Can you cipher a creature twice

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Say I am playing with a creature that has double strike e. I am asking this because my friends and I play with a few different ciphers and have had arguments about this a few times. Cipher triggers whenever the encoded creature deals combat damage to a player. An unblocked creature with double strike will deal combat damage to the player twice; once in the "first strike" combat damage step, and again in the regular combat damage step.

As a result, if an encoded creature with double strike is not blocked, you will be able to cast the encoded card twice. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Will double strike trigger cipher twice? Ask Question. Asked 7 years ago. Active 7 years ago. Viewed 4k times. Improve this question. Matt Ellen 2 2 gold badges 5 5 silver badges 20 20 bronze badges.

Artaga Artaga 51 1 1 silver badge 2 2 bronze badges. The exiled card with cipher grants a triggered ability to the creature it's encoded on.

If that creature loses that ability and subsequently deals combat damage to a player, the triggered ability won't trigger. However, the exiled card will continue to be encoded on that creature. If another player gains control of the creature, that player will control the triggered ability.

That player will create a copy of the encoded card and may cast it. If a creature with an encoded card deals combat damage to more than one player simultaneously perhaps because some of the combat damage was redirected , the triggered ability will trigger once for each player it deals combat damage to. Each ability will create a copy of the exiled card and allow you to cast it.

The three attacking creatures don't have to be attacking the same player or planeswalker. Once a battalion ability has triggered, it doesn't matter how many creatures are still attacking when that ability resolves. The effects of battalion abilities vary from card to card. Read each card carefully. When comparing the stats of the two creatures, you always compare power to power and toughness to toughness.

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, check its power and toughness against the power and toughness of the creature with evolve. If neither stat of the new creature is greater, evolve won't trigger at all. If evolve triggers, the stat comparison will happen again when the ability tries to resolve.

If neither stat of the new creature is greater, the ability will do nothing. If the creature that entered the battlefield leaves the battlefield before evolve tries to resolve, use its last known power and toughness to compare the stats.

If multiple creatures enter the battlefield at the same time, evolve may trigger multiple times, although the stat comparison will take place each time one of those abilities tries to resolve. When the second ability tries to resolve, neither the power nor the toughness of the new creature is greater than that of the creature with evolve, so that ability does nothing. When comparing the stats as the evolve ability resolves, it's possible that the stat that's greater changes from power to toughness or vice versa.

When the evolve trigger tries to resolve, its power is greater. Hybrid mana symbols appear only in costs, such as the mana cost in the upper right corner of a card or the cost to activate an activated ability.

A card with hybrid mana symbols in its mana cost is each color that appears in its mana cost, regardless of what mana was spent to cast it. For example, the Deathcult Rogue above is blue and black, even if you cast it with only blue mana. As you cast a spell or activate an activated ability with hybrid mana symbols in its cost, you choose which color of mana you will spend for each hybrid mana symbol.

You do this at the same time you would choose modes or choose a value for an X in a mana cost. For example, you choose whether you'll cast Deathcult Rogue by paying , , or. Although these cards have basic land types, they are not basic lands. For example, you couldn't find one of these cards if an effect told you to search your library for a "basic land card. For example, forestwalk cares if the defending player controls a land with the land type Forest such as Stomping Ground , not just lands named Forest.

If another effect instructs you to put one of these lands onto the battlefield tapped, it will enter the battlefield tapped whether you pay 2 life or not. If more than one of these lands are entering the battlefield at the same time, you'll decide whether to pay 2 life for each one individually, then put them all onto the battlefield.

For example, if you have 3 life and two Stomping Ground s are entering the battlefield at the same time, you could pay 2 life for only one of them, not both. The subtype Gate has no special rules significance, but other spells and abilities may refer to it. Gate is not a basic land type. Until the ability that turns the Keyrune into a creature resolves, the Keyrune is colorless. For example, say you activate the last ability of Gruul Keyrune.

After it resolves, you cast Giant Growth targeting it. Act of Treason can target any creature, even one that's untapped or one you already control. Gaining control of a creature doesn't cause you to gain control of any Auras or Equipment attached to it. An "attacking creature" is one that has been declared as an attacker this combat, or one that was put onto the battlefield attacking this combat.

Unless that creature leaves combat, it continues to be an attacking creature through the end of combat step, even if the player it was attacking has left the game, or the planeswalker it was attacking has left combat. There's no such thing as an attacking creature outside of the combat phase. Only Agoraphobia's controller can activate its last ability, no matter who controls the creature Agoraphobia's attached to.

Agoraphobia's last ability can be activated only while it's on the battlefield. Players don't have priority to cast spells and activate abilities between combat damage being assigned and being dealt.

