Astral Slide is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Whenever a player cycles a card, you may exile target creature. If you do, return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
Complete guide
Astral Slide is a cornerstone of cycling-based strategies, offering powerful board control and utility. This enchantment turns every cycled card into a temporary escape for a creature, allowing you to manipulate the battlefield at instant speed. Understanding the timing of its return effect is key to mastering this classic white enchantment.
What it Does
Astral Slide has a triggered ability that triggers whenever any player—not just you—activates a cycling ability. When this happens, you may choose to exile a target creature currently on the battlefield. This creature is not gone forever; it is set to return to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
How it Resolves
The process begins when a player pays the cycling cost and discards a card. Astral Slide's ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of the cycling draw. When the Slide ability resolves, you choose whether to exile the target. If you do, the creature is moved to the exile zone. The game then tracks this event and creates a delayed triggered ability that triggers at the start of the next end step to bring the creature back.
Common Mistakes
A common point of confusion is the 'beginning of the next end step' clause. If you cycle a card during an end step that is already in progress, the exiled creature will not return immediately. Instead, it remains in exile throughout the following turn and only returns at the start of the next player's end step. Additionally, remember that tokens exiled this way cease to exist and will never return.
When to Play It
Astral Slide is best utilized defensively to save your key creatures from removal or offensively to remove an opponent's blocker before your attack. It is also a fantastic tool for re-triggering 'enters-the-battlefield' abilities, as the creature is considered a new object when it returns from exile.
Interaction examples
Ghostly PrisonIf an opponent attempts to destroy your Ghostly Prison with a spell, you cannot save the enchantment with Astral Slide because Slide only targets creatures. However, if they attack you with a creature after paying the tax, you can cycle a card to exile their attacker, effectively wasting the mana they spent on the Ghostly Prison requirement.
Smothering TitheWhen you cycle a card to trigger Astral Slide, you also draw a card. If your opponent was the one cycling, their draw would trigger your Smothering Tithe. You can use Astral Slide to exile one of their creatures to prevent an attack, while simultaneously gaining a Treasure token from their draw if they cannot pay the {2}.
If your opponent controls a powerful creature with many +1/+1 counters or a face-down creature, you can cycle a card to exile it. When the creature returns at the end step, it will lose all counters and return face-up, potentially neutralizing its threat level or resetting its power.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Astral Slide
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If a face-down card is exiled, it turns face-up and remains face-up when it returns to the battlefield. This does not trigger any abilities that would trigger on it being turned face-up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a player cycles a card during the end step, the creature that is exiled won't come back until the end of the next turn.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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