Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Designers’ storytelling intent behind this effect
In the pantheon of blue's tricks, Write into Being stands as a crisp manifesto: knowledge is power, and power is a story you choose to tell. Released in Fate Reforged as a common that still manages to feel bold, this spell costs {2}{U} and asks you to do something deceptively simple—peek at the top two cards, then manifest one of them and rejigger the other’s fate by placing it on the top or bottom of your library. The effect is small in mana and large in narrative weight 🧙♂️. It feels like a spell you cast while leaning over a map of possible futures, deciding which branch you’ll walk down next as you narrate your own arc in the moment.
Mechanically, the card embodies a compact storytelling engine. Look at the top two cards: you gain a window into futures that could be, not just cards you draw but stories you’ll live. Manifesting one card turns it into a creature you may flip face up later, a literal embodiment of potential becoming reality. The other card, meanwhile, is placed on the top or bottom of your library, a deliberate choice about what kind of chapter comes next. It’s blue’s signature blend of foresight and control, but it’s tempered by a playful narrative hook—the act of writing. The card’s very name, Write into Being, reads like a mantra for writers, wizards, and commanders alike: your decisions sculpt reality, one line at a time 🔮.
Design notes from the Fate Reforged era emphasize how a single moment of choice can echo across turns. Look at two options, choose which one becomes a “face-down” participant in your fabric of plans, and decide where the other will land in your future draws. It’s a microcosm of narrative craft: you draft a path, then guide its immediate consequences while leaving a trace for what comes after.
From a lore and flavor perspective, the effect aligns with blue’s archetype as the steward of knowledge and futures. Fate Reforged sits in the Khans of Tarkir storyline where concepts of time, choice, and possibility collide as new alliances are forged and timelines bend. Write into Being taps into that sense of destiny-play, where a mage doesn’t merely cast a spell—she inscribes a temporary reality and seeds a subsequent turn with intention. The artifact-like manifest component adds a tangible sense of turning something latent into something tangible on the battlefield, a nod to blue’s obsession with reading the world before it happens 🎨.
Why the mechanic matters in practice
- Agency and tension: The player chooses which of the two revealed cards becomes a manifesting creature, shaping how the next turns unfold. The other card’s placement—top or bottom—gives the caster subtle, reliable control over future draws, turning a momentary reveal into a longer arc of your plan ⚔️.
- Risk-reward parable: Manifesting a card creates a face-down 2/2 that may flip up into a real threat later. Do you gamble on a powerful creature card appearing when you need it, or keep a safer plan on the top of your deck? The decision process itself is a narrative exercise in patience and timing 🔥.
- Deck-building implications: In blue-heavy lists or casual formats that enjoy puzzle-box gameplay, Write into Being rewards players who value knowledge, probability, and tempo. It’s not about raw power, but about steering the story of a game with information and deliberate sequencing 💎.
- Art and atmosphere alignment: The card’s design pairs a cerebral effect with a moment of conjured imagery—the manifest creature as a story brought into the world—that fits perfectly with Fate Reforged’s aesthetic of bridging possibilities between eras and timelines 🎲.
In play, you’ll find Write into Being shines in decks that lean into card selection and manipulation. It isn’t a flashy finisher, but it provides a reliable engine to tilt the odds. You’ll often use it to ensure you’re two steps ahead: you manifest a plausible threat while carefully arranging the deck’s cadence so your top cards align with your long-game plan. The result is a game state that feels earned, with every decision echoing your narrative intention 🧙♂️💎.
Flavor, art, and the joy of design narration
Yeong-Hao Han’s artwork for Write into Being captures that moment of speculative creation—the instant when possibility becomes a visible form and a plan takes shape. The blue glow, the sense of motion through memory and zukünftigkeit, all point to a card that’s about anticipation as much as execution. The art invites players to imagine what is being written into being at that very moment, then to act on it with a calm, deliberate mind. In a sandbox full of chaos, this card is a quiet reminder that storytelling and strategy can be exquisitely intertwined 🎨.
For designers, Write into Being demonstrates how a single effect can carry multiple layers of meaning: a narrative device (writing futures), a strategic tool (two-card look, controlled median randomness), and a thematic hook that aligns with a broader storyline about time and possibility. The result is a compact, memorable experience that compels players to think about what they know, what they can influence, and what they’re willing to let slip into the past 🔎.
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Write into Being
Look at the top two cards of your library. Manifest one of those cards, then put the other on the top or bottom of your library. (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)
ID: a85e6fbe-cda0-4fbf-853c-c03c567a7de9
Oracle ID: 4fc69345-4c1f-4113-8e1c-15b8e2e597fc
Multiverse IDs: 391964
TCGPlayer ID: 95411
Cardmarket ID: 271666
Colors: U
Color Identity: U
Keywords: Manifest
Rarity: Common
Released: 2015-01-23
Artist: Yeong-Hao Han
Frame: 2015
Border: black
EDHRec Rank: 17847
Set: Fate Reforged (frf)
Collector #: 59
Legalities
- Standard — not_legal
- Future — not_legal
- Historic — not_legal
- Timeless — not_legal
- Gladiator — not_legal
- Pioneer — legal
- Modern — legal
- Legacy — legal
- Pauper — legal
- Vintage — legal
- Penny — not_legal
- Commander — legal
- Oathbreaker — legal
- Standardbrawl — not_legal
- Brawl — not_legal
- Alchemy — not_legal
- Paupercommander — legal
- Duel — legal
- Oldschool — not_legal
- Premodern — not_legal
- Predh — not_legal
Prices
- USD: 0.08
- USD_FOIL: 0.27
- EUR: 0.11
- EUR_FOIL: 0.31
- TIX: 0.03
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