Multiple instances of lifelink are redundant. If a creature that had lifelink already is blocking or blocked by Alms Beast, the controller of that creature won't gain extra life.

You choose which ability creatures you control will gain when Angelic Skirmisher's ability resolves. This happens before attacking creatures are declared. Only creatures you control when the ability resolves will gain the chosen ability.

Creatures that come under your control later in the turn will not gain the ability. An "attacking creature" or "blocking creature" is one that has been declared as an attacker or blocker this combat, or one that was put onto the battlefield attacking or blocking this combat. Unless that creature leaves combat, it continues to be an attacking or blocking creature through the end of combat step, even if the player it was attacking has left the game, the planeswalker it was attacking has left combat, or the creature or creatures it was blocking have left combat, as appropriate.

Arrows of Justice may be cast during the end of combat step, after combat damage has been dealt. If Assemble the Legion isn't on the battlefield when its ability resolves, use the number of muster counters it had when it was last on the battlefield to determine how many Soldier tokens to put onto the battlefield.

You untap all creatures you control, including ones that aren't attacking. You don't have to attack with any creatures during the additional combat phase. If Aurelia is put onto the battlefield attacking, the triggered ability won't trigger. You announce the value of X and how the damage will be divided as part of casting Aurelia's Fury.

Each chosen target must receive at least 1 damage. Aurelia's Fury can't deal damage to both a planeswalker and that planeswalker's controller. If damage dealt by Aurelia's Fury is redirected from a player to a planeswalker he or she controls, that player will be able to cast noncreature spells that turn. If you want to stop a player from casting noncreature spells this turn, you can't choose to redirect the damage to a planeswalker he or she controls.

If Aurelia's Fury has multiple targets, and some but not all of them are illegal targets when Aurelia's Fury resolves, Aurelia's Fury will still deal damage to the remaining legal targets according to the original damage division. If all of the targets are illegal when Aurelia's Fury tries to resolve, it will be countered and none of its effects will happen. No creature or player will be dealt damage. If the target player has no land cards in his or her library, all cards from that library will be revealed and put into his or her graveyard.

If Bane Alley Broker's first ability resolves when you have no cards in your hand, you'll draw a card and then exile it. You won't have the opportunity to cast that card or do anything else with it before exiling it. Due to a recent rules change, once you are allowed to look at a face-down card in exile, you are allowed to look at that card as long as it's exiled.

If you no longer control Bane Alley Broker when its last ability resolves, you can continue to look at the relevant cards in exile to choose one to return. Bane Alley Broker's second and third abilities apply to cards exiled with that specific Bane Alley Broker, not any other creature named Bane Alley Broker.

You should keep cards exiled by different Bane Alley Brokers separate. If Bane Alley Broker leaves the battlefield, the cards exiled with it will be exiled indefinitely. If it later returns to the battlefield, it will be a new object with no connection to the cards exiled with it in its previous existence.

You won't be able to use the "new" Bane Alley Broker to return cards exiled with the "old" one. Even if not all players can look at the exiled cards, each card's owner is still known. It is advisable to keep cards owned by different players in distinct piles in case another player gains control of Bane Alley Broker and exiles one or more cards with it.

Beckon Apparition will be on the stack when you choose its target. It can't target itself. If the target card is an illegal target when Beckon Apparition tries to resolve, the spell will be countered and none of its effects will happen.

You won't get a Spirit token. To move a counter from one creature to another, the counter is removed from the first creature and placed on the second. Any abilities that care about a counter being removed or placed on a creature will apply. You decide how many counters to move when Bioshift resolves. If one of the two creatures is an illegal target when Bioshift tries to resolve, or if the creatures are controlled by different players at that time, no counters will move.

Token creatures that are a copy of Biovisionary will count. If you don't control four or more creatures named Biovisionary at the beginning of the end step, the ability won't trigger. If the ability does trigger, but you don't control four or more creatures named Biovisionary when the ability tries to resolve, the ability will do nothing. If you choose the second mode, permanents that come under your control later in the turn will also be indestructible.

Boros Reckoner's first ability will trigger even if it is dealt lethal damage. Damage dealt by Boros Reckoner due to its first ability isn't combat damage, even if it was combat damage that caused that ability to trigger. Burning-Tree Emissary's enters-the-battlefield ability isn't a mana ability.

It uses the stack and can be responded to. You can exile Call of the Nightwing encoded on the Horror creature token it just created. You can choose just one mode, any two of the modes, or all three.

