The 46 Best Split Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 2, 2025

Fire / Ice | Illustration by Dan Scott

Split cards were introduced back in the Invasion block in 2000 and really changed the way that designers and players thought about MTG cards. Suddenly you have two different cards and effects on a single piece of cardboard, and although the new aesthetic of the split cards received mixed reactions, the gameplay more than made up for it.

It’s a common thing to hear that every mechanic in MTG is a variation on kicker and split cards. Cards like Crushing Canopy, Return to Nature, or the charms can be seen as two or three different cards in one.

But today we’re talking about the cards that have two names in one, two arts in one, and a “split” artwork.

What Are Split Cards in MTG?

Refuse // Cooperate (Hour of Devastation) | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

Split cards in Magic are cards that have two spells in one, both on the front face. Invasion had ally-colored split cards like Stand / Deliver in Azorius () colors, while Apocalypse had enemy-colored split cards like Life / Death in Golgari () colors. The original split cards were named so you could form a phrase with “and” between the card names. Life / Death would be read as “Life and Death,” for example.

Split cards also became an identity of Ravnica sets since it’s easy to tie the Ravnican guilds into them. So a Selesnya card can have a green half and a white half, which is obviously better in Selesnya decks. But it's also playable in white or green decks, working as a pseudo-hybrid card.

In Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance, the pattern was to make a split card half hybrid half multicolor, like Discovery / Dispersal for Dimir () or Collision / Colossus for Gruul (). The naming convention here was gimmicky, using the first three letters in both halves of the cards.

Split cards also include the aftermath cards released in the Amonkhet block, though they have some extra rules complications. These were named so you'd read them with “to” between the card names, “Insult to Injury” and “Road to Ruin” being clear examples.

Introduced in Duskmourn: House of Horror, room enchantments are split cards that feature two separate rooms on each card, one of which can be cast at a time. However, these split cards are permanents that enter the battlefield when they resolve, and the second room can be “opened” at a later time by paying its mana cost. The eerie mechanic from the same set specifically triggers when a room enters or becomes fully unlocked.

How Do Split Cards Work?

Split cards are all about options. They're literally two cards in one, after all. These are one-time effects that WotC opts for when they want permanent cards that have more than one option.

Split cards have both their sides’ names, their mana value is the sum of both sides’ mana values, and their colors are the sum of all their sides' colors everywhere other than the stack. Confusing, right?

Let’s see some examples:

Wax / Wane has two names: “Wax” and “Wane.” It’s a green and white card with a mana value of 2. To cast Wax you pay a single green mana, and on the stack it’s a green instant called Wax with a mana value of 1.

Catch / Release has two names: “Catch” and “Release.” It’s a tricolor card with a mana value of 9. To cast Release you pay and on the stack it's a Boros () spell called Release with a mana value of 6.

The fact that split cards change whether it’s in your hand, graveyard, or on the stack is important because of how rules consider each spell. For example, Disdainful Stroke can’t counter Catch, but it can counter Release. A creature with protection against white would be protected from Wane, but not from Wax.

Since we’re also considering cards with fuse and aftermath as split cards, here are some differences to consider:

• Aftermath allows you to cast the front side from your hand and the back side from your graveyard. This means that almost every time the front side is cast before and the two sides have some synergies together, which isn't true of split cards where you can only cast one or the other.
• Fuse lets you cast the left side, the right side, or both if their mana costs are paid at the same time.

What’s the Purpose of Split Cards?

The main purpose of split cards is to offer options for players, usually combining narrow effects that wouldn’t be playable by themselves. In the case of Wax / Wane you probably wouldn’t play an instant that gives +2/+2 to a creature in a deck, or a narrow effect like enchantment removal.

But in a meta game with good enchantments to destroy like Wedding Announcement, enchantment creatures, and sagas, it suddenly becomes a worthy consideration. The sum of two or more narrow effects can make a very good card in some cases.

Honorable Mention: Who // What // When // Where // Why

Who // What // When // Where // Why was designed in an Un-set (Unhinged), but it shows the modality of split cards. Note that no particular effect is worth a card, but between an Essence Scatter, a Sinkhole, a Disenchant, and lifegain, this card covers all your bases.

#46. Refuse / Cooperate

Although very narrow in both parts, Refuse / Cooperate is nice in formats like EDH where you have big spells being cast. It’s also a way to punish the caster via damage while also being able to copy that big spell.

#45. Restricted Office / Lecture Hall

Restricted Office is a handy board wipe, especially for token decks. Door #2 has the grand prize of the Lecture Hall which grants unconditional hexproof which is quite a commodity these days.

