Transform

Transform turns a double-faced permanent over to its other face. The card stays on the battlefield — it doesn't leave and re-enter — but it now uses the name, card types, text and power and toughness printed on the back face. The instruction often comes from an activated ability, as in “{5}{B/P}: Transform Rona. Activate only as a sorcery,” so you pay the cost and the change happens at sorcery speed. That reminder text also notes that a {B/P} symbol can be paid with either one black mana or 2 life.

Other transform cards flip when a triggered condition is met instead. Either way, one card plays like two: the front face sets up, the back face cashes in, and any counters or Auras on the permanent survive the change. The natural answer is to remove the permanent before the transform resolves — if it leaves the battlefield, nothing flips.

• This catalog holds 435 unique transform cards, accounting for 1085 printings across 61 sets. The earliest printing listed is from 2011 (Innistrad Promos), and the newest set represented is Marvel: Darkhold Destiny.
• Creatures lead the way at 268 entries, followed by enchantments (61), artifacts (51) and battles (37), with sorceries (10), instants (6), planeswalkers (4) and lands (4) filling out the list.
• The main colors among these cards are white, black, red and green.
• Every rarity is represented: mythic, rare, uncommon and common.
• The most-printed entries include Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration, Huntmaster of the Fells // Ravager of the Fells, Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier, Bloodline Keeper // Lord of Lineage, Arlinn Kord // Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon, Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun, Chrome Host Seedshark, and Kuja, Genome Sorcerer // Trance Kuja, Fate Defied.