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Fear of Impostors

First printed in Duskmourn: House of Horror (2024)

Fear of Impostors

Enchantment Creature — Nightmare

Flash
When this creature enters, counter target spell. Its controller manifests dread. (That player looks at the top two cards of their library, then puts one onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature and the other into their graveyard. If it's a creature card, it can be turned face up any time for its mana cost.)

3/2

Illustrated by
David Szabo

Legality

Rulings (17)

  • If a face-down spell leaves the stack and goes to any zone other than the battlefield (if it was countered, for example), you must reveal it. Similarly, if a face-down permanent leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or the game ends.
  • Some cards in the Duskmourn release have abilities that trigger "whenever you manifest dread." In circumstances where you are instructed to manifest dread but can't perform some or all of the steps of manifesting dread (probably because your library has one or fewer cards in it), these abilities will still trigger.
  • If a face-down creature loses its abilities, it can't be turned face up with a disguise or morph ability because it will no longer have that ability (or the associated cost) once face up.
  • Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn't change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped.
  • Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it's turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn't cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.
  • You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. You're not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order in which they entered should remain clear, as well as what ability caused them to be face down. (This includes manifest, disguise, cloak, morph, and a few older effects that turn cards face down.) Common methods for doing this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield.
  • A spell that can't be countered is a legal target for Fear of Impostors's last ability. The spell won't be countered when the ability resolves, but its controller will still manifest dread.
  • A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent and Auras and Equipment that were attached to that permanent aren't affected unless the new characteristics of the object change the legality of those targets or attachments.
  • If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it's an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won't trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up.
  • Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using a disguise or morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it's a creature card.
  • If a manifested creature would have disguise or morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its disguise or morph cost, as appropriate.
  • Because face-down creatures don't have a name, they can't have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature.
  • To manifest dread, look at the top two cards of your library. Manifest one (by putting it onto the battlefield face down) and put the other into your graveyard. The card you put onto the battlefield becomes a 2/2 face-down creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It's colorless and has a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant it any characteristics it doesn't have or change the characteristics it does have.
  • If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can't transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up.
  • At any time, you can look at a face-down spell or permanent you control. You can't look at face-down permanents or spells you don't control unless an effect instructs or allows you to do so.
  • If your library contains only one card when you manifest dread, you'll look at that card and put it onto the battlefield face down. You won't have the option to put it into your graveyard instead. If your library contains no cards when you manifest dread, you won't do anything.
  • Any time you have priority, you can turn a manifested permanent you control face up by revealing that it's a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.

Prices

MTGO price: 0.003 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 1 Nov 2026).

In Limited on MTG Arena

Win rates in Arena drafts and sealed, retrieved from 17Lands (CC BY 4.0).

Win rates of Fear of Impostors in Limited
Set GIH WR vs set IWD Games
Duskmourn: House of Horror (DSK), Premier Draft 53.8% -0.7 +0.7 29638
Duskmourn: House of Horror (DSK), Sealed 55.0% -0.8 -0.8 1374
GIH WR
win rate of the games in which the card was in the opening hand or drawn
vs set
points above or below the average win rate of all decks in the set
IWD
improvement when drawn: GIH WR minus the win rate when the card stayed in the library
Games
games in which the card was seen

Commander In 3 of 6520 decks (0.0%), most in Orvar, the All-Form

Share of decks
0.0%
▼ 0.1 vs previous 30 days
2026-08-17: 0.0% 2026-08-24: 0.1% 2026-08-31: 0.0% 2026-09-07: 0.1% 2026-09-14: 0.1% 2026-09-21: 0.2% 2026-09-28: 0.0% 2026-10-05: 0.0% 2026-10-12: 0.0% 2026-10-19: 0.1% 2026-10-26: 0.1%
Weekly, last 90 days
Decks
3
3 main, 0 sideboard
Avg. copies
1.0
in the main deck
Win rate
–
1 top 8 (challenges only)

Archetypes by metagame share

Archetype Meta Play it
Orvar, the All-Form 0.1% 50%
Chulane, Teller of Tales 0.0% 50%

Played together with

Card Together Lift
Venser, Shaper Savant100%206.7
Gilded Drake100%10.0
Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs100%4.8
Swan Song100%1.8
Otawara, Soaring City100%1.7
Mindbreak Trap100%1.6
Rhystic Study100%1.6
Fierce Guardianship100%1.6
Flusterstorm100%1.5
Mystic Remora100%1.5

Best win rate

No challenge results yet.

Challenges only: MTGO publishes only the 5-0 league decks.

Latest decks

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Chulane, Teller of Tales
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