Arcane Heist

Card text

You may cast target instant or sorcery card from an opponent's graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that spell would be put into their graveyard, exile it instead.

Cipher (Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost.)

Market price

Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $4.08 (as of 2026-11-11).

The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.

Format legality

Legality of Arcane Heist by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.

Other printings of Arcane Heist

Arcane Heist has been printed in 2 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.

Official rulings

The 8 most recent official rulings for Arcane Heist, newest first.

• 2024-04-12 The exiled card with cipher grants a triggered ability to the creature it’s encoded on. If that creature loses that ability and subsequently deals combat damage to a player, the triggered ability won’t trigger. However, the exiled card will continue to be encoded on that creature.
• 2024-04-12 If the spell you cast has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
• 2024-04-12 You cast the copy of the card with cipher during the resolution of the triggered ability. Ignore timing restrictions based on the card’s type.
• 2024-04-12 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, those must be paid to cast the spell.
• 2024-04-12 If another player gains control of the creature, that player will control the triggered ability. That player will create a copy of the encoded card and may cast it.
• 2024-04-12 The spell with cipher is encoded on the creature as part of that spell’s resolution, just after the spell’s other effects. That card goes directly from the stack to exile. It never goes to the graveyard.
• 2024-04-12 If the creature leaves the battlefield, the exiled card will no longer be encoded on any creature. It will stay exiled.
• 2024-04-12 If you choose not to cast the copy, or you can’t cast it (perhaps because there are no legal targets available), the copy will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are performed. You won’t get a chance to cast the copy at a later time.

Similar cards

Other sorcery cards with a blue colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.

• Ponder
• Windfall