Exile

Exile
Keyword Action
Introduced	Alpha (mechanic) Magic 2010 (keyword)
Last used	Evergreen
Reminder Text	No official reminder text
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Exile"

Exile is a game zone outside the field of play. It is also a keyword action, meaning "putting into the exile zone".

Description

Exile was known as "removed from the game" before it was renamed in the wake of the Magic 2010 rules update. Unlike other zones, it is considerably harder to access cards from this zone. Only a few cards, such as Pull from Eternity or Riftsweeper, can touch them without having the cards exiled themselves. Mark Rosewater tries to limit such cards. The exile zone is used as a holding place for other cards, as in the case with the mechanics Imprint and Suspend. However, it is also sometimes used similarly to the graveyard as a zone for cards that were eliminated by the opponent, for example a creature being exiled by Swords to Plowshares. Exiling primarily occurs among white, black, and colorless cards. Due to the multiple purposes of the exile zone, there is no unified flavor of exile, though the flavor of cards exiled from the battlefield often is a flavor of disappearance or transformation.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 701.11. Exile
  • 701.11a To exile an object, move it to the exile zone from wherever it is. See rule 406, “Exile.”

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Exile

1. A zone. Exile is essentially a holding area for cards. It used to be known as the “removed-from-the-game” zone.

2. To put an object into the exile zone from whatever zone it’s currently in. An “exiled” card is one that’s been put into the exile zone.

See rule 406, “Exile.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

• 406. Exile
  • 406.1. The exile zone is essentially a holding area for objects. Some spells and abilities exile an object without any way to return that object to another zone. Other spells and abilities exile an object only temporarily.
  • 406.2. To exile an object is to put it into the exile zone from whatever zone it’s currently in. An exiled card is a card that’s been put into the exile zone.
  • 406.3. Exiled cards are, by default, kept face up and may be examined by any player at any time. Cards “exiled face down” can’t be examined by any player except when instructions allow it. However, if a player is instructed to look at a card and then exile it face down, or once a player is allowed to look at a card exiled face down, that player may continue to look at that card until it leaves the exile zone or is part of a pile of cards that are shuffled, even if the instruction allowing the player to do so no longer applies.
    • 406.3a A card exiled face down has no characteristics, but the spell or ability that exiled it may allow it to be played from exile. Unless that card is being cast face down (see rule 708.4), the card is turned face up just before the player announces that they are playing the card (see rule 601.2).
    • 406.3b Some spells and abilities allow a player to cast spells with certain qualities from among face-down cards in exile. A player may cast such a spell only if they are allowed to look at the face-down card in exile and if the resulting spell has the specified qualities.
  • 406.4. Face-down cards in exile should be kept in separate piles based on when they were exiled and how they were exiled. If a player is instructed to choose an exiled card, the player may choose a specific face-down card only if the player is allowed to look at that card. Otherwise, they may choose a pile of face-down exiled cards, and then a card is chosen at random from within that pile. If choosing such a card is part of casting a spell or activating an ability, the chosen card isn’t revealed until after that cost is fully paid. (See rule 601.2i.)
  • 406.5. Exiled cards that might return to the battlefield or any other zone should be kept in separate piles to keep track of their respective ways of returning. Exiled cards that may have an impact on the game due to their own abilities (such as cards with haunt) or the abilities of the cards that exiled them should likewise be kept in separate piles.
  • 406.6. An object may have one ability printed on it that causes one or more cards to be exiled, and another ability that refers either to “the exiled cards” or to cards “exiled with [this object].” These abilities are linked: the second refers only to cards that have been exiled due to the first. See rule 607, “Linked Abilities.”
  • 406.7. If an object in the exile zone becomes exiled, it doesn’t change zones, but it becomes a new object that has just been exiled.
  • 406.8. Previously, the exile zone was called the “removed-from-the-game zone.” Cards that were printed with text that “removes [an object] from the game” exiles that object. The same is true for cards printed with text that “sets [an object] aside.” Cards that were printed with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Remove from the Game, Removed, Removed-from-the-Game Zone (Obsolete)

“Remove [something] from the game” is an obsolete term for “exile [something].” “The removed card” is an obsolete term for “the exiled card.” The removed-from-the-game zone is an obsolete term for the exile zone. Cards with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference. See Exile.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

Set Aside (Obsolete)

“Set [something] aside” is an obsolete term for “exile [something].” Cards with that text have received errata in the Oracle card reference. See Exile.

Flavor

Per flavor, the exile zone is oblivion, a region beyond death. Sometimes, especially on older cards, the zone can also represent any of various states of inaccessibility not related to a player's graveyard, such as on Swords to Plowshares or Grimoire Thief.

Because graveyard interaction is often flavored as a form of necromancy, exiling cards is also often flavored as a spell that would make creatures unable to be revived, either by way of exorcising spirits (such as Rest in Peace) or by reducing the creature to a state that its body cannot possibly be reanimated (such as Lava Coil).

