Act of Treason

Act of Treason was originally released in the 2013 Magic: The Gathering set Gatecrash. Designed as a red sorcery, it serves as a quintessential example of a 'threat' effect, allowing a player to temporarily take control of an opponent's creature and grant it haste to attack. Its inclusion in 'The List' is part of a recurring initiative by Wizards of the Coast to curate a rotating selection of cards from the game's history, inserting them into set booster packs to introduce newer players to older mechanics.

The artwork for this iteration, consistent with the Ravnica aesthetic, depicts the high-stakes political maneuvering inherent to the plane's guilds. The card has long been favored in limited play environments for its ability to swing the momentum of a game suddenly. Because of its mechanical simplicity and utility in aggressive red decks, it remains a staple of common-rarity design that balances immediate impact with the ephemeral nature of the advantage it provides.