Face-down creatures
Zones & actions
Morph, disguise, manifest and cloak: what the anonymous 2/2 is, and how it flips.
How it works
A face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, no mana cost, no creature types and no abilities; it's colorless with mana value 0. Morph and disguise let you cast a card face down for {3}. Manifest and cloak put a card onto the battlefield face down without casting it. Disguised and cloaked creatures also have ward {2} while face down.
Turning one face up is a special action: any time you have priority, pay its morph or disguise cost — or, for a manifested or cloaked creature card, its mana cost — and flip it. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
Common confusions
“Can they respond to me flipping it?”
No. Turning a face-down creature face up is a special action, so there's no window — they can only respond to triggers it has "when turned face up".
“Does turning it face up trigger its enters ability?”
No. It's the same permanent, already on the battlefield. Its tapped state, counters, Auras and anything targeting it all carry over.
“I manifested a land / an instant.”
It stays a face-down 2/2. Only a creature card (by paying its mana cost) or a card with morph or disguise (by paying that cost) can be turned face up. An instant or sorcery can never be.
“Can I look at them? Do I have to show anyone?”
You may look at your own any time, and you must keep them distinguishable from each other. When one leaves the battlefield, or the game ends, you reveal it.
“Megamorph didn't give me the counter.”
The +1/+1 counter comes only from turning it face up by paying its megamorph cost. Flipped any other way — say, by paying the mana cost of a manifested card — it gets no counter.
Cards with morph or disguise
Ranked by how often Commander decks actually play them.
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