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Cryptic Coat

Cryptic Coat

Artifact — Equipment

rare

When this Equipment enters, cloak the top card of your library, then attach this Equipment to it. (To cloak a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature with ward . Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.) Equipped creature gets +1/+0 and can't be blocked. : Return this Equipment to its owner's hand.

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Semantic Tags

Equipment-focused strategy — attaching, equip cost reduction, equipment ETBs.

Evasivemechanical

Difficult to block or grants evasion. Includes flying, menace, fear, intimidate, shadow, skulk, horsemanship, unblockable effects, and cards that grant these abilities.

A keyword ability that creates a 0/0 black Phyrexian Germ creature token and then attaches the Equipment with the ability to that token. See rule 702.92, “Living Weapon.”

Mana Sinkmechanical

A permanent with a repeatable activated ability that converts excess mana into value.

Permanentmechanical

A card or token on the battlefield. See rule 110, “Permanents.”

Cares about or manipulates the top card(s) of your library. Includes scry, surveil, and top-deck payoffs.

Unblockablemechanical

Cannot be blocked or has an ability that makes it very hard to block.

Format Legality

commanderlegal
oathbreakerlegal
modernlegal
pioneerlegal
standardlegal
legacylegal
vintagelegal
paupernot legal
historiclegal
explorernot legal
alchemynot legal

Price history

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Printings (4)

Related Concepts

Cloak

A keyword action that puts a card onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature with ward {2}. See rule 701.58, “Cloak,” and rule 708, “Face-Down Spells and Permanents.”

Related Rules

106.5

If an ability would produce one or more mana of an undefined type, it produces no mana instead.

106.7

Some abilities produce mana based on the type of mana another permanent or permanents “could produce.” The type of mana a permanent could produce at any time includes any type of mana that an ability of that permanent would produce if the ability were to resolve at that time, taking into account any applicable replacement effects in any possible order. Ignore whether any costs of the ability could or could not be paid. If that permanent wouldn’t produce any mana under these conditions, or no type of mana can be defined this way, there’s no type of mana it could produce.

106.12

To “tap [a permanent] for mana” is to activate a mana ability of that permanent that includes the {T} symbol in its activation cost. See rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

106.12a

An ability that triggers whenever a permanent “is tapped for mana” or is tapped for mana of a specified type triggers whenever such a mana ability resolves and produces mana or the specified type of mana.

106.12b

A replacement effect that applies if a permanent “is tapped for mana” or tapped for mana of a specific type and/or amount modifies the mana production event while such an ability is resolving and producing mana or the specified type and/or amount of mana.

107.3m

If an object’s enters-the-battlefield triggered ability or replacement effect refers to X, and the spell that became that object as it resolved had a value of X chosen for any of its costs, the value of X for that ability is the same as the value of X for that spell, although the value of X for that permanent is 0. This is an exception to rule 107.3i.

107.5

The tap symbol is {T}. The tap symbol in an activation cost means “Tap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already tapped can’t be tapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

107.6

The untap symbol is {Q}. The untap symbol in an activation cost means “Untap this permanent.” A permanent that’s already untapped can’t be untapped again to pay the cost. A creature’s activated ability with the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. See rule 302.6.

Rulings

2024-02-02

At any time, you can look at a face-down spell or permanent you control. You can't look at face-down permanents or spells you don't control unless an effect instructs or allows you to do so.

2024-02-02

You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. You're not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order in which they entered the battlefield should remain clear, as well as what ability caused them to be face down. (This includes disguise, cloak, and in games involving older cards, morph and manifest, as well as a few other effects that turn cards face down.) Common methods for doing this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield.

2024-02-02

If a face-down spell leaves the stack and goes to any zone other than the battlefield (if it was countered, for example), you must reveal it. Similarly, if a face-down permanent leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or the game ends.

2024-02-02

Any time you have priority, you can turn a cloaked permanent you control face-up by revealing that it's a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.

2024-02-02

Because face-down creatures don't have a name, they can't have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.

2024-02-02

If a cloaked creature would have disguise (or morph) if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its disguise (or morph) cost.

2024-02-02

If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it's an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won't trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up.

2024-02-02

If a face-down creature loses its abilities, it can't be turned face up with a disguise ability because it will no longer have a disguise ability (or a disguise cost) once face up.

2024-02-02

Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn't change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.

2024-02-02

A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent and Auras and Equipment that were attached to that permanent aren't affected unless the new characteristics of the object change the legality of those targets or attachments.

2024-02-02

You'll still cloak the top card of your library even if Cryptic Coat isn't on the battlefield as its first ability resolves.

2024-02-02

Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it's turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn't cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.

2024-02-02

Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using a disguise or morph ability, a cloaked creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it's a creature card.

2024-02-02

Cryptic Coat has no equip ability. Without assistance from other cards, there's no way to attach it to a creature other than with its first triggered ability. How cryptic!

2024-02-02

If a double-faced card is cloaked, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can't 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.

2024-02-02

To cloak a card, put it onto the battlefield face down. It becomes a 2/2 face-down creature card with ward {2} and no name, mana cost, or creature types. It's colorless and has a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant it any characteristics it doesn't have or change the characteristics it does have.