How to Cheat Out Omniscience

Cheating out Omniscience is one of the most iconic and powerful plays in the game of Magic: The Gathering. This blue enchantment allows you to cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs, which can instantly shift the tide of a game in your favor. However, with its high mana cost of ten, it’s almost never hard-cast under normal circumstances. Instead, players find creative and powerful ways to cheat Omniscience into play. Knowing how to cheat out Omniscience effectively requires the right deck building, synergies, and understanding of game tempo. In this guide, we’ll explore several strategies across formats for getting Omniscience onto the battlefield early and making the most of its explosive potential.

Understanding Omniscience

Card Details

Before learning how to cheat out Omniscience, it helps to understand exactly what it does and why it’s so dangerous in the right deck. Here are the key stats:

• Mana Cost: {7}{U}{U}{U} (10 mana total)
• Type: Enchantment
• Text: You may cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs.

This means that as soon as Omniscience hits the battlefield, every spell in your hand becomes free. From massive Eldrazi creatures to powerful draw spells, the game quickly slips out of your opponent’s control assuming you can get Omniscience down in the first place.

Top Strategies to Cheat Out Omniscience

Using Show and Tell

One of the most popular and effective ways to cheat Omniscience onto the battlefield in Legacy and Commander formats is through the spellShow and Tell. This 3-mana sorcery allows each player to put a permanent from their hand onto the battlefield.

• Pros: Costs only three mana, can drop Omniscience as early as turn two or three with acceleration.
• Cons: Your opponent also gets to put a permanent into play, which could be dangerous depending on the matchup.

Decks built around this strategy often include cards likeForce of Willto protect their combo and counter any threats the opponent may bring in through Show and Tell.

Using Academy Rector

In formats like Commander,Academy Rectoris a strong and thematic way to cheat out Omniscience. When it dies, you can search your library for an enchantment and put it directly onto the battlefield.

The trick is finding consistent ways to get Academy Rector into the graveyard. Common tools include:

• Sacrifice outlets likeViscera SeerorPhyrexian Tower
• Board wipes or combat tricks to trigger its death

Once Omniscience is out, a well-stocked hand will usually end the game in short order.

Using Defense of the Heart

Another great card in green-heavy Commander decks isDefense of the Heart. If an opponent controls three or more creatures at the start of your upkeep, it lets you search your deck for two creature cards and put them directly onto the battlefield.

This works well when paired with creatures that interact with Omniscience, such as:

• Emrakul, the Promised Endfor devastating swings
• Archetype of Enduranceto protect your board
• Spellseekerto fetch instants or sorceries to combo off

While this doesn’t directly cheat out Omniscience, it helps get the tools you need to protect or assemble the rest of your win condition, often involving the enchantment.

Reanimation Tactics

Sometimes players opt to cheat Omniscience into play by putting it into the graveyard first and then bringing it back. While reanimating enchantments is harder than creatures, cards likeReplenish,Open the Vaults, orResurgent Beliefmake it possible.

This strategy often involves a self-mill or discard engine using:

• Faithless Looting
• Frantic Search
• Entomb

Once Omniscience is in the graveyard, use one of the aforementioned mass reanimation spells to get it into play and follow up with free spells from your hand.

Building a Deck Around Omniscience

Core Components

A successful Omniscience deck includes the following elements:

• Cheat Enablers: Show and Tell, Academy Rector, Replenish
• Card Draw: Brainstorm, Ponder, Dig Through Time
• Protection: Force of Will, Pact of Negation, Swan Song
• Win Conditions: Enter the Infinite, Laboratory Maniac, Thassa’s Oracle

After Omniscience hits the board, a common follow-up is castingEnter the Infiniteto draw your whole deck. Then you can playLaboratory ManiacorThassa’s Oraclefor a swift victory.

Mana Acceleration

Though the goal is to cheat out Omniscience, a little mana acceleration helps you cast enablers quickly. Cards likeLotus Petal,Dark Ritual, orSol Ringprovide early power spikes. In formats like Legacy,Ancient TombandCity of Traitorsare used to power out Show and Tell on turn one or two.

Combos and Synergies

Enter the Infinite Loop

When you cast Enter the Infinite using Omniscience, you draw your entire library and put one card back. You can then cast free spells and use cards like:

• Omniscience + Enter the Infinite + Laboratory Maniac
• Omniscience + Enter the Infinite + Thassa’s Oracle

This ensures you win on the same turn you get Omniscience into play. It’s fast, flashy, and extremely effective if not disrupted.

Storm Strategies

Storm decks can also benefit from Omniscience. Once it’s on the battlefield, you can cast your entire hand for free, fueling your storm count. Follow that up withGrapeshotorTendrils of Agonyto finish the game.

Dealing With Opponent Disruption

Counterspells

Your opponents will often try to disrupt your combo with countermagic. That’s why free counters likeForce of WillandPact of Negationare key to protect the critical turn when you try to cheat out Omniscience.

Discard and Graveyard Hate

In formats where discard or graveyard hate is common, be sure to pack answers such as:

• DispelandFlusterstormagainst discard or counters
• Echoing TruthorBounce spellsagainst hate pieces

Knowing how to cheat out Omniscience effectively opens up one of Magic: The Gathering’s most devastating win paths. While hard-casting a ten-mana enchantment is rarely viable, there are numerous ways to bypass the cost and unleash its power early. Whether you prefer the precision of Legacy’s Show and Tell or the explosive combos of Commander decks, Omniscience rewards those who plan their turns carefully and protect their strategy. Once it hits the battlefield, the rest of the game often becomes a formality. Build your deck with the right tools, and you’ll be casting spells for free in no time.