Veil of Secrecy
Instant — Arcane
Target creature gains shroud until end of turn and can't be blocked this turn. (A creature with shroud can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Splice onto Arcane—Return a blue creature you control to its owner's hand. (As you cast an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Betrayers of Kamigawa
- Price
- $0.24
- EDHREC rank
- #15132
Veil of Secrecy makes a target creature unblockable and shrouded until end of turn — and it cantrips, so running it costs you nothing in hand size. The catch is the splice-only Arcane clause: you need another Arcane spell on the stack to get the full value, which is exactly why Lyse Hext builds want it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Haldan, Avid Arcanist // Pako, Arcane Retriever
Pako exiles cards for Haldan to cast, which means the deck is already threading Arcane spells through the stack; Veil of Secrecy gives Haldan, Avid Arcanist // Pako, Arcane Retriever a way to push Pako through blockers while drawing a card for essentially no card investment.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Veil of Secrecy is a niche include — it only earns its slot in Arcane-tribal decks where the splice condition fires regularly, but in those shells it's a clean cantrip that also protects a key attacker. Pauper is where it sees the most competitive discussion, since cheap cantrips that also do something are valued highly in a format with tight card-selection options. Legacy and Vintage are both legal, but neither format has found a reason to run it over faster or more flexible protection spells. Modern is legal but similarly uninterested — the Arcane support there is thin and the effect doesn't justify a slot outside a dedicated theme.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.24 bulk tier
At $0.24, Veil of Secrecy is bulk, and it's likely to stay there given its narrow Arcane-only home. Grab a copy if you're building around the mechanic — there's no reason to hesitate at this price — but it won't creep up unless Arcane gets a meaningful reprint push.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Lyse Hext
- Haldan, Avid Arcanist // Pako, Arcane Retriever
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.