Animate
An animate effect or spell is one that turns a non-creature into a creature, most of the times for a certain amount of time. The mechanic was first introduced in Alpha with Animate Artifact and Animate Dead.[1]
Examples
Animated Artifacts
- Self-animating
- Angel's Tomb
- Cursed Mirror
- Dancing Sword
- Darksteel Brute
- Ebony Fly
- Ensouled Scimitar
- Everythingamajig
- Fountain of Ichor
- Glint Hawk Idol
- Gruul War Plow
- Guardian Idol
- Haunted Plate Mail
- Jade Idol
- Jade Statue
- Lifecraft Awakening
- Mimic
- Mirage Mirror
- Mirror of the Forebears
- Sanguine Statuette
- Slumbering Tora
- Stuffed Bear
- Vehicles
- Xanthic Statue
- Chimeric artifacts
- Keyrune megacycle from Return to Ravnica block
- Totem cycle from Time Spiral
- Monument cycle from Dragons of Tarkir
- Animate others
Animating artifacts (target/all non-creature artifact(s) you control becomes an artifact creature) is primary in Blue and secondary in Green.[2]
- Animate Artifact
- Animating Faerie
- Armed and Armored (Vehicles)
- Bloodbat Summoner (Blood)
- Cyberdrive Awakener
- Ensoul Artifact
- Karn's Touch
- Karn, Silver Golem
- Karn, the Great Creator
- Katsumasa, the Animator
- Lifecraft Awakening
- Majestic Metamorphosis
- March of the Machines
- Mech Hangar (Vehicles)
- Mizzium Transreliquat
- Mobilizer Mech (Vehicles)
- Peacewalker Colossus (Vehicles)
- Rise and Shine
- Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
- Skilled Animator
- Start Your Engines (Vehicles)
- Suit Up (Vehicles)
- Sydri, Galvanic Genius
- Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
- Tezzeret, Betrayer of Flesh
- Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist
- Tezzeret the Schemer
- Tezzeret the Seeker
- The Antiquities War
- The Blackstaff of Waterdeep
- Titania's Song
- Toymaker
- True Polymorph
- Vedalken Humiliator
- Workshop Elders
- Xenic Poltergeist
Animated creature cards in the graveyard
This category is thin due to the inability of the rules engine to handle such effects - simple under game actions, but messy in order to preserve the rules of card types. Effects of this type are unlikely to be printed going forward.
Animated Enchantments
- Self-animating
- Sleeping enchantments
- Hidden
- Lurking
- Opal
- Veiled
- Animate others
Animating enchantments (target/all non-aura enchantment(s) you control becomes an enchantment creature) is primary in White and secondary in Blue.[2]
Animated Instants and Sorceries
Animated Lands
Land is the most popular card type to be animated. Green, as the color connected most closely to lands and creatures, is the color most likely to turn lands into creatures — usually still keeping them lands. The mechanic is secondary in red and tertiary in all other colors.[3][4]
- Animate Land
- Avalanche Caller
- Awakener Druid
- Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi
- Balduvian Frostwaker
- Balduvian Conjurer
- Clan Guildmage
- Corrupted Zendikon
- Crackling Emergence
- Crusher Zendikon
- Cyclone Sire
- Destiny Spinner
- Druid Class
- A-Druid Class
- Elemental Uprising
- Elvish Branchbender (Forest)
- Embodiment of Fury
- Embodiment of Insight
- Emergent Sequence
- Genju of the Cedars
- Genju of the Falls
- Genju of the Fens
- Genju of the Fields
- Genju of the Realm
- Genju of the Spires
- Guardian Zendikon
- Harmonious Emergence
- Hunting Wilds
- Hydroform
- Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
- Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
- Kamahl, Heart of Krosa
- Kamahl's Will
- Koth of the Hammer (Mountain)
- Liege of the Tangle
- Lifespark Spellbomb
- Mishra's Groundbreaker
- Nissa of Shadowed Boughs
- Nissa, Vital Force
- Nissa, Who Shakes the World
- Nissa, Worldwaker
- Nissa's Zendikon
- Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper
- Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor
- Quirion Druid
- Roaring Earth
- Rude Awakening
- Siege of Towers (Mountain)
- Silvanus's Invoker
- Soilshaper
- Skarrg Guildmage
- Spike Tiller
- Vastwood Animist
- Vastwood Zendikon
- Verdant Touch
- Vivify
- Waker of the Wilds
- Wakeroot Elemental
- Wall of Resurgence
- Wind Zendikon
- Woodwraith Corrupter
- All cards with Awaken
If the land is self-animating, it is called a manland.
Animated Planeswalkers
- Arlinn, the Moon's Fury
- Grand Master of Flowers
- Luxior, Giada's Gift
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
- Sarkhan The Masterless can animate all planeswalkers of his controller.
- Oko, the Trickster
Animated Library
Variants
- Wakestone Gargoyle and Warmonger's Chariot allows creatures with defender to attack; thus Animate Wall and Rolling Stones only allows Wall to attack.
- Licids and Bronzehide Lion turn themselves into enchantments.
- Pippa, Duchess of Dice animates Dice.
- Suit Up turns creatures or Vehicles into artifact creatures.
"Enchantment-ize"
There are spells or effects that turn non-enchantments into enchantments.
"Artifact-ize"
There are spells or effects that turn non-artifacts into artifacts.
- Applied Aeronautics (Contraption)
- Argent Mutation
- Ashnod's Transmogrant
- Auto-Key (Contraption)
- Kami of Transmutation
- Liquimetal Coating
- Liquimetal Torque
- Memnarch
- Mycosynth Lattice
- Myr Landshaper
- Neurok Transmuter
- Optical Optimizer (Contraption)
- Phyrexian Metamorph
- Phyrexian Scriptures
- Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
- Silverskin Armor
- Thran Forge
- Transmogrifying Licid
- Tread Mill (Contraption)
- True Polymorph
- Xathrid Gorgon
References
- ↑ Magic Arcana (June 17, 2004). "The animating principle". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2021). "Mechanical Color Pie 2021". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2017). "Mechanical Color Pie 2017". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2021). "Mechanical Color Pie 2021 Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 27, 2017). "Unstable Scraps, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.