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Cephalid Illusionist

Creature — Octopus Wizard

Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, mill three cards.
{2}{U}, {T}: Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by target creature you control this turn.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Torment
Price
$1.52
EDHREC rank
#15274
Buy on TCGplayer
Cephalid Illusionist card art
Cephalid Illusionist mills your entire library in one activation when paired with Lightning Greaves — equip, target it with the shroud trigger, and watch your deck hit the graveyard. The combo costs two cards and almost no mana, which is why it shows up in every self-mill and reanimator shell that can run blue.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Cephalid Illusionist does all its work, slotting into graveyard-based decks as a two-card instant-win engine that costs almost nothing to assemble. Legacy sees occasional play in Cephalid Breakfast decks, where it combos with Shuko or Nomads en-Kor to mill the whole library into a Thassa's Oracle or Narcomoeba line. Vintage is technically legal but the format's power level leaves Cephalid Illusionist without a competitive niche. Outside those three formats, it's not legal.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$1.52 cheap tier

At $1.52, Cephalid Illusionist sits in cheap territory for a card that wins games on the spot. The price is stable — it's not a casual staple, so demand stays flat, but the combo ceiling keeps it from dropping to bulk.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.