You make this choice as you cast Clan Defiance. The value of X is the same for each mode you choose. If any opponent has no land cards in his or her library, all the cards from that library will be revealed and put into his or her graveyard.

The cards will be put into graveyards before the spell you cast to cause the ability to trigger resolves. However, none of those cards will be in a graveyard as you cast that spell, so they can't be chosen as a target of that spell.

The enchanted land loses its existing land types and any abilities printed on it. Contaminated Ground 's last ability triggers whenever the enchanted land becomes tapped for any reason, not just when it's tapped for mana. If, while casting a spell or activating an ability, the enchanted land's controller taps the land for mana to pay for it, Contaminated Ground 's ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of that spell or ability.

Contaminated Ground 's ability will resolve first. On the other hand, the enchanted land's controller may tap the land for mana, let Contaminated Ground 's ability trigger and go on the stack, then spend that mana to cast an instant or activate an ability in response. In that case, that instant or ability will resolve first.

You can't tap an untapped Gate you control for mana and tap it to activate Crackling Perimeter's ability at the same time. You must choose one or the other. The value of X will change as the number of creature cards in the enchanted creature's controller's graveyard changes. Any time state-based actions are performed, if that creature's toughness is 0 or less, or damage marked on it is equal to or greater than its toughness, the creature will be put into its owner's graveyard.

If a creature already assigned to block Deathcult Rogue stops being a Rogue, it will continue to block. The card named Deathpact Angel that you return to the battlefield doesn't necessarily have to be the same one that created the token you sacrificed. The activated ability is part of the Cleric token's copiable values. Any copy of that creature token will also have that ability.

The activated ability of the token doesn't target any card in your graveyard. You choose the card named Deathpact Angel, if any, when the ability resolves. Devour Flesh targets only a player. It doesn't target any creatures. The target player chooses which creature to sacrifice when the spell resolves. That player can sacrifice only a creature he or she controls. The amount of life gained is equal to the creature's toughness as it last existed on the battlefield.

You can choose a number of targets up to the number of opponents you have, one target per opponent. You cast the cards one at a time, choosing modes, targets and so on. The last card you cast will be the first one to resolve. When casting an instant or sorcery card this way, ignore timing restrictions based on the card's type.

Other timing restrictions, such as "Cast [this card] only during combat," must be followed. If you can't cast one of the target instant or sorcery cards, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, or if you choose not to cast one, it will remain in its owner's graveyard. If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't pay alternative costs such as overload costs.

You can pay additional costs such as kicker costs. If the card has mandatory additional costs, you must pay those. If a card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as its value. If an instant or sorcery card you cast this way is countered, it will still be exiled.

If you cast an instant or sorcery spell with cipher this way, you may exile the card encoded on a creature you control. If you can't, or if you choose not to, the card will end up exiled but not encoded on a creature.

If an instant or sorcery card you cast this way goes to a zone other than exile or a graveyard, perhaps because one of its abilities says to put it into its owner's hand, it won't be exiled.

This is true even if the card would be put into a graveyard later that turn. If the target permanent is an illegal target when Dinrova Horror's ability tries to resolve, the ability will be countered and none of its effects will happen.

No player will discard a card. If a player has no cards in his or her hand and Dinrova's Horror returns a card to that player's hand, the player must discard that card. He or she won't have the opportunity to cast that card or do anything else with it before discarding it. A token permanent returned to a player's hand isn't a card and can't be discarded. It will cease to exist when state-based actions are performed after the ability finishes resolving. When resolving Domri's first ability, if the card you look at isn't a creature card, or it it's a creature card you don't want to put into your hand, you simply put it back on top of your library.

The second target of the second ability can be another creature you control, but it can't be the same creature as the first target. If either target of the second ability is an illegal target when the ability tries to resolve, neither creature will deal or be dealt damage.

Domri's emblem doesn't remove any other abilities of creatures you control. The first ability considers each of your opponents. You don't choose just one of them. Each time the first ability resolves, a delayed triggered ability is created. Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard that turn, each of those abilities will trigger. For example, if you activate the first ability twice and let those abilities resolve and then activate the second ability targeting an opponent, that player will lose a total of 4 life.

Each card put into that player's graveyard will cause two abilities to trigger, each causing that player to lose 1 life. The delayed triggered ability created won't trigger if a token permanent is put into an opponent's graveyard. The loss of life is simultaneous. If this causes both players to end up at 0 or less life, the game will be a draw. In a multiplayer game, players with 0 or less life will lose the game. The cards put into hands this way are not "drawn. Use the creature's power the last time it was on the battlefield to determine how much life the target player loses and how much life you gain.

