<p>Cipher copies the encoded <em>spell</em>, not the creature - have another look at the reminder text:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of <strong>this card</strong> without paying its mana cost.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&quot;This card&quot; is referring to the card it's printed on, the spell with cipher. So if for example you cast <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Last%20Thoughts">Last Thoughts</a> (allowing you to draw a card) and encode it on a creature, each time that creature deals combat damage to a player, you get to re-cast Last Thoughts for free (and draw another card). This can happen as many times as you can manage to deal combat damage to a player with the creature.</p>
<p>I should also point out: you can <em>only</em> encode it onto a creature, not anything else on the battlefield. (And, I know it sounds pedantic, but there's no such thing as a spell on the battlefield - things on the battlefield are called &quot;permanents&quot;, a word you'll see on some cards.)</p>
<p>Hopefully this makes more sense to you than copying the creature - you're encoding the spell onto the creature, tying them together, so that the creature can cause the spell to be cast again.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-20T21:22:39.523Z
"This can happen as many times as you can manage to deal **COMBAT** damage to a player with the creature." -- important distinction :)
Affe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-22T20:59:51.433Z
@Affe yay for Double Strike!!! :-)
corsiKa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-20T20:31:39.000Z
2013-04-22T06:49:53.240Z
2013-04-22T06:49:53.240Z
Cascabel
<p>As far as I understand, Cipher works like so: when a card that contains Cipher is cast, you encode it onto a spell on the battlefield, like a creature for example. Every time that creature attacks and deals damage to a player, a copy of the encoded creature is made.</p>

<p>If the opponent does not have anything to block a flying creature I've encoded, and for 3 turns straight I can deal damage with the creature that was encoded, does it result in 3 copies? Can you only make one copy?</p>

<magic-the-gathering>
Can I have multiple copies of a creature with Cipher?
halexh
# Can I have multiple copies of a creature with Cipher?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-04-20)

As far as I understand, Cipher works like so: when a card that contains Cipher is cast, you encode it onto a spell on the battlefield, like a creature for example. Every time that creature attacks and deals damage to a player, a copy of the encoded creature is made.

If the opponent does not have anything to block a flying creature I've encoded, and for 3 turns straight I can deal damage with the creature that was encoded, does it result in 3 copies? Can you only make one copy?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-04-20. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Cipher copies the encoded *spell*, not the creature - have another look at the reminder text:

> Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of **this card** without paying its mana cost.

"This card" is referring to the card it's printed on, the spell with cipher. So if for example you cast [Last Thoughts](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Last%20Thoughts) (allowing you to draw a card) and encode it on a creature, each time that creature deals combat damage to a player, you get to re-cast Last Thoughts for free (and draw another card). This can happen as many times as you can manage to deal combat damage to a player with the creature.

I should also point out: you can *only* encode it onto a creature, not anything else on the battlefield. (And, I know it sounds pedantic, but there's no such thing as a spell on the battlefield - things on the battlefield are called "permanents", a word you'll see on some cards.)

Hopefully this makes more sense to you than copying the creature - you're encoding the spell onto the creature, tying them together, so that the creature can cause the spell to be cast again.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: "This can happen as many times as you can manage to deal **COMBAT** damage to a player with the creature." -- important distinction :)  
> **username_3**: @username_2 yay for Double Strike!!! :-)  

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