#44. Consign / Oblivion

I guess Consign / Oblivion is a way to make a boring bounce effect better? Tack on some card advantage in the form of a later discard and a mana sink.

#43. Toil / Trouble

Toil is a good “draw two” effect that black usually has access to in cards like Read the Bones and Sign in Blood. Trouble can hit a greedy Simic () player with a full hand.

#42. Far / Away

Far / Away is a good removal spell in multiplayer Magic that can hit two different players with different effects (or hit a certain player twice).

#41. Research / Development

Research / Development has seen some play in Vintage decks as a way to wish for cards in the sideboard, particularly in Doomsday decks.

#40. Dead / Gone

There’s nothing wrong with Dead / Gone, other than that the Gone side is in the blue color pie, so this card could only be made in the Time Spiral block. Giving a bounce effect to mono-red decks is interesting since the color usually doesn’t deal with big creatures well, and it’s an extra Shock for small creatures if needed.

#39. Response / Resurgence

Response is a good rate for damage to a creature, but the big-time reason to play this card is Resurgence which is nearly Boros-speak for extra turn.

#38. Secret Arcade / Dusty Parlor

The Secret Arcade is a powerup for your enchantment synergies especially as it catches cast triggers for permanent spells and plays nicely with Jukai Naturalist and Enchantress's Presence. Dusty Parlor is a quick way to beef up any creature into a big threat with +1/+1 counters.

#37. Flesh / Blood

The baseline for Flesh / Blood is to cast Blood, which is your typical bite effect in green but with the upside of dealing damage to players like Fling. Casting Flesh or the fused effect of this card allows for some shenanigans in EDH with counter doubling.

#36. Supply / Demand

Demand is an extra tutor for plenty of EDH decks while Supply can be played in a pinch to make tokens.

#35. Repudiate / Replicate

One of the good things about split cards is allowing the user to play narrow effects, and fewer cards are narrower than Stifle (Repudiate). And when Stifle is good, it’s very good. Having another effect on Repudiate / Replicate raises the playability, and the token can even be populated.

#34. Breaking / Entering

The Breaking half of Breaking / Entering is just a toned down Glimpse the Unthinkable, which is a nice card to have in mill decks (or if you want to mill yourself, eight cards for 2 mana is a good rate). Combining with Entering is just icing on this Grixis card‘s cake.

#33. Armed / Dangerous

Armed / Dangerous can do lots of damage out of nowhere to kill someone since the Lure effect in Dangerous makes a bad creature get blocked while the huge double strike monster passes through. It's also good in EDH decks designed to get the most out of commander damage.

#32. Pure / Simple

Pure // Simple is a flexible removal spell, especially in EDH. Either you destroy a multicolored permanent (which are everywhere) or you have a silver bullet hate option for Voltron strategies. Or that player that plays Lightning Greaves and Whispersilk Cloak).

#31. Cease / Desist

Cease / Desist covers a lot of angles. Artifact destruction, enchantment removal, and graveyard hate are all essentials in Commander, and this puts all three on one card. The only issue is that it's locked into Abzan colors, so you can't play it in a 1- or 2-color deck.

#30. Prepare / Fight

Prepare / Fight represents a huge life swing, since giving lifelink at instant speed is already powerful. And the Fight side is, well, a fight effect.

#29. Spite / Malice

Spite // Malice is the conjunction of two good and playable cards, Negate and Terror, but both overpriced for their flexibility. It's interaction that’s almost never dead.

#28. Dazzling Theater / Prop Room

The Dazzling Theater makes it very easy to cast your creatures, especially if you've tapped into making a few creature tokens. Those mana dorks love to hang around the Prop Room which is half of this card, or a third of Prophet of Kruphix.

#27. Life / Death

The green half of Life / Death kills players out of nowhere in EDH with enough token/pump support and lands. The other side is a Reanimate that goes well in midrange and Golgari strategies.

#26. Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar

Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar is one part Crucible of Worlds and another part Yawgmoth's Will. That's quite the combination of cards, even if you're talking about 9 mana and then some for the whole package without affecting the board in the meantime.

#25. Crime / Punishment

Crime / Punishment is another good Abzan card for EDH since Crime is your typical Zombify effect, but it needs to be from your opponent. The Punishment side can be a mini-wrath getting mana rocks, enchantments, and small creatures.

#24. Warrant / Warden

Warrant // Warden is a threat and answer in a single card. When Azorius control decks/tempo decks are low on mana, they can play Warrant. Warden is there to make a Serra Angel token when needed.