If another player gains control of either Dying Wish or the enchanted creature but not both , Dying Wish will be enchanting an illegal permanent. The Aura will be put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based action.

Ember Beast can't attack or block unless another creature is also assigned to attack or block at the same time. Notably, two Ember Beast s can attack or block together. Once Ember Beast has been declared as an attacker or blocker, it doesn't matter what happens to the other creature s. Other creatures assigned to attack alongside Ember Beast don't have to attack the same player or planeswalker. Other creatures assigned to block alongside Ember Beast don't have to block the same creature as Ember Beast.

You won't have to discard any card during the cleanup step of the turn you cast Enter the Infinite. You will have to discard down to your maximum hand size during the cleanup step of your next turn.

If you are playing with the top card of your library revealed due to Garruk's Horde , for example , you'll reveal each card before you draw it. You can't choose a creature that hasn't yet dealt damage during the turn as the target of Executioner's Swing, so in most cases it's not possible for Executioner's Swing to reduce the amount of combat damage a creature deals. If a creature has double strike, you could cast Executioner's Swing after it deals first-strike damage but before it deals regular combat damage.

It doesn't matter what the creature dealt damage to or if that damage was combat damage. If the target creature or player is an illegal target when Firemane Avenger's battalion ability tries to resolve, the ability will be countered and none of its effects will happen. You won't gain life.

If Firemane Avenger's battalion ability resolves but some or all of the damage is prevented, you'll still gain 3 life. Five-Alarm Fire's first ability triggers once for each time a creature you control deals combat damage, even if it deals combat damage to more than one creature, planeswalker, or player.

For example, an attacking creature with trample that deals combat damage to a blocking creature and the defending player will cause Five-Alarm Fire's ability to trigger once.

A creature with double strike, however, may cause Five-Alarm Fire's ability to trigger twice during a single combat. The number of creatures you control is counted when Foundry Champion's triggered ability resolves.

Foundry Champion will count itself if it's still on the battlefield under your control at that time. If the target land is an illegal target when Frenzied Tilling tries to resolve, the spell will be countered and none of its effects will happen. You won't search your library for a basic land card. Creatures that come under your control after Frontline Medic's battalion ability resolves will also be indestructible that turn.

You can't tap an untapped Gate you control for mana and tap it to activate Gateway Shade's ability at the same time. As the token is created, it checks the printed values of the Giant Adephage it's copying—or, if the Giant Adephage whose ability triggered was itself a token, the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put it onto the battlefield—as well as any copy effects that have been applied to it.

It won't copy counters on the Giant Adephage, nor will it copy other effects that have changed Giant Adephage's power, toughness, types, color, or so on. Normally, this means the token will simply be a Giant Adephage. But if any copy effects have affected that Giant Adephage, they're taken into account.

You put a loyalty counter on Gideon, Champion of Justice as part of the cost of activating the first ability. When that ability resolves, you count the number of creatures controlled by the target opponent and put that many additional loyalty counters on Gideon.

If the first ability is countered perhaps because the target opponent is an illegal target when the ability tries to resolve , you won't put any additional loyalty counters on Gideon, although the loyalty counter you put on him to activate the ability will remain. If Gideon, Champion of Justice becomes a creature due to his second ability, that doesn't count as having a creature enter the battlefield. Gideon was already on the battlefield; he only changed his types.

Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won't trigger. Gideon, Champion of Justice's power and toughness are set to the number of loyalty counters on him when his second ability resolves.

They won't change later in the turn if the number of loyalty counters on him changes. If damage that can't be prevented is dealt to Gideon, Champion of Justice after his second ability has resolved, that damage will have all applicable results: specifically, the damage is marked on Gideon since he's a creature and that damage causes that many loyalty counters to be removed from him since he's a planeswalker.

Even though he's indestructible, if Gideon, Champion of Justice has no loyalty counters on him, he's put into his owner's graveyard as a state-based action. Gideon, Champion of Justice's second ability causes him to become a creature with the creature types Human and Soldier.

He remains a planeswalker with the planeswalker type Gideon. He also retains any other card types or subtypes he may have had. Each subtype is correlated to the proper card type: Gideon is just a planeswalker type not a creature type , and Human and Soldier are just creature types not planeswalker types. If you activate Gideon, Champion of Justice's second ability and then a creature enters the battlefield as a copy of him, that copy will be just a planeswalker, not a creature.

The effect of Gideon's second ability isn't copied, just as the effect of a Giant Growth , for example, wouldn't be copied. Since both permanents will be planeswalkers with the planeswalker type Gideon, each one will be put into his owner's graveyard as a state-based action due to the "planeswalker uniqueness rule.

