Exile

Exile
Keyword Action
Introduced	Alpha (mechanic) Magic 2010 (keyword)
Last used	Evergreen
Reminder Text	No official reminder text
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Exile"

This page is about the zone and keyword action. For the card, see Exile.

Exile is a game zone outside the field of play. It is also a keyword action, meaning "putting into the exile zone".

Description

Exile was known as "Removed from the game" before it was renamed in the wake of the Magic 2010 rules update. Unlike other zones, it is considerably harder to access cards from this zone. Only a few cards, such as Pull from Eternity or Riftsweeper can touch them without having the cards exiled themselves. The exile zone is used as a holding place for other cards, as in the case with the mechanics Imprint and Suspend. However, it is also sometimes used similarly to the graveyard as a zone for cards that were eliminated by the opponent, for example a creature being exiled by Swords to Plowshares. Exiling primarily occurs among white, black, and colorless cards. Due to the multiple purposes of the exile zone, there is no unified flavor of exile, though the flavor of cards exiled from the battlefield often is a flavor of disappearance or transformation.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 701.10. Exchange
  • 701.10a A spell or ability may instruct players to exchange something (for example, life totals or control of two permanents) as part of its resolution. When such a spell or ability resolves, if the entire exchange can’t be completed, no part of the exchange occurs.

    Example: If a spell attempts to exchange control of two target creatures but one of those creatures is destroyed before the spell resolves, the spell does nothing to the other creature.

  • 701.10b When control of two permanents is exchanged, if those permanents are controlled by different players, each of those players simultaneously gains control of the permanent that was controlled by the other player. If, on the other hand, those permanents are controlled by the same player, the exchange effect does nothing.
  • 701.10c When life totals are exchanged, each player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other player’s previous life total. Replacement effects may modify these gains and losses, and triggered abilities may trigger on them. A player who can’t gain life can’t be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can’t lose life can’t be given a lower life total this way (see rules 119.7–8).
  • 701.10d Some spells or abilities may instruct a player to exchange cards in one zone with cards in a different zone (for example, exiled cards and cards in a player’s hand). These spells and abilities work the same as other “exchange” spells and abilities, except they can exchange the cards only if all the cards are owned by the same player, and they can exchange the cards even if one zone is empty.
  • 701.10e If a card in one zone is exchanged with a card in a different zone, and either of them is attached to an object, that card stops being attached to that object and the other card becomes attached to that object.
  • 701.10f If a spell or ability instructs a player to simply exchange two zones, and one of the zones is empty, the cards in the zones are still exchanged.
  • 701.10g A spell or ability may instruct a player to exchange two numerical values. In such an exchange, each value becomes equal to the previous value of the other. If either of those values is a life total, the affected player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other value. Replacement effects may modify this gain or loss, and triggered abilities may trigger on it. A player who can’t gain life can’t be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can’t lose life can’t be given a lower life total this way (see rules 119.7–8). If either of those values is a power or toughness, a continuous effect is created setting that power or toughness to the other value (see rule 613.4b). This rule does not apply to spells and abilities that switch a creature’s power and toughness.
  • 701.10h One card (Exchange of Words) instructs a player to exchange the text boxes of two creatures. This creates a text-changing effect (see rule 612, “Text-Changing Effects”). In such an exchange, the rules text of each permanent becomes the previous rules text of the other.

Template:Keyword CR

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Set Aside (Obsolete)

“Set [something] aside” is an obsolete term for “exile [something].” Cards with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference. See Exile.

Flavor

Per flavor, the exile zone is oblivion, a region beyond death. Sometimes, especially on older cards, the zone can also represent any of various states of inaccessibility not related to a player's graveyard, such as on Swords to Plowshares or Grimoire Thief.

Capping

Capping is a slang term of a special type of exile, named after the card Jester's Cap, the first card to use the effect, this term refers to searching an opponent's library for specific cards and exiling them in order to deny the opponent of their use at some future time.

List of Capping spells

• Bitter ordeal — have gravestorm.
• Denying Wind — up to seven cards
• Earwig Squad — 5/3 - Prowl - when this enters the battlefield, if its prowl cost was paid, three cards
• Jester's Cap — - , , Sacrifice Jester's Cap: three cards
• Neverending Torment — X cards, where X is the number of cards in your hand - Epic
• Nightmare Incursion — X cards, where X is the number of Swamps you control
• Sadistic Sacrament — - Kicker up to three cards; if kicked, up to fifteen cards
• Stain the Mind — - Convoke - All copies of named non-land card from that player's library, graveyard and hand.
• Supreme Inquisitor — 1/3 - Tap five untapped Wizards you control: up to five cards

List of exile spells

Instants

• Counterbore — counter target spell, search same name.
• Cremate — target creature from a graveyard, your choice.
• Crypt Incursion— all creature cards from target player's graveyard. You gain 3 life for each card exiled this way.
• Eradicate — target nonblack creature, your choice, search same name.
• Exile — target nonwhite attacking creature, you gain life equal to its toughness .
• Extirpate — target card in graveyard, search with the same name, have split second.
• Last Breath — target creature with power 2 or less. Its controller gains 4 life.
• Path to Exile — target creature, its controller may search library for a basic land card.
• Pillar of Light — Exile target creature with toughness 4 or greater
• Rakdos Charm — all cards from target player's graveyard - tri-modal spell
• Quash — counter target instant or sorcery, search same name.
• Scour — target enchantment, your choice, search same name.
• Selesnya Charm — target creature with power 5 or greater, your choice - tri-modal spell.
• Shattering Blow — target artifact, your choice.
• Surgical Extraction — target card in graveyard, search same name.
• Swords to Plowshares — target creature, its controller gains life equal to its power.
• Splinter — target artifact, your choice, search same name.
• Trostani's Judgment — target creature, your choice - Populate.
• Utter End — target nonland permanent, your choice.
• Vile Rebirth — Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.

