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Lost Caverns of Ixalan Instant-Speed Tricks

by Sameer Merchant // Nov 10, 2023

This is a list of all the instant-speed tricks in Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Each color is sorted by converted mana cost.

White and Blue are the only colors that have creatures with flash, although Green does have the ability to produce a temporary 4/4 creature via Disturbed Slumber. Most of the creatures with flash are at Rare, with only Cogwork Wrestler at Common and Mischievous Pup at Uncommon, although Hurl into History can also potentially produce a creature at instant speed.
White has two tricks that punish opponents for attacking: Cosmium Blast at Common does four damage to an attacking or blocking creature, and Spring-Loaded Sawblades at Uncommon does five damage to a tapped creature.
White also has two tricks that can protect one or more creatures from removal: Family Reunion at Common can give your creatures hexproof, and Mischievous Pup at Uncommon returns another permanent you control to its owner's hand.
Every color has both instant-speed removal and pump at Common. (Blue's removal is temporary except for Eaten by Piranhas, and its "pump" spells are Cogwork Wrestler and Relic's Roar.

Color	Mana Cost	Card	Type	Oracle Text	Notes
Colorless	/	Runaway Boulder	Artifact	Flash When Runaway Boulder enters the battlefield, it deals 6 damage to target creature an opponent controls. Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
White		Acrobatic Leap	Instant	Target creature gets +1/+3 and gains flying until end of turn. Untap it.
		Soaring Sandwing	Creature	Flying When Soaring Sandwing enters the battlefield, you gain 3 life. Plainscycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Plains card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
		Cosmium Blast	Instant	Cosmium Blast deals 4 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
		Family Reunion	Instant	Choose one — • Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. • Creatures you control gain hexproof until end of turn. (They can't be the targets of spells or abilities your opponents control.)
		Spring-Loaded Sawblades	Artifact	Flash When Spring-Loaded Sawblades enters the battlefield, it deals 5 damage to target tapped creature an opponent controls. Craft with artifact {3}{W} ({3}{W}, Exile this artifact, Exile another artifact you control or an artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
		Get Lost	Instant	Destroy target creature, enchantment, or planeswalker. Its controller creates two Map tokens. (They're artifacts with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
	/	Quicksand Whirlpool	Instant	This spell costs {3} less to cast if it targets a tapped creature. Exile target creature.
		Mischievous Pup	Creature	Flash When Mischievous Pup enters the battlefield, return up to one other target permanent you control to its owner's hand.	3/1
		Kutzil's Flanker	Creature	Flash When Kutzil's Flanker enters the battlefield, choose one — • Put a +1/+1 counter on Kutzil's Flanker for each creature that left the battlefield under your control this turn. • You gain 2 life and scry 2. • Exile target player's graveyard.	3/1
Blue		Cogwork Wrestler	Artifact Creature	Flash When Cogwork Wrestler enters the battlefield, target creature an opponent controls gets -2/-0 until end of turn.	1/2
		Relic's Roar	Instant	Until end of turn, target artifact or creature becomes a Dinosaur artifact creature with base power and toughness 4/3 in addition to its other types.	4/3
		Marauding Brinefang	Creature	Ward {3} (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays {3}.) Islandcycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for an Island card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
		Brackish Blunder	Instant	Return target creature to its owner's hand. If it was tapped, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
	/	Out of Air	Instant	This spell costs {2} less to cast if it targets a creature spell. Counter target spell.
		Eaten by Piranhas	Enchantment	Flash Enchant creature Enchanted creature loses all abilities and is a black Skeleton creature with base power and toughness 1/1. (It loses all other card types and creature types.)
		Lodestone Needle	Artifact	Flash When Lodestone Needle enters the battlefield, tap up to one target artifact or creature and put two stun counters on it. Craft with artifact {2}{U} ({2}{U}, Exile this artifact, Exile another artifact you control or an artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
		Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel	Creature	Flash Flying Whenever Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel deals combat damage to a player, put a chorus counter on it. Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are four or more chorus counters on Malcolm, you may cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost.	2/1
		Confounding Riddle	Instant	Choose one — • Look at the top four cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. • Counter target spell unless its controller pays {4}.
		Tishana's Tidebinder	Creature	Flash When Tishana's Tidebinder enters the battlefield, counter up to one target activated or triggered ability. If an ability of an artifact, creature, or planeswalker is countered this way, that permanent loses all abilities for as long as Tishana's Tidebinder remains on the battlefield. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.)	3/2
		Unlucky Drop	Instant	Target artifact or creature's owner puts it on the top or bottom of their library.
		Hurl into History	Instant	Counter target artifact or creature spell. Discover X, where X is that spell's mana value. (Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card with that mana value or less. Cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)	Discover X
Black		Rampaging Spiketail	Creature	When Rampaging Spiketail enters the battlefield, target creature you control gets +2/+0 and gains indestructible until end of turn. Swampcycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Swamp card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
		Fanatical Offering	Instant	As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact or creature. Draw two cards and create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
		Fungal Fortitude	Enchantment	Flash Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +2/+0. When enchanted creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control.
		Bitter Triumph	Instant	As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card or pay 3 life. Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
		Another Chance	Instant	You may mill two cards. Then return up to two creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. (To mill two cards, put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard.)
		Join the Dead	Instant	Target creature gets -5/-5 until end of turn. Descend 4 — That creature gets -10/-10 until end of turn instead if there are four or more permanent cards in your graveyard.
Red		Dreadmaw's Ire	Instant	Until end of turn, target attacking creature gets +2/+2 and gains trample and "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, destroy target artifact that player controls."
		Seismic Monstrosaur	Creature	Trample {2}{R}, Sacrifice a land: Draw a card. Mountaincycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Mountain card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
		Abrade	Instant	Choose one — • Abrade deals 3 damage to target creature. • Destroy target artifact.
		Ancestors' Aid	Instant	Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. Create a Treasure token. (It's an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.")
		Zoyowa's Justice	Instant	The owner of target artifact or creature with mana value 1 or greater shuffles it into their library. Then that player discovers X, where X is its mana value. (They exile cards from the top of their library until they exile a nonland card with that mana value or less. They cast it without paying its mana cost or put it into their hand. They put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
		Idol of the Deep King	Artifact	Flash When Idol of the Deep King enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to any target. Craft with artifact {2}{R} ({2}{R}, Exile this artifact, Exile another artifact you control or an artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
		Trumpeting Carnosaur	Creature	Trample When Trumpeting Carnosaur enters the battlefield, discover 5. {2}{R}, Discard Trumpeting Carnosaur: It deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
Green		Nurturing Bristleback	Creature	When Nurturing Bristleback enters the battlefield, create a 3/3 green Dinosaur creature token. Forestcycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Forest card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
		Disturbed Slumber	Instant	Until end of turn, target land you control becomes a 4/4 Dinosaur creature with reach and haste. It's still a land. It must be blocked this turn if able.	4/4
		Staggering Size	Instant	Target creature gets +3/+3 and gains trample until end of turn.
		Huatli's Final Strike	Instant	Target creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn. It deals damage equal to its power to target creature an opponent controls.
		In the Presence of Ages	Instant	Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a creature card and/or a land card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.
		Malamet Scythe	Artifact	Flash When Malamet Scythe enters the battlefield, attach it to target creature you control. Equipped creature gets +2/+2. Equip {4} ({4}: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)