Unexplained Absence

Format legality

Where you can play Unexplained Absence in sanctioned and popular formats.

All printings (2)

Prices range from $0.60 to $1.26 across finishes. Cheapest printing: Murders at Karlov Manor Commander at $0.60.

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Rulings

Official rulings from Wizards of the Coast (14).

• 2024-02-02To 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.
• 2024-02-02Any 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.
• 2024-02-02If 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.
• 2024-02-02Unlike 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.
• 2024-02-02If 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.
• 2024-02-02At 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.
• 2024-02-02If 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.
• 2024-02-02Because 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.
• 2024-02-02Because face-down creatures don’t have a name, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.
• 2024-02-02A 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.
• 2024-02-02Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.
• 2024-02-02If 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.
• 2024-02-02You 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.
• 2024-02-02If 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.

Frequently asked questions