#23. Reason / Believe

I have reason to believe (pun intended) that certain decks can cheat big creatures into play using a combination of top-of-library manipulation and Reason / Believe‘s two effects combined. The only bad thing is that the Believe half costs 5 mana.

#22. Charred Foyer // Warped Space

“Red 4-mana card advantage enchantment” is a category all its own with classics like Outpost Siege, Vance's Blasting Cannons, and Visions of Phyrexia, to name a few. Charred Foyer // Warped Space joins the ranks, offering no extra utility on the front end, but giving you a mini-Omniscience once you unlock the second half. It only lets you cast spells for free from exile, “cast-from-exile” is basically a certifiable archetype at this point.

#21. Cut / Ribbons

Cut // Ribbons is a nice removal spell that can be used later to deal damage and makes the most out of your mana. It's also playable in some Rakdos () aggro decks.

#20. Ready / Willing

Ready / Willing allows for a good attack step or defense in the Abzan decks that can cast both parts. You can even attack in a turn and cast it to defend in the next one, killing a few aggressors and gaining life. The Ready half is good by itself to defend from wraths.

#19. Appeal / Authority

Appeal / Authority is another one of those cards that rewards you for having lots of creatures. Appeal sets up a strike with a big creature, and Authority gives all your buddies vigilance.

#18. Road / Ruin

Three mana is above the going rate for a Rampant Growth effect, but what if I told you it spotted you a removal spell later down the line? Neither part of Road / Ruin is all that efficient, but throwing them together on the same spell makes both effects more interesting.

#17. Funeral Room // Awakening Hall

Funeral Room is a bad Bastion of Remembrance, and Awakening Hall is a nerfed Rise of the Dark Realms. But both of those effects on one card is compact and powerful, making the entire Funeral Room // Awakening Hall package quite strong. The 8-mana room is one of the better rooms to “cheat” on with Keys to the House or Marina Vendrell.

#16. Boom / Bust

Boom / Bust together with the indestructible artifact lands makes a symmetric land destruction effect very much one-sided. You can also play an Armageddon effect for 6 mana.

#15. Beck / Call

A card that was responsible for a rules change almost by itself, Beck / Call was exploitable by the old ruling that let you cast both parts of this card via the fuse mechanic without paying the mana cost. That leaves you with four 1/1 fliers and four cards, which is very nice to get for free.

If you have mana to spare in Bant () decks or a heavy ETB component in your EDH deck, then Beck is probably good enough to cast by itself.

#14. Flotsam / Jetsam

The second half of Flotsam / Jetsam acts like a budget Breach the Multiverse, though it misses out on your own graveyard. Flotsam's a fine alternative to tack on, and especially useful in decks that care about Clue tokens.

#13. Gallifrey Falls // No More

I really like both cards on Gallifrey Falls / No More. You get two perfect control cards that also have use in midrange EDH decks. The board wipe can sometimes be limiting, but in the right builds, it's a one-sided wipe. The instant-speed availability really improves both cards, and it's absolutely necessary on No More. It's creatures-only, which is a lot worse than Teferi's Protection, but I think that's a Mount-Everest-level hill to climb and it's still a great choice.

#12. Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber

Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber made a mark on Standard and has a definitive home in demon EDH decks. A 5-mana 6/6 flier is fine, though a step down from Doom Whisperer and the like. Add in a Phyrexian Arena variant that can hit opponents and you're suddenly very interested.

#11. Dusk / Dawn

Decks with small creatures and tokens can have good turns using Dusk / Dawn since your creatures are protected by Dusk and resurrected at Dawn (it even makes sense thematically). Some aristocrat or white weenie decks use to put this card to good use in Standard.

#10. Discovery / Dispersal

Discovery was an overpriced Preordain, which is probably good enough with the upside of being able to cast Dispersal later in the game to answer a key threat. The synergies with surveil in Ravnica Allegiance helped too.

The good part about Discovery / Dispersal is that it’s good early and late in the game, and you can cast it with blue or black mana.

#9. Turn / Burn

Turn / Burn can deal with any creature when fused (including indestructible ones) and is an excellent tool for dealing with big threats. If you have token makers like Young Pyromancer, turning an attacking creature into a 0/1 is even better.

#8. Mirror Room // Fractured Realm

Fractured Realm is the appealing part here, acting as an ability doubler for all triggered abilities, not just ETBs. You don't even realize how much that interacts with until you start playing with it. Mirror Room is basically Mirror Image in room form, which is a nice follow-up to the more expensive room, or a fine value play that bridges the gap until you can pay the full 7 mana on Mirror Room // Fractured Realm.

