Manifesting double sided cards

Asked by JasonMB 9 years ago

Oracle rule attached to Whisperwood Elemental

Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it cant transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still cant be turned face down.

So, if I manifest a Mayor of Avabruck  Flip is it a 2/2 nameless creature or is it a Howlpack Alpha  Flip?

The rule still seems unclear. You manifest the mayor, so it goes facedown and can't transform. You could pay 2 to flip it back up to a mayor. Then the last sentence is confusing "A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still cant be turned face down."

Epochalyptik says... Accepted answer #1

It's a 2/2 nameless creature.

A double-faced card is considered to be face-up if either of its printed faces are showing. The only way a DFC can be face-down is if it is manifested, in which case it is treated like any other face-down card. The rules logic for this being possible is that, when the card is manifested, it isn't known that that card is a DFC. Therefore, it's like having a "third side" to the card: a DFC can either be face-up untransformed, face-up transformed, or face-down manifested.

What the rule basically says is this:

  1. Manifesting a DFC causes you to put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature with no other cnaracteristics.
  2. You can't transform it because it doesn't have the transform ability while face down.
  3. You may pay the front face's mana cost and turn the card face up as you would with any other manifested creature card.
  4. Once face-up, the DFC may transform because it has the transform ability.
  5. Once face-up, the DFC may not be turned face down again because double-faced permanents cannot exist face down.

February 16, 2015 6:55 p.m.

Epochalyptik says... #2

So in this case, you'd start with a face-down 2/2 creature with no other characteristics. The card's front face would be a Mayor of Avabruck  Flip. The face-down 2/2 cannot be transformed because it isn't public knowledge that that card has transform and is a DFC.

You may pay and turn Mayor of Avabruck  Flip face up. After Mayor of Avabruck  Flip is turned face up, it may transform. However, it may not be turned face down again.

February 16, 2015 6:58 p.m.

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