In Magic: The Gathering, some cards have game-breaking potential when used correctly, and Omniscience is one of the most powerful enchantments ever printed. At ten mana, it’s not easy to cast under normal circumstances, but once it’s in play, it allows you to cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. Naturally, many players seek ways to cheat Omniscience into play rather than paying its full mana cost. There are several strategies and card combinations across different formats that make this possible and competitive.
Understanding What Makes Omniscience So Powerful
Card Ability Overview
Omniscience is a blue enchantment that costs {7}{U}{U}{U}. Its text reads: You may cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. This means every card in your hand becomes free to cast, regardless of how expensive or color-intensive it is. For combo decks, this opens up explosive possibilities.
Why Cheat Instead of Cast
Paying ten mana is rarely practical in most formats, especially in fast-paced environments like Legacy or Commander. Instead, players use cards that allow Omniscience to bypass its hefty cost. These cheat methods often require some setup, but the payoff can be game-ending.
Popular Cards to Cheat Omniscience Into Play
Show and Tell
This is by far the most famous method for getting Omniscience onto the battlefield. Show and Tell is a three-mana blue sorcery that allows each player to put a permanent from their hand onto the battlefield. The goal is to have Omniscience in hand, cast Show and Tell, and immediately gain full access to every spell in your hand.
- Combo Potential: Once Omniscience is in play, you can cast creatures like Griselbrand to draw more cards or other combo pieces to finish the game.
- Downside: Your opponent also puts something into play, which could be disruptive.
Dream Halls
Dream Halls is a five-mana enchantment that allows players to cast spells by discarding another card that shares a color. While it doesn’t put Omniscience directly into play, Dream Halls enables casting Omniscience without mana if you discard another blue card. This enchantment is often run in the same decks that use Omniscience.
Aetherworks Marvel
In formats like Pioneer or Historic, Aetherworks Marvel can be used to cheat large spells onto the battlefield. By spending six energy, you can cast the top card of your deck for free. If your deck is built to find Omniscience with this effect, it can enter play early in the game.
Tooth and Nail
In Commander, Tooth and Nail can be entwined to both search for and put two creatures directly into play. While not cheating Omniscience directly, you can use this spell to find creatures like Academy Rector or Archetype of Endurance to support cheating Omniscience through other means.
Key Creatures That Enable Cheating
Academy Rector
Academy Rector is a powerhouse in formats like Commander. When it dies, you can exile it to search your library for an enchantment and put it directly onto the battlefield. If you have a sacrifice outlet, you can get Omniscience for just four mana and one extra step.
Aura of Silence + Rector
Aura of Silence can be used in conjunction with Academy Rector to sacrifice it without relying on creatures or artifacts. This synergy helps bring Omniscience online without waiting for combat or external effects.
Protean Hulk Lines
While Protean Hulk typically finds creature-based combos, in some Commander decks it can tutor up a chain that results in Academy Rector dying and Omniscience coming into play. It’s more complex but effective in combo-focused metas.
Other Synergies and Tools
Intuition and Unburial Rites
This two-card combo, often used in Reanimator decks, can also support Omniscience. By placing it in the graveyard and using a reanimation spell like Reanimate or Unburial Rites, you can bring Omniscience into play as if it were a creature. This method requires some enchantment-recursion cards such as Open the Vaults or Resurgent Belief.
Replenish
Replenish returns all enchantments from your graveyard to the battlefield. By dumping Omniscience and other support enchantments into the graveyard through cards like Faithless Looting or Entomb, Replenish can cheat Omniscience in alongside other valuable cards in one explosive move.
Deck Archetypes That Use Omniscience
Legacy Show and Tell Decks
These decks are built around Show and Tell and often include Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Griselbrand as alternate win conditions. Once Omniscience is in play, the deck typically uses cantrips like Brainstorm and Ponder to chain spells into a win.
Commander Combo Decks
Many blue-based Commander decks include Omniscience as part of their win strategy. Commanders like Jodah, Archmage Eternal or Kykar, Wind’s Fury enable casting big spells or generating massive value from free spells. Once Omniscience hits the battlefield, these decks can storm off quickly.
Pioneer Janky Combo Builds
Though not tier-one, some Pioneer decks attempt to combine Aetherworks Marvel or Fires of Invention with Omniscience. These decks are built to quickly ramp into game-breaking spells and are popular among casual combo lovers.
How to Win After Omniscience is in Play
Draw Engines
Getting Omniscience into play is powerful, but to win the game, you still need gas. Cards like Griselbrand, Consecrated Sphinx, or Omnispell Adept allow you to draw cards or cast big spells repeatedly.
Win Conditions
- Enter the Infinite: Draw your entire deck and win with Laboratory Maniac, Thassa’s Oracle, or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.
- Storm Combo: Use Omniscience to cast spells infinitely and end the game with Grapeshot or Aetherflux Reservoir.
- Eldrazi: Cast giant creatures like Emrakul for free and swing for lethal.
Disruption and Protection
Counterspell Support
Because cheating Omniscience into play is a risky investment, many decks pack protection. Cards like Force of Will, Pact of Negation, and Flusterstorm are common in decks that rely on a combo strategy involving Omniscience.
Rescue Plans
If your opponent destroys Omniscience, recursion cards like Hall of Heliod’s Generosity or Open the Vaults can help bring it back. Decks using Academy Rector also benefit from having backup plans in case of exile effects.
Cheating Omniscience into play is a time-honored tradition for combo players who love powerful, game-ending spells. Whether through Show and Tell, Academy Rector, or enchantment recursion strategies, getting Omniscience onto the battlefield opens the door to huge combos and flashy wins. The key to success lies in building your deck to consistently access your cheat method, protect the combo, and finish the game decisively once your spells are free. With the right tools and timing, Omniscience becomes not just a card but a one-card engine for victory.