FAQ
Treachery questions, answered
49 questions that come up at real tables, from “who goes first” to stolen Leader identities. Every answer links to the rule behind it.
Setup and dealing
Can I pick my deck after I see my identity?
No. Decks are locked in before anyone is dealt an identity. Otherwise the Leader would bring their most defensive list and everyone else would know something was up.
Rules: TR2.1 · Link to this answer
Is the number of each role a secret?
No. Everyone knows how many Guardians, Assassins and Traitors are in the game. Only who holds which identity is hidden.
Rules: TR2.3 · Link to this answer
How many players do we need?
Four at the very least, and five to seven is the sweet spot. At four there are no Guardians, so the hidden-team tension is thin. Above eight the official rules give a formula rather than a table; the setup page has counts up to 12.
Rules: TR1.4, TR2.2 · Link to this answer
Why does the 8-player table have 3 Assassins when “half the players” would be 4?
The official recommended table and the general formula disagree at eight players. The table (1 Leader, 2 Guardians, 3 Assassins, 2 Traitors) is the recommended setup and is what Treachery.app deals. From nine players up, the formula applies.
Rules: TR2.2e · Link to this answer
Who takes the first turn?
The Leader. There is no die roll for the starting player in Treachery.
Rules: TR2.6 · Link to this answer
What life total do we start at?
40 in Commander, 20 in other formats. Some Leaders change their own starting life, such as The Old Ruler, who starts with 20 more.
Rules: TR2.5, TR9.5 · Link to this answer
Can I show my identity card to someone to prove I’m on their side?
No. You can say whatever you like, but you can’t show a face-down identity. If you want to prove your role, unveil it.
Rules: TR1.5, TR10.5 · Link to this answer
Winning, losing and ties
If the Leader dies, do the Guardians still win if they survive?
No. The Leader team loses the moment its last Leader is gone, and every Guardian loses with it, however much life they have left.
Rules: TR6.3 · Link to this answer
Can a “you can’t lose the game” card keep me in as a Guardian after the Leader dies?
No. The team loss overrides it. Those cards protect the individual player only, though they can still stop an opponent’s own “you win the game” card.
Rules: TR6.3, TR6.11 · Link to this answer
Can a Traitor win while the Leader is still alive?
Only by being the last player in the game, so the Leader has to fall at some point. The catch is the order: if the Leader goes down while any Assassin is alive, the Assassins win on the spot. A Traitor usually needs to protect the Leader early and turn on them last.
Rules: TR6.5 · Link to this answer
Does the Traitor have to kill the Guardians?
No. Guardians lose automatically when the Leader does. Once the Assassins are gone, a Traitor can go straight for the Leader.
Rules: TR6.3, TR6.5 · Link to this answer
I was an Assassin and got knocked out early. Do I still win if the other Assassins finish the job?
Yes. The game remembers your team, and a team win includes every member, eliminated or not.
Rules: TR6.7, TR7.4 · Link to this answer
What happens if I resolve a “you win the game” card?
You win, and so does your whole team. As a Traitor you win alone, since you are a team of one.
Rules: TR6.7 · Link to this answer
The last Leader and the last Assassin die to the same spell. Who wins?
Not the Assassins: they need at least one Assassin still in the game when the Leader falls. The Leader team has lost too. If exactly one Traitor is left, that Traitor wins. If several Traitors are left, they play on. If nobody is left, the game is a draw.
Rules: TR6.9a, TR6.9c · Link to this answer
What if everyone left loses at once?
Then nobody wins and the game is a draw.
Rules: TR6.9c · Link to this answer
There are two Traitors. Do they win together?
No. Each Traitor is a separate team of one, so they have to outlast each other as well. Two Traitors can cooperate for a while, but only one of them can win.
Rules: TR3.10c, TR6.5 · Link to this answer
The Treacherous Masochist and the Leader lose at the same time. Do the Assassins win, or the Masochist?
The official rules don’t give a tie-break for two teams winning at the same moment. Since a “you win the game” effect ends the game immediately, we suggest the Masochist takes it. If you play with this card, agree on that before the game.
Rules: TR6.9d · Link to this answer
If I concede, can an identity like He Who Comes To Save The Day save me?
No. Conceding can’t be replaced or prevented. You leave the game, and any effect that would change what happens when you lose doesn’t apply.
Rules: TR6.10 · Link to this answer
Unveiling
Can players respond to me unveiling?
Not to the unveil itself: turning the card face up is a special action and skips the stack. The “when unveiled” trigger that follows does use the stack, so players can respond to that or counter it.
Rules: TR4.2, TR4.3 · Link to this answer
My unveil trigger got countered. Do I flip back face down?
No. Your identity stays face up and your role is public. You just lose the effect.
Rules: TR4.3a · Link to this answer
Can I unveil on someone else’s turn?
Yes, any time you have priority. That includes in response to a spell, during another player’s combat, or at the end of their turn. A few identities only do something “if it’s your turn”, so check the card.
Rules: TR4.2a, TR4.3c · Link to this answer
Can I unveil in the middle of a spell resolving, or while I’m casting something?
No. You need priority, and nobody has priority while a spell or ability resolves or while a spell is being cast. You can unveil before or after.
Rules: TR4.2b · Link to this answer
How does X in an unveil cost work?
You choose X when you unveil and pay that much. Every other X on the identity uses the same number. If your identity gets turned face up some other way, such as when you lose, X is 0.
Rules: TR4.5 · Link to this answer
Can I choose X = 0?