Sorceries

• Angelic Edict — target creature or enchantment, your choice
• Appetite for Brains — reveals hand, card with converted mana cost or greater, your choice
• Castigate — reveals hand, nonland card, your choice
• Curse of the Swine — X target creatures (of your choice). For each creature exiled this way, its controller puts a 2/2 green Boar creature token onto the battlefield.
• Cranial Extraction — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Decree of Annihilation — all artifacts, creatures, and lands from the battlefield, all cards from all graveyards, and all cards from all hands - Cycling which also destroys all lands
• Diminishing Returns — each player shuffles his or her hand and graveyard into his or her library, top ten cards of your library, then each player draws up to seven cards.
• Excoriate — target tapped creature.
• Extirpate — target card in a graveyard other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name - Split second
• Fade into Antiquity— target artifact or enchantment (of your choice).
• Gild— target creature. Put a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool."
• Glare of Heresy— target white permanent (of your choice).
• Haunting Echoes — all cards from target player's graveyard other than basic land cards; for each card exiled this way, search that player's library for all cards with the same name as that card and also exile them.
• Identity Crisis — all cards from hand and graveyard, your choice
• Memoricide — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Merciless Eviction — choose one — exile all artifacts; or exile all creatures; or exile all enchantments; or exile all planeswalkers.
• Mind Swords — two cards from his or her hand, each player
• Night Terrors — reveals hand, nonland card, your choice
• Lobotomy — reveals hand, card other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name
• Psychic Theft — reveals hand, instant or sorcery card, your choice
• Reap Intellect — reveals hand. You choose up to X nonland cards from it and exile them. For each card exiled this way, search that player's graveyard, hand, and library for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
• Revoke Existence— target artifact or enchantment.
• Slaughter Games — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Sowing Salt — target nonbasic land, your choice, search same name
• Struggle for Sanity — target opponent reveals his or her hand. That player exiles a card from it, then you exile a card from it. Repeat this process until all cards in that hand have been exiled. That player returns the cards he or she exiled this way to his or her hand and puts the rest into his or her graveyard.
• Suppress — all cards from target player's hand face down, your choice (exiled card returns at beginning of the end step of that player's next turn)
• Surgical Extraction — target card in a graveyard other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name
• Thought Hemorrhage — name a nonland card, reveals hand, your choice, search same name (also deals 3 damage for each card with that name revealed this way)

Creatures which cause exile

• Ashen Rider— : When enters the battlefield or dies, target permanent
• Brain Maggot— : When enters the battlefield, look at cards in target opponents hand, exile one until Brain Maggot leaves the battlefield
• Daxos of Meletis— Whenever deals combat damage to a player, top card of that player's library. You gain life equal to that card's converted mana cost. Until end of turn, you may cast that card and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast it.
• Deathrite Shaman — Template:Bg - exile different target cards for various effects
• Fiend of the Shadows — 3/3 - deals combat damage to a player, a card from his or her hand, their choice
• Ghastlord of Fugue — 4/4 - deals combat damage to a player, reveals hand, a card, your choice
• Hypnox — 8/8 - when this enters the battlefield (if cast from hand), all cards from target opponent's hand
• Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse — 6/4 - whenever it's controller cast a Spirit or Arcane spell, a card from target opponent's hand, their choice
• Lord of the Void — 7/7 - whenever this deals combat damage to a player, exile the top seven cards of that player's library, then put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield under your control.
• Magus of the Jar — , Sacrifice Magus of the Jar: Each player exiles all cards from his or her hand face down and draws seven cards. At the beginning of the next end step, each player discards his or her hand and returns to his or her hand each card he or she exiled this way.
• Mesmeric Fiend — 1/1 - when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice (when this leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner's hand.)
• Nightveil Specter — 2/3 - whenever it deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top card of his or her library.
• Shimian Specter — 2/2 - deals combat damage to a player, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Sin Collector — when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, instant or sorcery, your choice.
• Tidehollow Sculler — 2/2 - when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice (when this leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner's hand.)

Enchantments

• Chained to the Rocks — : When enters the battlefield, exile target creature an opponent controls until Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield.
• Descent into Madness — at the beginning of your upkeep, put a despair counter on Descent into Madness, then each player exiles X permanents he or she controls and/or cards from his or her hand, where X is the number of despair counters on Descent into Madness.
• Elkin Lair — at the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player exiles a card at random from his or her hand. The player may play that card this turn. At the beginning of the next end step, if the player hasn't played the card, he or she puts it into his or her graveyard.
• Parallax Nexus — - Fading - Remove a fade counter from this: Target opponent exiles a card from his or her hand. When Parallax Nexus leaves the battlefield, each player returns to his or her hand all exiled cards.
• Planeswalker's Mischief — - : Target opponent reveals a card at random from his or her hand. If it's an instant or sorcery card, exile it. You may cast it without paying its mana cost for as long as it remains exiled. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.) At the beginning of the next end step, if you haven't cast it, return it to its owner's hand. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
• Rest in Peace — when this enters the battlefield, exile all cards from all graveyards. If a card or token would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.

Artifact which cause exile

• Memory Jar — - , Sacrifice Memory Jar: Each player exiles all cards from his or her hand face down and draws seven cards. At the beginning of the next end step, each player discards his or her hand and returns to his or her hand each card he or she exiled this way.

Cards that check for exile

• Warden of the Beyond — 2/2 - Gets +2/+2 if opponent has a card in exile.

Notes

In the above list; "their choice" means the target player gets to choose which cards to exile, "your choice" means the person casting the spell gets to choose, "search same name" means search exiled card's controller's graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as that card and exile them also.

References

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