Truth is, there’s no such thing as an artificial cypher. You’re either a full cypher or you’re not, no in-between. And you’ve gotta be alive to join the magic vampire club, meaning that even before you’d gotten your hands on the staff and it started communicating with you, you figured it would therefore have to be alive, too. And sure enough, it was. And it referring to Sacanas as it's mother only helped to confirm it!