Reenact the Crime 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 target nonland card in a graveyard that was put there from anywhere this turn. Copy it. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
Complete guide
Reenact the Crime is a powerful blue instant that allows you to mimic the past by casting cards that recently hit a graveyard. Whether your opponent just countered a spell or you discarded a massive threat yourself, this card lets you resolve it for a mere four mana. It is a unique way to cheat mana costs and reuse resources before they are gone for good.
What It Does
Reenact the Crime targets a nonland card in any graveyard that arrived there during the current turn. It doesn't matter if it was milled, discarded, countered, or destroyed; as long as it hit the graveyard this turn, it is a valid target. Once the card is exiled, you create a copy of that card and gain the ability to cast that copy immediately without paying its mana cost.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, as you cast Reenact the Crime, you choose a legal target card in a graveyard. Upon resolution, the target card is exiled. You then immediately create a copy of that card and decide whether to cast it. If you choose to cast it, you do so while Reenact the Crime is still on the stack and resolving, ignoring normal timing restrictions for spells like sorceries or creatures. If you choose not to cast it, the copy simply ceases to exist.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A frequent error is trying to wait to cast the copy later in the turn; you must cast it right now or lose the chance. Additionally, if the card has an {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 for the value of X when casting it for free. Note that while you can't use other alternative costs, you must still pay mandatory additional costs, and you may choose to pay optional additional costs like Kicker.
When to Play It
This spell is best utilized as a response to high-impact cards entering the graveyard. You can use it to 'steal' a powerful spell an opponent just cast that was countered, or as a combo piece after discarding a massive spell to your own effects. Since it is an instant, it provides a surprise element that can flip the state of the board during an opponent's turn.
Interaction examples
Frantic SearchDuring your turn, you cast Frantic Search, drawing two cards and discarding a high-cost nonland card. Because that card was put into your graveyard this turn, you can cast Reenact the Crime targeting it. Reenact the Crime will exile the card and allow you to cast the copy for free, potentially putting a massive threat onto the battlefield early.
Fierce GuardianshipIf your opponent casts a noncreature spell and you respond with Fierce Guardianship to counter it, that spell is put into their graveyard. You can then immediately cast Reenact the Crime targeting their countered spell. This allows you to exile their card and cast it yourself, turning their own neutralized threat into your advantage.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Reenact the Crime
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
You cast the copy while Reenact the Crime is resolving and still on the stack. You can't wait to cast it later in the turn.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell has
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a spell "without paying its mana cost", you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Demand Answers, those must be paid to cast the card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If the spell you cast has
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you don't want to cast the copy, you can choose not to; the copy ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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