The Battlefield

Black Cat, Cunning Thief

$0.71

Time Beetle

$0.19

VerifiedFeb 26, 2026

Black Cat, Cunning Thief + Time Beetle

Overview

When Black Cat, Cunning Thief enters the battlefield you may exile two cards from an opponent’s library face down and you may play those exiled cards for as long as they remain exiled. Cards exiled face down can’t be examined by other players, but the player allowed to play them may look at them and, per , the card is turned face up just before that player announces they are playing it. Casting those cards follows the normal casting steps in . Time Beetle’s “time travel” trigger only lets its controller add or remove time counters on suspended cards they own and on permanents they control that already have time counters, so it does not by itself interact with opponent-owned cards exiled by Black Cat unless those objects meet that exact criteria (see Ruling [2023-10-13] and the text of and ).

Step 1

Black Cat’s ETB ability resolves: its controller looks at the top nine cards of target opponent’s library, exiles two of them face down, and shuffles the rest to the bottom in a random order. The two exiled cards are exiled face down and, per , have no characteristics while face down; the Black Cat’s controller may play those exiled cards for as long as they remain exiled.

Step 2

Because Black Cat’s ability allows its controller to play the exiled cards, that controller may look at those face-down exiled cards and may later play them; once allowed to look at them, they may continue to look while the cards remain exiled .

Step 3

When the Black Cat’s controller decides to cast one of those exiled cards as a spell, the card is turned face up just before the player announces they are playing it (casting) , and the normal casting procedure in is followed (announce, move to stack, pay costs, etc.).

Step 4

If the card is a land and the controller chooses to play it as a land, that play must follow normal timing rules for playing lands (see Ruling [2025-09-19]). If it’s a spell, the controller must cast it using the steps in ; Black Cat also allows any type of mana to be spent to cast spells this way.

Step 5

Time Beetle’s trigger (its controller’s triggered ability when it deals combat damage) gives that controller a time-travel action that lets them add or remove time counters for each suspended card they own and for each permanent they control with a time counter. That action only targets or affects suspended cards that the Time Beetle’s controller owns and permanents that controller controls with time counters (see Ruling [2023-10-13]).

Step 6

Therefore, cards exiled by Black Cat are still owned by the opponent; they are not “suspended cards you own,” so Time Beetle’s time-travel trigger by itself cannot add or remove time counters on those opponent-owned exiled cards unless they already are suspended cards the Time Beetle’s controller owns or become permanents the controller controls with time counters at the time the trigger is applied.

Resolution

Black Cat’s exiled face-down cards can be played by the Black Cat’s controller following the rules for playing exiled face-down cards: the controller may look at them and the card is turned face up just before they announce casting it and then cast it following the steps of . Time Beetle’s time-travel trigger can only add/remove time counters on suspended cards you own and permanents you control that have time counters, so Time Beetle does not let you add time counters to or otherwise directly manipulate an opponent’s card exiled face down by Black Cat unless that exiled card is already a suspended card you own or becomes a permanent you control with time counters at the time the trigger resolves (see Ruling [2023-10-13]). Also note you must follow normal timing for playing lands/casting spells from exile [2025-09-19].

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