Examples

Example 1

Erase
Instant
Exile target enchantment.

Example 2

Exile
Instant
Exile target nonwhite attacking creature. You gain life equal to its toughness.

Capping

Capping is a slang term of a special type of exile, named after the card Jester's Cap, the first card to use the effect. This term refers to searching an opponent's library for specific cards and exiling them in order to deny the opponent of their use at some future time.

List of Capping spells

• Bitter ordeal — have gravestorm.
• Denying Wind — up to seven cards
• Earwig Squad — 5/3 - Prowl - when this enters the battlefield, if its prowl cost was paid, three cards
• Jester's Cap — - , , Sacrifice Jester's Cap: three cards
• Neverending Torment — X cards, where X is the number of cards in your hand - Epic
• Nightmare Incursion — X cards, where X is the number of Swamps you control
• Sadistic Sacrament — - Kicker up to three cards; if kicked, up to fifteen cards
• Stain the Mind — - Convoke - All copies of named non-land card from that player's library, graveyard and hand.
• Supreme Inquisitor — 1/3 - Tap five untapped Wizards you control: up to five cards

List of exile spells

Instants

• Abzan Charm — target creature power 3 or greater, your choice.
• Altar's Light — target artifact or enchantment, your choice.
• Anguished Unmaking — target nonland permanent, your choice. You lose 3 life.
• Blazing Hope — target creature with power greater than or equal to your life total, your choice.
• Blessed Reincarnation — target creature an opponent controls, your choice. Replaces with the next creature in that player's library. Spell has Rebound.
• Celestial Purge — target black or red permanent, your choice.
• Complete Disregard — target creature with power 3 or less, your choice.
• Consuming Sinkhole — target land creature, your choice.
• Counterbore — counter target spell, search same name.
• Crib Swap — target creature, your choice. Its controller creates a 1/1 colorless Shapeshifter creature token with changeling.
• Cremate — target creature from a graveyard, your choice.
• Crypt Incursion— all creature cards from target player's graveyard. You gain 3 life for each card exiled this way.
• Eradicate — target nonblack creature, your choice, search same name.
• Deicide — target enchantment, your choice. If god card subtype, search same name.
• Deny Existence — counter target creature spell.
• Devouring Light — target attacking or blocking creature, your choice.
• Dissipate — counter target spell.
• Exile — target nonwhite attacking creature, you gain life equal to its toughness.
• Extirpate — target card in graveyard, search with the same name, have split second.
• Last Breath — target creature with power 2 or less. Its controller gains 4 life.
• Path to Exile — target creature, its controller may search library for a basic land card.
• Pillar of Light — Exile target creature with toughness 4 or greater
• Rakdos Charm — all cards from target player's graveyard - tri-modal spell
• Quash — counter target instant or sorcery, search same name.
• Scour — target enchantment, your choice, search same name.
• Selesnya Charm — target creature with power 5 or greater, your choice - tri-modal spell.
• Shattering Blow — target artifact, your choice.
• Surgical Extraction — target card in graveyard, search same name.
• Swords to Plowshares — target creature, its controller gains life equal to its power.
• Splinter — target artifact, your choice, search same name.
• Summary Dismissal — exile all spells.
• Trostani's Judgment — target creature, your choice - Populate.
• Unmake — target creature, your choice.
• Utter End — target nonland permanent, your choice.
• Vile Rebirth — Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
• Void Shatter — counter target spell.

Sorceries

• Angelic Edict — target creature or enchantment, your choice
• Appetite for Brains — reveals hand, card with converted mana cost or greater, your choice
• Castigate — reveals hand, nonland card, your choice
• Curse of the Swine — X target creatures (of your choice). For each creature exiled this way, its controller puts a 2/2 green Boar creature token onto the battlefield.
• Cranial Extraction — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Decree of Annihilation — all artifacts, creatures, and lands from the battlefield, all cards from all graveyards, and all cards from all hands - Cycling which also destroys all lands
• Diminishing Returns — each player shuffles his or her hand and graveyard into his or her library, top ten cards of your library, then each player draws up to seven cards.
• Excoriate — target tapped creature.
• Extirpate — target card in a graveyard other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name - Split second
• Fade into Antiquity— target artifact or enchantment (of your choice).
• Gild— target creature. Put a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color."
• Glare of Heresy— target white permanent (of your choice).
• Haunting Echoes — all cards from target player's graveyard other than basic land cards; for each card exiled this way, search that player's library for all cards with the same name as that card and also exile them.
• Identity Crisis — all cards from hand and graveyard, your choice
• Memoricide — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Merciless Eviction — choose one — exile all artifacts; or exile all creatures; or exile all enchantments; or exile all planeswalkers.
• Mind Swords — two cards from his or her hand, each player
• Night Terrors — reveals hand, nonland card, your choice
• Lobotomy — reveals hand, card other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name
• Psychic Theft — reveals hand, instant or sorcery card, your choice
• Reap Intellect — reveals hand. You choose up to X nonland cards from it and exile them. For each card exiled this way, search that player's graveyard, hand, and library for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
• Revoke Existence— target artifact or enchantment.
• Slaughter Games — name a nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Sowing Salt — target nonbasic land, your choice, search same name
• Struggle for Sanity — target opponent reveals his or her hand. That player exiles a card from it, then you exile a card from it. Repeat this process until all cards in that hand have been exiled. That player returns the cards he or she exiled this way to his or her hand and puts the rest into his or her graveyard.
• Suppress — all cards from target player's hand face down, your choice (exiled card returns at beginning of the end step of that player's next turn)
• Surgical Extraction — target card in a graveyard other than a basic land card, your choice, search same name
• Thought Hemorrhage — name a nonland card, reveals hand, your choice, search same name (also deals 3 damage for each card with that name revealed this way)

