Split card

Template:Navigation CR Split cards are Magic cards with two card faces. A split card is literally "split" into two separate cards each with its own card name, art, mana cost, text, etc. In any zone except the stack, a split card has two sets of characteristics; while it's on the stack, it only has the characteristics of the half being played. This provides many interesting interactions with cards that create effects based on converted mana cost. For example, if Dark Confidant reveals a split card, you would lose life equal to the total converted mana cost of both sides. However, Venarian Glimmer needs only be set to the smaller converted mana cost, not the combined converted mana cost.

They were introduced in the Invasion block, where each side was from a different color. In Dissension each half was a multicolored card from a different guild. In Planar Chaos, split cards were introduced where both sides were the same color (all split cards in PC are red).

Dragon's Maze introduced split cards with Fuse, an ability that lets you play both halves as one spell.

Rules

{{CR|Khans of Tarkir|* 708. Split Cards

• • 708.1. Split cards have two card faces on a single card. The back of a split card is the normal Magic card back.
  • 708.2. In every zone except the stack, split cards have two sets of characteristics and two converted mana costs. As long as a split card is a spell on the stack and wasn't cast using fuse (see rule 702.101, "Fuse"), only the characteristics of the half being cast exist. The other half's characteristics are treated as though they didn't exist. A split card that's a spell on the stack and was cast using fuse has two sets of characteristics and one converted mana cost. Its converted mana cost is equal to the total amount of mana in its two mana costs, regardless of color.
    • 708.2a If a player casts a split card without using fuse, that player chooses which half of that split card he or she is casting before putting it onto the stack. Only that half is evaluated to see if it can be cast. Only that half is considered to be put onto the stack.
    • 708.2b If a player casts a split card with fuse from his or her hand, in addition to choosing either half as described above, the player may choose to cast both halves, resulting in a fused split spell. Both halves are evaluated to see if the spell can be cast. If either half can't be cast, then both halves can't be cast as a single spell.
  • 708.3. Each split card that consists of two halves with different colored mana symbols in their mana costs is a multicolored card while it’s not a spell on the stack. While it’s a spell on the stack, it’s only the color or colors of the half or halves being cast.
  • 708.4. Although split cards have two castable halves, each split card is only one card. For example, a player who has drawn or discarded a split card has drawn or discarded one card, not two.
  • 708.5. Anything that asks for a particular characteristic of a split card while it’s in a zone other than the stack gets two answers (one for each of the split card’s two halves). Anything that asks for a particular characteristic of a fused split spell gets two answers. Anything that asks for a particular characteristic of a split card while it's a spell on the stack or that asks for the converted mana cost of a fused split spell gets one answer. Template:CR ExampleTemplate:CR Example

Notable split cards

• Fire/Ice - Legacy threshold decks
• Research/Development - Vintage decks