Some cards (Illusionary Mask, Ixidron, Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist, Obscuring Aether, Illithid Harvester and Yedora, Grave Gardener), the morph and megamorph abilities, and the manifest keyword action allow spells and permanents to be face down. Show Description[]MTGA icon for face down cards. A face-down permanent is, by default, a 2/2 creature with no rules text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost or color indicator (consequently, it is also colorless). A player may look at the front of face-down spells and creatures they control at any time. Turning a face-down permanent face up is a special action that can be done any time the player has priority (in other words, any time they could cast an instant), but it doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to (in this way, it is similar to playing a land). To do this, it must either have morph or megamorph (and its controller pays its morph cost), or be a manifested creature card (and its controller pays its mana cost). A token, or a card that is already face up (such as a Clone copying a face down creature), can't be turned face up. If the face-down creature has any counters on it, those remain on the face-up permanent. It's not a new object, and it doesn't enter the battlefield just by turning face up. Any Auras or Equipment attached to it remain attached to it after it turns face up. There are three enchantments in Fate Reforged that manifest a card and then become an Aura attached to it. Face down (together with its opposite, face up) is part of a permanent's status. Permanents have their own status, which is not a copiable value. Consequently, a copy of a face-down creature will be a face-up 2/2 creature with no characteristics except any that the copy effect gives it (e.g. Cryptoplasm). Since it's face up, such a copy can't be turned face up, unlike the object it's a copy of. Cards may additionally be face down in other zones. This is the default for the library, but some effects also exile a card face down, and the cards in the special decks in the command zone for Planechase and Archenemy are also usually face down. None of these situations has any correlation with the "face down" status of a permanent, but the ability given by Morph allows for the casting of a face-down creature spell, hence putting something face-down on the stack; like on the battlefield, it is a 2/2 with no mana cost. Exceptions[]The game rules for face-down permanents set their characteristics by default, but several spells and abilities put cards onto the battlefield face down and specify alternate characteristics for them. These become the copiable values for the face-down card instead of the default. Artifacts put into the battlefield by Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist are 5/5 artifact creatures. Yedora, Grave Gardener treats its face-down creatures as Forest lands. Face-down instants or sorceries put onto the battlefield by Magar of the Magic Strings are 3/3 creatures. Creatures targeted by Illithid Harvester are Horrors rather than being subtypeless. At one point Illusionary Mask allowed casting permanents face down as 0/1 creatures, but its ability's official Oracle text was changed to make it in line with morph. Rules[]From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (September 8, 2022—Dominaria United) Face Down1. A card is “face down” if it’s physically positioned so the card back is showing. Cards in some zones are normally kept face down. See section 4, “Zones.” 2. A status a permanent may have. See rule 110.5 and rule 702.37, “Morph.”3. Face-down spells have additional rules. See rule 708, “Face-Down Spells and Permanents,” and rule 702.37, “Morph.”From the Comprehensive Rules (September 8, 2022—Dominaria United)
Exiled face down[]From the Comprehensive Rules (September 8, 2022—Dominaria United)
From the Comprehensive Rules (September 8, 2022—Dominaria United)
Do counters stay on phased out creatures?Tokens continue to exist on the battlefield while phased out. Counters remain on a permanent while it's phased out. Effects that check a phased-in permanent's history won't treat the phasing event as having caused the permanent to leave or enter the battlefield or its controller's control.
Do counters stay on creatures?No, the counters stay where they are. Counters are a separate entity once they are placed on a permanent. If a creature says "other creatures get +1+1" and then leaves the battlefield, the bonus is lost. And if a creature with +1+1 counters on it leaves the battlefield, the counters go away.
Can a creature have +1 and counters?A +1/+1 counter on a creature adds one to its power and toughness. Creatures using +1/+1 counters were among the most popular in the early history of the game. Charge counters serve as the equivalent default counter for noncreature permanents.
Can't counter MTG Green?This spell can't be countered. Green spells you control can't be countered. : Until end of turn, each Elf creature you control has base power and toughness 5/5 and becomes a Dinosaur in addition to its other creature types. This spell can't be countered.
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