Skip to content
Formless Genesis, art by Mark Poole
Art by Mark Poole · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · image via Scryfall
Selected printing · USD
$0.28
checked Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfall
Scryfall page →

Formless Genesis

{2}{G} · Kindred Sorcery — Shapeshifter

Changeling (This card is every creature type.) Create an X/X colorless Shapeshifter creature token with changeling and deathtouch, where X is the number of land cards in your graveyard. Retrace (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)

Rulings (7)

Sep 20, 2024 · A retrace card cast from your graveyard follows the normal timing rules for its card type.

Sep 20, 2024 · The subtype Shapeshifter that appears on the type line is mostly there to reinforce the flavor. A spell or token with changeling is just as much an Elf, a Dwarf, a Sliver, a Goat, a Coward, and a Zombie as it is a Shapeshifter.

Sep 20, 2024 · The value of X is determined only once, as Formless Genesis resolves. The token's power and toughness won't change if the number of land cards in your graveyard later changes.

Sep 20, 2024 · When a retrace spell you cast from your graveyard resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered, it's put back into your graveyard. You may use the retrace ability to cast it again.

Sep 20, 2024 · Changeling is a characteristic-defining ability. It functions in all zones.

Sep 20, 2024 · If the active player casts a spell that has retrace, that player may cast that card again after it resolves, before another player can remove the card from the graveyard. The active player has priority after the spell resolves, so they can immediately cast a new spell. Since casting a card with retrace from the graveyard moves that card onto the stack, no one else would have the chance to affect it while it's still in the graveyard.

Sep 20, 2024 · Casting a card by using its retrace ability works just like casting any other spell, with two exceptions: You're casting it from your graveyard rather than your hand, and you must discard a land card in addition to any other costs.

LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
ModernNot legal
PioneerNot legal
StandardNot legal
PauperNot legal
PremodernNot legal
cEDHLegal

Where it’s played now

Inclusion by archetype

% of archetype's lists running it · last 30 days
No data yet
No qualifying decks played Formless Genesis in the last 30 days. Tournament coverage starts Jun 1, 2026.
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · MTGO + papercasthaven.com

Price

Formless Genesis — price trend

Daily cheapest printing · USD · last 90 days · n=2 snapshots
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfallcasthaven.com

Recent qualifying decks