If the first Gideon, Champion of Justice is still on the battlefield by the time the copy effect happens, each of those permanents will be put into his owner's graveyard as a state-based action due to the "planeswalker uniqueness rule. Say you activate Gideon, Champion of Justice's second ability, and then an opponent gains control of him before combat.

You may have any of your creatures attack Gideon, Champion of Justice since he's still a planeswalker. Then Gideon, Champion of Justice may block since he's a creature. He may block any eligible attacking creature, including one that's attacking him! For example, he deals combat damage to any creatures he's blocking, but he doesn't deal combat damage to any unblocked creatures that are attacking him. Creatures your opponents control don't actually lose hexproof, although you will ignore hexproof for purposes of choosing targets of spells and abilities you control.

Creatures that come under your control after Glaring Spotlight's last ability resolves won't have hexproof but will be unblockable that turn. Greenside Watcher's ability is not a mana ability.

Use the creature's power the last time it was on the battlefield to determine how many cards its controller puts into his or her graveyard. If the creature is an illegal target when Grisly Spectacle tries to resolve, it will be countered and none of its effects will happen. The creature's controller won't put any cards into his or her graveyard.

If you choose the first mode, no creature without flying will be able to block that turn, including creatures that lose flying and creatures without flying that enter the battlefield after Gruul Charm resolves. If you choose the second mode, Gruul Charm's effect will override any other control-changing effects on those permanents.

A token is owned by the player under whose control it entered the battlefield. Gruul Ragebeast's triggered ability isn't optional. However, if no opponent controls a creature when a creature enters the battlefield under your control, the ability will be removed from the stack.

If one or both of the creatures that are supposed to fight are no longer on the battlefield when the ability resolves, the fight won't happen. Neither creature will deal or be dealt damage. If the target creature is an illegal target when the ability tries to resolve, it will be countered and none of its effects will happen.

Guardian of the Gateless's last ability triggers only once when it's declared as a blocker no matter how many creatures it's blocking. The enchanted creature can't be enchanted or equipped by multicolored Auras and Equipment, it can't be blocked by multicolored creatures, it can't be targeted by multicolored spells or abilities from multicolored sources, and all damage dealt to it by multicolored sources is prevented.

Hybrid spells and permanents in the Return to Ravnica block are multicolored, even if you cast them with one color of mana. Gyre Sage's last ability is a mana ability. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.

If the creature that was tapped by Hands of Binding is untapped during its controller's next untap step perhaps because a spell untapped it , Hands of Binding has no effect at that time. It won't apply at some later time when the creature is tapped. If a different player gains control of the creature that was tapped by Hands of Binding, Hands of Binding will stop that creature from untapping during its new controller's next untap step.

If you don't control twenty or more artifacts at the beginning of your upkeep, Hellkite Tyrant's last ability won't trigger. If it does trigger, it will check again when it tries to resolve. If you don't control twenty or more artifacts at that time, the ability will do nothing. Hellraiser Goblin's ability also affects itself. If it enters the battlefield before combat, it will have to attack that combat if able.

If, during your declare attackers step, a creature you control is tapped or is affected by a spell or ability that says it can't attack, then it doesn't attack. If there's a cost associated with having a creature attack, you aren't forced to pay that cost, so it doesn't have to attack in that case either.

Unlike many other effects that force a creature to attack if able, Hellraiser Goblin's ability applies during each combat. If a turn has multiple combat phases, creatures you control must attack in each of them if able.

High Priest of Penance's ability triggers once for each instance of damage dealt to it, not once for each 1 damage. The ability will trigger even if High Priest of Penance is dealt lethal damage.

Creatures you control will have vigilance even if you control no Gates. The enchanted creature can't be blocked, it can't be targeted by abilities of creatures or creature cards like, notably, the scavenge ability , and all damage dealt to it by creatures or creature cards is prevented.

Homing Lightning has only one target. Other creatures with that name are not targeted. For example, a creature with hexproof will be dealt damage if it has the same name as the target creature.

The name of a creature token is the same as its creature types unless the token is a copy of another creature or the effect that created the token specifically gives it a different name. In most cases, that means it will no longer be able to be tapped for mana that turn. Hydroform doesn't affect the land's name or any other types, subtypes, or supertypes such as basic or legendary the land may have.

The land will also keep any abilities it had. This may happen if the land was already a creature when Hydroform resolved. If an effect creates a creature token that normally has toughness 1, it will enter the battlefield with toughness 0, be put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based action, and then cease to exist. Any abilities that trigger when a creature enters the battlefield or dies will trigger.

An activated ability is written in the form "Cost: Effect. You may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them.