#7. Expansion / Explosion

Expansion / Explosion had its moment in the sun in Standard. You could go infinite with spell copying or just generate lots of mana on the end step and deal damage/draw cards in conjunction with Wilderness Reclamation or Ral, Storm Conduit.

#6. Driven / Despair

Driven / Despair is a combination of cards worth 4 mana and responsible for a huge card advantage swing. Golgari/Abzan decks should use this resource well to their advantage and set up a huge attack with evasion. And it’s not wrong to use just Driven on a turn and Despair on another depending on the board.

#5. Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery

Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery is enabler and payoff all in one. You need a non-toy creature to get the first half rolling, after which you can stockpile creatures and fire off the 6-mana room when you're ready. This will make a board full of creatures gigantic, and you can always run out the right side from your hand for an unexpected mass board pump.

#4. Commit / Memory

Commit / Memory sees play in Explorer and Pioneer as a way to deal with uncounterable spells. Memory is game-winning on the spot combined with Narset, Parter of Veils.

#3. Claim / Fame

Claim / Fame is an interesting card in Rakdos midrange builds with Dreadhorde Arcanist since it raises the power of Arcanist and you can Claim a small creature.

#2. Wear / Tear

A sideboard staple since its release, Wear / Tear deals with two problematic card types at the cost of one sideboard slot. And it can sometimes be a powerful 2-for-1 thanks to fuse. This is solid even in formats like EDH where there’s always a mana rock to destroy and a Doubling Season or two.

#1. Fire / Ice

Fire / Ice is so good because it’s never dead since you can cantrip it via Ice. Two mana to tap a permanent and draw a card isn’t the worst because you can deal 2 damage to an opponent as an alternative. When Fire can kill one or even two creatures, it’s very good.

Best Split Cards Payoffs

There used to be tons of ways to exploit the fuse mechanic in Dragon’s Maze, which allowed you to cheat on the mana cost of split cards. That ended with a rules change regarding the cost of split cards, especially in situations where you could cast a spell with mana value X or less without paying its mana cost.

Keruga, the Macrosage actually benefit from some split cards since it’s a way to cheat on the companion requirement while still having cheap spells to cast. Take the Promising Stairs, and while the other side helps you tutor for rooms, the right side can win you the game with just four split cards.

Cards like Narset of the Ancient Way and Sorin, Grim Nemesis benefit from discarding a split card since it deals damage equal to the mana cost. Similarly, commanders like Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow can deal higher damage with a higher concentration of split cards.

Are Split Cards Multicolor?

It depends on the card. Cards like Dead / Gone are considered red since both sides are red. But since split cards consider both halves of the card the ones have two or more colors are considered multicolor. More than 90% of split cards have a multicolor color identity.

Remember that a split card on the stack only has the characteristics of whichever half is currently on the stack.

What Color Are Split Cards?

The color of the split cards is equal to the color of both halves as if they were one single card. So Discovery / Dispersal is a Dimir card, Wear / Tear is a Boros card, and Catch / Release is a Jeskai card (). That counts for color identity in EDH, so your commander would have to be at least in Boros colors to play Wear / Tear.

What’s the Mana Value of Split Cards?

The mana value of a split card is equal to the combined cost of the two halves. So Wear / Tear has a mana value of 3 while Beck / Call has a mana value of 8. If you cast only one half of a split card, you only consider that half's mana value while it's on the stack.

Do Split Cards Count as Two Spells in Your Graveyard?

No, split cards only count as a single card. If you consider cards like Crackling Drake that care about that, it’s only one instant or sorcery.

Can You Play Both Sides of a Split Card at Once?

The fuse mechanic in Dragon’s Maze allows you to play both parts of a split card if you pay their mana costs combined. In this case both sides are considered cast and go to the stack as usual. But most split cards don’t have the fuse mechanic and you need to choose one of the sides to cast.

Wrap Up

Commit / Memory (Amonkhet) | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

Well, that’s all I have for today folks! Flexibility is good, and modal cards add too much to the game to the point that there are lots and lots of modal cards in the latest sets. Especially now that MTG Arena offers BO1 matches.

Split cards make for interesting designs and can give your deck lots of options. They've been used in lots of sets so far, and from the looks of it we’ll be seeing more in the future.

What split cards are staples in your EDH decks? What do you think of my rankings? Let me know in the comments section below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Stay safe out there, and make good decisions with your split cards!