Devious Cover-Up
Instant
Counter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, exile it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard. You may shuffle up to four target cards from your graveyard into your library.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Guilds of Ravnica
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #12481
Devious Cover-Up counters a spell and shuffles up to four cards from any graveyard back into their owners' libraries — that second clause is the reason anyone runs it. Four mana is steep for a counterspell, so this earns its slot only in decks that specifically need the recursion effect, not as a generic counterspell.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Pauper is where Devious Cover-Up actually matters: it's a cornerstone of blue control loops that use it to recycle itself and other key pieces, creating a soft lock against decks that rely on the graveyard or attrition. In Commander, four mana for a counterspell is a real cost, but the graveyard-shuffling clause has niche applications in mill-hate packages or self-recursion engines. Competitive formats like Legacy, Vintage, and Modern have far more efficient counterspells, so Devious Cover-Up doesn't see meaningful play there. Pioneer sits in the same boat — the rate simply doesn't compete.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Devious Cover-Up is deep bulk — it costs less than a sleeve. That price reflects its narrow role outside Pauper; pick up as many copies as you need without a second thought.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.