Siren's Ruse

Siren's Ruse was released in 2017 as part of the Ixalan expansion for Magic: The Gathering. The set focused on a high-adventure, exploration-themed plane inspired by age of discovery tropes, featuring factions such as pirates, dinosaurs, and merfolk. As a common instant, the card was designed to support the set's blink mechanics, allowing players to flicker their creatures to trigger enter-the-battlefield effects while simultaneously protecting them from removal.

The card’s artwork was created by Ben Maier, who leaned into the oceanic, ethereal aesthetic central to the Ixalan merfolk. The illustration depicts a siren using illusory magic to redirect an attack, capturing the fluid, watery nature of the spell's effect. It was generally received by the player base as a functional utility card within the set’s limited environment, noted for its utility in triggering powerful tribal synergies common to the blue-aligned factions of the plane.