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Delay
Instant
uncommon
Counter target spell. If the spell is countered this way, exile it with three time counters on it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard. If it doesn't have suspend, it gains suspend. (At the beginning of its owner's upkeep, they remove a time counter. When the last is removed, they may play it without paying its mana cost. If it's a creature, it has haste.)
Card Kingdom
CardmarketSemantic Tags
A spell that deals direct damage to creatures or players.
An instant-speed spell that modifies combat — pump, protection, or removal during combat.
Cares about +1/+1 counters — places, moves, doubles, or benefits from counters on creatures.
Prevents a spell or ability from resolving.
Prevents a spell or ability from resolving.
Prevents enter-the-battlefield triggers from resolving. Torpor Orb and friends. Shuts down blink and ETB value.
Grants one or more additional turns. A powerful tempo and inevitability effect in any strategy.
Exiles cards from graveyards or prevents graveyard interaction. Shuts down recursion, flashback, and graveyard-matters strategies.
Answers an opponent's threat by destroying, exiling, bouncing, or otherwise removing a permanent or spell.
Tax or prevent spellcasting — Rule of Law, Thalia, Sphere of Resistance.
Rewards casting instants and sorceries. Includes magecraft, prowess triggers, and spell-count payoffs.
A keyword ability that provides an alternative way to play a card. See rule 702.62, “Suspend.” A card is “suspended” if it’s in the exile zone, has suspend, and has a time counter on it.
Format Legality
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Printings (4)
| Set | Rarity | TCGplayer | Card Kingdom | Cardmarket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secret Lair Drop#1788 | rare | · | · | · |
| Time Spiral Remastered#61 | uncommon | · | · | · |
| The List#FUT-35 | uncommon | · | · | · |
| Future Sight#35 | uncommon | · | · | · |
Related Rules
If a cost associated with a special action, such as a suspend cost or a morph cost, has an {X} or an X in it, the value of X is chosen by the player taking the special action immediately before they pay that cost.
A player who has a card with suspend in their hand may exile that card. This is a special action. A player can take this action any time they have priority, but only if they could begin to cast that card by putting it onto the stack. See rule 702.62, “Suspend.”
Suspend
To time travel means to choose any number of permanents you control with one or more time counters on them and/or suspended cards you own in exile with one or more time counters on them and, for each of those objects, put a time counter on it or remove a time counter from it. See rule 702.62, “Suspend.”
Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that functions while the card with suspend is in a player’s hand. The second and third are triggered abilities that function in the exile zone. “Suspend N—[cost]” means “If you could begin to cast this card by putting it onto the stack from your hand, you may pay [cost] and exile it with N time counters on it. This action doesn’t use the stack,” and “At the beginning of your upkeep, if this card is suspended, remove a time counter from it,” and “When the last time counter is removed from this card, if it’s exiled, you may play it without paying its mana cost if able. If you don’t, it remains exiled. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of the spell or the permanent it becomes.”
A card is “suspended” if it’s in the exile zone, has suspend, and has a time counter on it.
While determining if you could begin to cast a card with suspend, take into consideration any effects that would prohibit that card from being cast.
Casting a spell as an effect of its suspend ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
Rulings
If the target spell is face down, it'll be exiled face up. It can't be cast face down when casting it without paying its mana cost.
If the target spell was cast with flashback, Delay's effect will exile it, not the flashback effect. The card will get time counters and gain suspend (if it didn't already have suspend).
When the last time counter is removed from the exiled card, it's cast as a completely new spell. Modes and targets are chosen again. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, they must be paid again. If they can't be, the spell can't be cast and stays exiled.
If the card has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it's exiled.
If an effect refers to a "suspended card," that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
Due to a recent rules change to suspend, you are no longer required to cast the suspended card as the second triggered ability of suspend resolves. Instead, as the second triggered ability resolves, you may cast the card. Timing permissions based on the card's type are ignored. If you don't cast the card, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it's no longer suspended.
Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that gives you the option to cast the card when the last time counter is removed.
If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card's owner's next upkeep.
If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," such as with suspend, you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if you want to cast the card.
When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn't matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can't be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it's no longer suspended.
Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage's ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.
The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn't paid.
Exiling a card with suspend isn't casting that card. This action doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.