Yes, unless the card says otherwise. The Summoner, for example, says X and Y can’t be 0. An X of 0 often makes the unveil pointless, but it is sometimes worth it just to reveal your role.
Rules: TR4.5 · Link to this answer
Do cards that make spells cheaper reduce unveil costs?
No. Unveiling isn’t casting a spell, so those effects don’t apply. Only effects that specifically mention unveil costs change them.
Rules: TR4.2e · Link to this answer
What happens to my identity when I lose?
It is turned face up so the table learns what you were. That is not an unveil, so no “when unveiled” ability triggers and you pay nothing.
Rules: TR4.6 · Link to this answer
My identity was turned face down again. Can I unveil it a second time?
Yes. Pay its unveil cost again and its “when unveiled” ability triggers again. Everyone at the table still remembers what they saw.
Rules: TR4.8 · Link to this answer
Can I proliferate the counters on an identity?
No. Proliferate only touches permanents and players, and identities aren’t permanents. Some identities, such as The Supplier, give the counters to you as a player instead; those can be proliferated.
Rules: TR3.2a · Link to this answer
Can I destroy, exile or bounce someone’s identity?
No. Identities can’t leave the command zone, and effects that care about permanents can’t touch them.
Rules: TR3.2 · Link to this answer
Undercover
The Leader is face up from the start. Doesn’t that already count as a revealed identity?
No. Undercover only counts non-Leader identities. You need another non-Leader identity revealed, or someone other than you attacking a Leader.
Rules: TR5.2, TR5.4 · Link to this answer
Does a player losing and having their identity revealed unlock Undercover?
Yes, as long as their identity wasn’t a Leader. Any non-Leader identity turned face up for any reason counts.
Rules: TR5.2a, TR7.7 · Link to this answer
A creature entered the battlefield attacking the Leader. Can Guardians unveil now?
Not because of that. Only creatures declared as attackers count, and a creature put onto the battlefield attacking was never declared.
Rules: TR5.3 · Link to this answer
Can a Guardian attack the Leader to unlock their own Undercover?
No, your own attack doesn’t count. It does unlock Undercover for every other Guardian, though, which a bold Guardian can use to free up a teammate.
Rules: TR5.2b, TR5.4 · Link to this answer
Does attacking the Leader’s planeswalker count as attacking the Leader?
No. Undercover asks whether a player attacked a Leader player, and attacking a planeswalker or battle is not attacking the player.
Rules: TR5.2b · Link to this answer
Once Undercover is unlocked, does it lock again later?
No. The conditions look back over the whole game. Once either has happened, every Undercover identity can be unveiled for the rest of the game.
Rules: TR5.4 · Link to this answer
Leaving, stealing and copying identities
A player’s unveil trigger is on the stack when they die. Does it still resolve?
Yes. Abilities from identities stay on the stack even if their owner leaves the game, and they still resolve. Normal spells and other abilities of that player disappear.
Rules: TR7.2a · Link to this answer
What happens to an identity when its player leaves the game?
If it is face down, it is revealed. If another player controls it at that point, it stays in the game and that player becomes its new owner. Either way, the game remembers which team the departed player was on.
Rules: TR7.2b, TR7.3, TR7.4 · Link to this answer
Can a normal Magic card steal or swap my identity?
No. Control-changing cards only work on permanents. Only identity abilities, like those of The Metamorph and The Puppet Master, can move identities between players.
Rules: TR8.1 · Link to this answer
I gained control of someone else’s identity. Which team am I on now?
The team of the identity you now control. You switch immediately, and you win or lose with your new team.
Rules: TR8.2 · Link to this answer
Can a Traitor become the Leader?
Yes, with The Metamorph. If it takes the Leader’s identity as the Leader loses, the Metamorph’s player becomes the Leader, the Leader team is still alive, and the Assassins haven’t won yet.
Rules: TR8.5 · Link to this answer
My identity was taken as I lost. Do I still win if my old team wins?
Yes. You keep the team you were on when you left the game.
Rules: TR8.6 · Link to this answer
Can I unveil in response to The Puppet Master shuffling identities around?
Yes, while its trigger is on the stack. Once it starts resolving nobody can act, and every non-Leader identity it moves is turned face down anyway.
Rules: TR8.7 · Link to this answer
If The Wearer of Masks copies a Guardian, is it on the Leader team?
No. It takes the copied card’s name and abilities but stays a Traitor. It also gets the copied card’s “when unveiled” ability.
Rules: TR8.8 · Link to this answer
Commander and table etiquette
Is my identity a second commander?
No. It sits in the command zone next to your commander but isn’t one. Effects that mention commanders ignore it, and it doesn’t change your colour identity.
Rules: TR9.2, TR9.3 · Link to this answer
Are any cards banned?
Use your format’s banned list. The Treachery designers also recommend leaving out Expropriate, Head Games and Trade Secrets. No identities are banned, though many groups remove a few swingy ones.
Rules: TR12.1, TR12.2 · Link to this answer
Can I lie about my role?
Yes. Bluffing, hinting and false alliances are the heart of the game. Your words prove nothing until your card is face up.
Rules: TR1.5, TR10.5 · Link to this answer
Are deals binding?
No. You can promise anything and break it the next turn. Whether that is wise is another question.
Rules: TR10.5 · Link to this answer
Do my “each opponent” effects hit my secret Guardian?
Yes, as long as their identity is face down. A face-down player is everyone’s opponent. Once they unveil, your effects recognise them as a teammate.
Rules: TR3.11, TR10.4 · Link to this answer
Still stuck? Check the comprehensive rules or the identity’s own page in the card oracle, where card-specific rulings live.