Sneaky MTG mechanics return for Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond set

Flavorful returning Magic: The Gathering mechanics are spicing up the summer’s Universes Beyond set, Assassin’s Creed, through Disguise, Cloak, and Historic. 

Wizards of the Coast kicked off official MTG Assassin’s Creed spoilers on June 18, revealing three returning mechanics to accompany the new Freerunning ability within the Magic set. Introduced through Murders at Karlov Manor earlier this year, Disguise is back for the new Universes Beyond set, along with Cloak and Historic. 

Both Disguise and Cloak are similar to one another and are a flavorful addition to the Assassin’s Creed MTG set. The Cloak mechanic, like Disguise, was also introduced through MKM as an evolved version of an older mechanic called Manifest. Both Disguise and Cloak will have a card enter the battlefield face down without opponents knowing the identity of the Magic card. When the card is played this way, it’s a Colorless 2/2 with Ward Two and no mana cost

What makes these two mechanics so flavorful within the MTG Assassin’s Creed set is that you can flip up a card with Disguise or Cloak by paying its cost any time you have priority and your opponent can’t interact with the move, giving you an assassin-like advantage. The main difference between Cloak and Disguise is that Disguise cards have a specific cost separate from the card’s mana cost, whereas a Cloaked creature card is turned upright by paying its mana cost. 

Historic was a surprise mechanic reveal during the Universes Beyond Assassin’s Creed spoilers but a welcome one considering the set should contain a significant number of Artifacts, like Equipment and Sagas, to tell the tales from the franchise’s lore. And Freerunning is a cute play on the Ninjutsu MTG mechanic, providing an alternative casting cost when an assassin or your commander deals combat damage to a player.

You can start collecting and playing with MTG Assassin’s Creed cards when the Universes Beyond set is released on July 5.