CCG >Cards > Subterfuge

About Subterfuge

Subterfuge, Creature — elemental incarnation, designed by Ilse Gort first released in Jan, 2026 in the set Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander and was printed exactly in 2 different ways.

Subterfuge shines in blue-based Commander decks that can reliably produce large bursts of combat damage, especially ones built around evasive or high-power creatures—think sea monster/kraken tribal, big-tempo flyers, or decks that can grant huge power boosts before combat (like equipment, pump spells, or commanders such as Octavia, Living Thesis or creatures with naturally high power but low evasion). Its enter-the-battlefield trigger is strongest when you target a creature that can hit hard immediately, and the Encore ability is particularly potent in multiplayer EDH, potentially drawing an enormous number of cards if multiple opponents are hit. However, at five mana plus a hefty nine-mana Encore, it’s slow and competes with more efficient draw engines like Coastal Piracy, Bident of Thassa, Kindred Discovery (in tribal), or one-shot effects like Windfall or Overflowing Insight, which often provide more reliable value for less setup. As a result, Subterfuge is a flavorful, high-ceiling