Cease // Desist 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
Exile up to two target cards from a single graveyard. Target player gains 2 life and draws a card. Destroy all artifacts and enchantments.
Complete guide
Cease // Desist is a versatile split card that offers utility against graveyard strategies and a powerful board wipe for non-creature permanents. As a split card, it provides two distinct options depending on the current state of the game and your available mana. This guide will walk you through how to navigate its dual nature and maximize its impact on the battlefield.
One Card, Two Paths
When you cast a split card, you must choose which half you are casting. Cease is an instant that targets cards in a graveyard and a player, while Desist is a sorcery that targets nothing but destroys all artifacts and enchantments. While on the stack, the spell only has the characteristics of the half you chose. However, in any other zone like your library or graveyard, the card has the combined characteristics of both halves, meaning its mana value is 8.
Step-by-Step Resolution
If you cast Cease, you first choose up to two target cards in a single graveyard and one target player. Upon resolution, those cards are exiled, and the player gains 2 life and draws a card. If the targeted player becomes illegal, the entire spell fails to resolve and no cards are exiled. If you cast Desist, you simply follow the instructions on the card: all artifacts and enchantments currently on the battlefield are destroyed simultaneously.
Timing and Mana Value
Common mistakes involve miscalculating the mana value of the card while it is not on the stack. Because Cease // Desist has a total mana value of 8 in your library, you cannot find it with effects searching for cards with low mana values. Additionally, remember that Cease is an instant, allowing you to respond to graveyard recursion, whereas Desist is a sorcery and can only be played during your main phase when the stack is empty.
Strategic Implementation
Cast Cease when you need to stop an opponent from reanimating a threat or to simply cycle the card for a new draw while gaining a small life buffer. Use Desist when the board is cluttered with dangerous artifacts or enchantments. Since Desist does not target, it bypasses protection such as Hexproof or Shroud on those permanents.
Interaction examples
Not of This WorldIf you cast Cease targeting your opponent's graveyard and your opponent tries to protect themselves using Not of This World, they must ensure the cost reduction conditions are met. However, since Cease targets a player and cards in a graveyard rather than a creature you control, Not of This World cannot be cast for its reduced cost of 0, requiring the full 7 mana to counter Cease.
Kindred SummonsIf an effect like Kindred Summons is looking for specific card types or characteristics in your library, it will see Cease // Desist as a single card with the combined types of both halves (Instant and Sorcery) and a mana value of 8. If you were searching for an instant with a mana value of 2, you would not be able to find this card because its combined value exceeds the limit.
When casting Cease, if you target two cards in your opponent's graveyard and your opponent in response moves one of those cards to another zone, Cease will still resolve. It will exile the remaining target card, and the target player will still gain 2 life and draw a card. As long as at least one target remains legal, the spell does as much as it can.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Cease // Desist
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
To cast a split card, choose one of its halves to cast. There's no way to cast both halves of any of the split cards featured in this set.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Split cards have two card faces on a single card. The characteristics of the half you didn't cast are ignored while the spell is on the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Each split card is a single card. For example, if you discard a split card, you've discarded one card, not two. If an effect counts the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard, Cease // Desist counts once, not twice.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Each split card has two names. If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose one of those names, but not both.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
A split card's characteristics are a combination of its two halves while it is not on the stack. For example, Cease // Desist has a mana value of 8 while it is in your library. If an effect allows you to search your library for a card with mana value 4 or less, you can't find Cease // Desist.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect allows you to cast a spell with certain characteristics, consider only the characteristics of the half you're casting. For example, if an effect allows you to cast an instant or sorcery spell with mana value 2 or less from among cards in your graveyard, you could cast Cease this way, but not Desist.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Cease // Desist
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.