal Unequip - opponents can re-equip but at least they have to re-pay the cost ETB / LTB effects Making creatures "forget" linked effects - for instance, Nightveil Specter forgets which card it exiled, so opponents can no longer play them All the normal cipher cantrip stuff that can trigger when you cast a spell
I'm gonna say 4/5 because it's versatile with loads of potential combos, even if none of them look to be spectacular.
steinburger1109
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Vakyoom, that won't quite work. When he reenters the battlefield after being exiled by this card, he won't have haste. He'll be back to his original printing. He only gains haste when he enters from his own ability. He retains that haste so long as he's on the battlefield but as soon as you bounce him with this, haste goes away.
Demento_Recraves
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I don't get why this card has such a low score, there are tons of interesting interactions that can occur in limited and constructed.
Some of the things to do: you can remove counters and auras, kill tokens, return creatures that have been stolen, remove a blocker (when cast from hand), trigger EtB effects (Snapcaster, Thragtusk, Huntmaster, etc.), pump your own evolve creatures, untap a tapped creature to use as a blocker, change soulbound creatures. And that's just the ability itself, the fact that cipher lets you actually cast the spell offers benefits from extort, consuming aberration, Circu, etc.
Is it the best card of all time? Certainly not, but it's an interesting and versatile card.
Emcee117
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
1. Attack with ciphered creature 2. Creature exiles itself until end of turn 3. Worldfire.
AncientTimer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Just another blue way to abuse ETB effects.
turk256
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I honestly like this. When it enters in, you can exile balustrade spy, and then when he come back in have your opponent mill. Though the catch would be that you would have one less creature to block.
The main problem with this is that blinking your own ciphered guy will void his Voidwalk (ie, the cipher will fall off). This sucks. Could still be pretty interesting tech in a 187-heavy list, though... I'm sure someone's already ciphering this on a Delver of Secrets in order to repeatedly flip an Augur of Bolas...
Singe
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is really good with Detain. Lavinia of the Tenth lockdown.
Jarokdin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This plus Sundial of the Infinite
Exile one of their creatures each turn!
PopcornBunni
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The only card of its kind in standard. Blink things while you can!
Comments (28)
With 4 you can potentially trigger this spell twice in a turn, and have the effect recurring.
With a little bit of imagination, you can have fun with this card with ETB effects. Add in some cheap/unblockable guys and you got yourself a deck.
The really good thing about this card is it's recurring effect. It's pretty much comparable to Conjurer's Closet, PLUS you have the ability to bounce back enemy creatures until end of turn (make their evolve guys weaker, destroy some tokens, etc.)
Well you figure it out!
Put this on an Invisible Stalker and bounce something. Next turn, cast Obzedat, Ghost Council, do the 2life/2life dance. Attack with your stalker and bounce him for the dance again. When your endstep comes around, put obzedat back on the field and bounce him again with him abilitiy, then he'll have haste forever and you'll be able to attack and bounce him every turn. Throw in other scary things with ETB effects, maybe a Goblin Electromancer to make this cost even less, plus Ghostly Flicker and Nephalia Smuggler for epicness... All the potential here and its only a 2.5/5 so far??
Wake up gatherer, this card is really good you just don't know it yet. 4.5/5, only becuase it's the beginning of the end step and not immediate return. (that would combo with Aurelia too well tho...)
You only have to pay for it once, but cast it for every time the ciphered creature connects. Not amazing, but decent.
Aside from that, anti cipher & anti evolve. Maybe for the mirror match?
Untapping your own creature so it can block next turn (has SS so no good for tap effects)
Anti-Simic (Counter removal, and Token removal if you run into oozes)
Anti-Golgari (Counter removal)
Anti-Selensya (Token removal)
Anti-Dimir (Encoding removal)
Aura removal
Unequip - opponents can re-equip but at least they have to re-pay the cost
ETB / LTB effects
Making creatures "forget" linked effects - for instance, Nightveil Specter forgets which card it exiled, so opponents can no longer play them
All the normal cipher cantrip stuff that can trigger when you cast a spell
I'm gonna say 4/5 because it's versatile with loads of potential combos, even if none of them look to be spectacular.
Some of the things to do: you can remove counters and auras, kill tokens, return creatures that have been stolen, remove a blocker (when cast from hand), trigger EtB effects (Snapcaster, Thragtusk, Huntmaster, etc.), pump your own evolve creatures, untap a tapped creature to use as a blocker, change soulbound creatures. And that's just the ability itself, the fact that cipher lets you actually cast the spell offers benefits from extort, consuming aberration, Circu, etc.
Is it the best card of all time? Certainly not, but it's an interesting and versatile card.
2. Creature exiles itself until end of turn
3. Worldfire.
Exile one of their creatures each turn!