transform | Crooked Glasses

One of the more recent mechanics introduced in Magic: the Gathering is the “Transform” effect–if you’ve gotten any cards that have both front and back faces printed with a Magic card, then you’ve seen cards that behave like this. They can seem difficult to learn, but as you’ll see in the following article, there are just a few simple rules:

How Do You Play Transforming Cards?

Above, you see Village Ironsmith and Ironfang, which are two sides of the same card. When you have a Transforming card in your deck, you start out by playing the side of the card marked with the “sun” symbol face up. (Note that the “moon” symbol side doesn’t have a mana cost, so you couldn’t just cast it directly onto the battlefield anyway.)

Next, check the rules text of the card to see what conditions would trigger the card to be Transformed. In Village Ironsmith’s case, it’s when no spells were cast last turn. Then the card is flipped over to reveal the moon side of the card–and Ironfang comes into play!

Note that when two or more spells are played while Ironfang is face-up, the card flips back over to be Village Ironsmith again. There are some cards which can transform back and forth during the game, and there are some, like the pair of cards below, which cannot transform back and forth:

Cloistered Youth, seen above at left, can be transformed into Unholy Fiend, but Unholy Fiend cannot transform back into Cloistered Youth. Just watch the rules text when you’re playing a Transforming card, to make sure you’re playing it right!

Other Important Rulings to Know

Transforming cards are officially called “double-faced cards” in M:TG lingo. This just refers to the actual card itself, not any game effects.
When a double-faced card is in your hand, just pretend the moon side of the card doesn’t exist if someone has to look at your hand, or you have to reveal cards from your hand, etc.
When one side of the card is face-up on the battlefield, the other side’s information doesn’t count.
If you Enchant or Equip a Transforming card with an item, or if you put any counters on it, those effects stay with the card even when it transforms. (YAY, no wasted spells!)

More Examples of Transforming Cards

The Transform mechanic is not limited to creatures or to certain colors–there are many types and colors of cards that reference Transformation or take part in it! Green gets quite a few Transformers, for instance (no Optimus Prime, unfortunately :P). Plus, artifacts, planeswalkers, and even an instant or two get in on the action, as seen below: