Temple of Deceit MTG Card

Temple of Deceit enhances draw quality through its scry 1 ability, aiding strategic gameplay. As a dual land, it supports blue and black mana needs, ensuring deck consistency. Can initiate scry upon entering the battlefield, offering immediate strategic insight.
Card setsReleased in 20 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLand
Abilities Scry

Text of card

Temple of Deceit enters the battlefield tapped. When Temple of Deceit enters the battlefield, scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom of your library.) : Add or to your mana pool.

Cards like Temple of Deceit

Temple of Deceit carves its niche in the Magic: The Gathering landscape as a scry land, offering both mana fixing and deck manipulation. This dual land provides a synergy similar to that of Watery Grave, which also taps for blue or black mana. However, Watery Grave doesn’t enter the battlefield tapped and allows for an immediate impact on the game, at the cost of 2 life if you want it untapped. It lacks the scry ability, which can set up your subsequent draws.

Another card in this comparison is Drowned Catacomb, which enters the battlefield untapped if you control an Island or Swamp. It ensures a faster gameplay compared to Temple of Deceit, which always enters tapped but without the initial scry. Sunken Ruins, part of the Shadowmoor filter land cycle, similarly assists in mana fixing but focuses on turning one color into a combination of both, a small distinction yet relevant for color-demanding decks.

Assessing these options, Temple of Deceit stands out for players prioritizing deck predictability and looking to smooth out draws even if it means waiting a turn for mana availability. Such strategic deck tuning is what makes Temple of Deceit a valued piece in control-oriented MTG decks.

Watery Grave - MTG Card versions
Drowned Catacomb - MTG Card versions
Sunken Ruins - MTG Card versions
Watery Grave - MTG Card versions
Drowned Catacomb - MTG Card versions
Sunken Ruins - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Temple of Deceit. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Quintorius ComboQuintorius Combo PioneerQuintorius ComboPioneer Challenge 32 2024-01-14
DecklistDecklist Free formMO89#CS
Esper ControlEsper Control GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 08 2024
All Other DecklistsAll Other Decklists PioneerQuintorius ComboNRG Series $10,000 Showdown - Chicagoland, Illinois (Pioneer)
Grixis ComboGrixis Combo GladiatorGladiator Games: We're Back
Dimir ControlDimir Control PioneerDimir ControlDalamsterskapet Pioneer 2023

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Temple of Deceit enters the battlefield tapped, allowing you to scry 1. This subtle mechanic offers you the opportunity to filter the top card of your library, potentially smoothing out your draws and enhancing the quality of the cards in your hand over time.

Resource Acceleration: As part of the Theros land cycle, this card taps for both blue and black mana, thus accelerating your resource base and aiding in casting color-intensive spells sooner. This dual nature provides adaptability and enables a more consistent performance in decks running these colors.

Instant Speed: While the Temple itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its scry ability can be leveraged immediately upon entering the battlefield during your turn. This can inform your decisions on how to play out the rest of your turn, including casting spells at instant speed with more strategic insight.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Entering the battlefield tapped, Temple of Deceit can prompt an unwanted shuffling of strategy, especially when immediate mana access is crucial for maintaining tempo against opponents. This delay could cause one to fall behind when speed is of the essence.

Specific Mana Cost: This card taps for blue or black mana, making it a less versatile choice for multi-colored decks that don’t include these hues. Its utility is diminished for players not committing to Dimir or similar color combinations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not expensive, Temple of Deceit still demands a slot that might be occupied by lands with more diverse or immediate benefits. In fast-paced games, the advantage of scrying might not compensate for the slowdown its entrance into the battlefield tapped causes.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Temple of Deceit offers dual land utility, seamlessly fitting into any deck needing both blue and black mana. Its scry ability also provides valuable deck filtering, making it useful in a variety of game situations.

Combo Potential: The scry 1 effect aligns perfectly with strategies that manipulate the top of the library, enabling synergies with cards that care about the arrangement of your deck or that trigger on spells cast from the top.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where consistency is key, a land such as Temple of Deceit holds its value. It contributes to smoother gameplay by helping to ensure that you draw the spells you need when facing down a vast array of popular deck archetypes.

How to beat Temple of Deceit

Temple of Deceit is a dual land card in Magic the Gathering that offers both deck manipulation through scrying and mana fixing for blue and black spells. While this Theros-born card can solidify a player’s early game by setting up future draws, it has its vulnerabilities. To effectively counter Temple of Deceit, consider aggressive land disruption strategies.

Using cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can force a shuffle, disrupting the carefully crafted top-deck plans of your opponent. Following that, deploying nonbasic land hate, such as Blood Moon or Alpine Moon, can lock down their mana base and render Temple of Deceit as a mere basic land. Also keep in mind that since Temple of Deceit enters the battlefield tapped, you can capitalize on the tempo loss by developing your board or pressuring your opponent before they can fully utilize their mana resources.

Ultimately, in order to get the upper hand against players leveraging Temple of Deceit, focus on hindering their land capabilities and exploiting the slowed tempo. By integrating these tactics, you stand a better chance at diminishing the advantages that this card provides to the cunning controller decks of the MTG universe.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Temple of Deceit MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Theros, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Temple of Deceit and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Temple of Deceit Magic the Gathering card was released in 12 different sets between 2013-09-27 and 2024-04-19. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 798732015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
22013-09-27TherosTHS 2252003NormalBlackRaymond Swanland
32020-01-24Theros Beyond Death PromosPTHB 245p2015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
42020-01-24Theros Beyond Death PromosPTHB 245s2015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
52020-01-24Theros Beyond DeathTHB 2452015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
62020-01-24Theros Beyond DeathTHB 3482015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
72021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 1842015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
82022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 9222015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
92022-11-18The Brothers' War CommanderBRC 2051997NormalBlackJonas De Ro
102023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 4312015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
112023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine CommanderWOC 1702015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
122023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 5242015NormalBlackEliz Roxs
132023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 11152015NormalBlackEliz Roxs
142023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 3142015NormalBlackEliz Roxs
152023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 9052015NormalBlackEliz Roxs
162024-03-08FalloutPIP 3032015NormalBlackPascal Quidault
172024-03-08FalloutPIP 5172015NormalBlackPascal Quidault
182024-03-08FalloutPIP 10452015NormalBlackPascal Quidault
192024-03-08FalloutPIP 8312015NormalBlackPascal Quidault
202024-04-19Outlaws of Thunder Junction CommanderOTC 3282015NormalBlackRaymond Swanland

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Temple of Deceit has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Temple of Deceit card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2013-09-15 Scry appears on some spells and abilities with one or more targets. If all of the spell or ability's targets are illegal when it tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won't scry.
2013-09-15 When you scry, you may put all the cards you look at back on top of your library, you may put all of those cards on the bottom of your library, or you may put some of those cards on top and the rest of them on the bottom.
2013-09-15 You choose how to order cards returned to your library after scrying no matter where you put them.
2013-09-15 You perform the actions stated on a card in sequence. For some spells and abilities, that means you'll scry last. For others, that means you'll scry and then perform other actions.