Creatures which cause exile

• Ashen Rider— : When enters the battlefield or dies, target permanent
• Banisher Priest — : Whent enters the battlefield, until Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield.
  • Banisher Priest–like effects (When this card enters the battlefield, exile target creature/permanent until this card leaves play.) are primary in white, and secondary in blue.
  • Green was also conidered as secondary color, but this never materialized.
• Brain Maggot— : When enters the battlefield, look at cards in target opponents hand, exile one until Brain Maggot leaves the battlefield
• Daxos of Meletis— Whenever deals combat damage to a player, top card of that player's library. You gain life equal to that card's converted mana cost. Until end of turn, you may cast that card and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast it.
• Deathrite Shaman — - exile different target cards for various effects
• Fiend of the Shadows — 3/3 - deals combat damage to a player, a card from his or her hand, their choice
• Ghastlord of Fugue — 4/4 - deals combat damage to a player, reveals hand, a card, your choice
• Hypnox — 8/8 - when this enters the battlefield (if cast from hand), all cards from target opponent's hand
• Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse — 6/4 - whenever its controller cast a Spirit or Arcane spell, a card from target opponent's hand, their choice
• Lord of the Void — 7/7 - whenever this deals combat damage to a player, exile the top seven cards of that player's library, then put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield under your control.
• Magus of the Jar — , Sacrifice Magus of the Jar: Each player exiles all cards from his or her hand face down and draws seven cards. At the beginning of the next end step, each player discards his or her hand and returns to his or her hand each card he or she exiled this way.
• Mesmeric Fiend — 1/1 - when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice (when this leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner's hand.)
• Nightveil Specter — 2/3 - whenever it deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top card of his or her library.
• Shimian Specter — 2/2 - deals combat damage to a player, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice, search same name
• Sin Collector — when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, instant or sorcery, your choice.
• Tidehollow Sculler — 2/2 - when this enters the battlefield, target opponent, reveals hand, nonland card, your choice (when this leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner's hand.)

Enchantments

• Chained to the Rocks — : When enters the battlefield, exile target creature an opponent controls until Chained to the Rocks leaves the battlefield.
• Descent into Madness — at the beginning of your upkeep, put a despair counter on Descent into Madness, then each player exiles X permanents he or she controls and/or cards from his or her hand, where X is the number of despair counters on Descent into Madness.
• Elkin Lair — at the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player exiles a card at random from his or her hand. The player may play that card this turn. At the beginning of the next end step, if the player hasn't played the card, he or she puts it into his or her graveyard.
• Parallax Nexus — - Fading - Remove a fade counter from this: Target opponent exiles a card from his or her hand. When Parallax Nexus leaves the battlefield, each player returns to his or her hand all exiled cards.
• Planeswalker's Mischief — - : Target opponent reveals a card at random from his or her hand. If it's an instant or sorcery card, exile it. You may cast it without paying its mana cost for as long as it remains exiled. (If it has X in its mana cost, X is 0.) At the beginning of the next end step, if you haven't cast it, return it to its owner's hand. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
• Rest in Peace — when this enters the battlefield, exile all cards from all graveyards. If a card or token would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.

Artifact which cause exile

• Memory Jar — - , Sacrifice Memory Jar: Each player exiles all cards from his or her hand face down and draws seven cards. At the beginning of the next end step, each player discards his or her hand and returns to his or her hand each card he or she exiled this way.

Cards that check for exile

• Warden of the Beyond — 2/2 - Gets +2/+2 if opponent has a card in exile.

Notes

In the above list; "their choice" means the target player gets to choose which cards to exile, "your choice" means the person casting the spell gets to choose, "search same name" means search exiled card's controller's graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as that card and exile them also.

References

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