True Identity 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 this enchantment or another permanent you control is turned face up, scry 1, then draw a card. This ability triggers only once each turn. Disguise(You may cast this card face down for
as a 2/2 creature with ward
. Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.)
Complete guide
True Identity is a versatile enchantment that rewards you for unmasking hidden threats on your battlefield. It serves as both a secret 2/2 creature with protection and a powerful engine for card selection and advantage.
What It Does
True Identity has two roles. First, it features the Disguise mechanic, allowing you to cast it as a face-down 2/2 colorless creature with ward {2} for {3} mana. Second, it has a triggered ability: whenever it or another permanent you control is turned face up, you scry 1 and then draw a card. Note that this draw engine is limited to triggering only once each turn, regardless of how many creatures you unmask.
Unmasking Step by Step
To trigger True Identity, you must turn a face-down permanent face up. If True Identity is already on the battlefield as an enchantment, it watches for other permanents to flip. If True Identity is currently a face-down creature, you pay its disguise cost of {W}. Turning it face up is a special action that does not use the stack and cannot be responded to. Once it is face up, its ability triggers, allowing you to look at the top card of your library (scry) and then draw.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is thinking that turning a card face up counts as it entering the battlefield; it does not. The permanent was already there, so 'enters-the-battlefield' triggers like Authority of the Consuls won't fire again. Additionally, remember the 'once each turn' restriction. If you turn two creatures face up in a single turn, you will only scry and draw for the first one. However, you can trigger it on an opponent's turn if you have a way to flip a permanent then!
When to Play It
Cast it face down early if you need a blocker or an attacker with ward {2} to pressure the opponent. In the late game, or when you have other disguise/morph creatures ready, flip them to dig through your deck for answers like Ghostly Prison to stabilize your defense.
Interaction examples
True Identity
A Mysterious CreatureYou cast True Identity face down for {3}. It is now represented by A Mysterious Creature (a 2/2 with ward {2}). On a later turn, you pay {W} to turn it face up. Because True Identity itself was turned face up, its ability triggers. You scry 1, then draw a card. The card is now a non-creature enchantment on the battlefield.
Ghostly PrisonWith True Identity already face up on the battlefield as an enchantment, you cast another creature face down. When you pay that creature's disguise cost to turn it face up, True Identity triggers. You scry 1 and see Ghostly Prison on top. You choose to leave it there and draw it, giving you a powerful defensive tool for your next turn.
Authority of the ConsulsYour opponent controls Authority of the Consuls. When you cast True Identity face down, it enters tapped because it is a creature. Later, when you turn True Identity face up, it does not 'enter' again. It simply changes from a creature to an enchantment while remaining on the battlefield; therefore, it does not trigger Authority of the Consuls a second time and stays in its current tapped/untapped state.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : True Identity
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
A disguise ability lets you cast a card face down by paying
and announcing that you are using a disguise ability. Any time you have priority, you can turn a face-down permanent with disguise face up by paying its disguise cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
The face-down spell has no mana cost and a mana value of 0. When you cast a face-down spell, put it on the stack face down so no other player knows what it is, and pay
to cast it. This is an alternative cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The creature spell is a 2/2 creature spell with ward
that has no name, mana cost, or creature types. The resulting creature is a 2/2 creature with ward that has no name, mana cost, or creature types. Both the spell and the resulting creature are colorless and have a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the spell or creature can still grant it any characteristics it doesn’t have or change the characteristics it does have.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Any time you have priority, you may turn the face-down creature face up by revealing what its disguise cost is and paying that cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. Only a face-down permanent can be turned face up this way; a face-down spell cannot.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
At any time, you can look at a face-down spell or permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents or spells you don’t control unless an effect instructs or allows you to do so.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a face-down creature loses its abilities, it can’t be turned face up with a disguise ability because it will no longer have a disguise ability (or a disguise cost) once face up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Because face-down creatures don’t have a name, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent and Auras and Equipment that were attached to that permanent aren’t affected unless the new characteristics of the object change the legality of those targets or attachments.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
If a face-down spell leaves the stack and goes to any zone other than the battlefield (if it was countered, for example), you must reveal it. Similarly, if a face-down permanent leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or the game ends.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order in which they entered the battlefield should remain clear, as well as what ability caused them to be face down. (This includes disguise, cloak, and in games involving older cards, morph and manifest, as well as a few other effects that turn cards face down.) Common methods for doing this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
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Meta decks with True Identity
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