Fairly absurd at running away with a game. Unlike a card like Forced Adaptation this can be spread around to remove the risk of a 2 for 1.

Potentially move to uncommon or make the initial cost be 1G.

It was about to run away with one of the games. Fortunately, blocking and set up was able to hold the board down.

For posterity, during the chats, there was thought of turning cipher into a kicker-esque ability, where you only encoded if you payed an additional amount of mana. (Or you payed for additional copies, not sure which variant was meant).

My ideas where numerous:

Cipher V2 [COST] (If you cast this card for COST, you may cipher etc etc.)

Or a version that doesn't give you the first free trigger. Cipher V3 [Cost] (Exile this from your hand encoded on target creature, etc etc.)

Hm, I see the problem. This does look poor at decipher , but it'd look very strange with decipher the same cost as its mana cost.

If this wants a little bump, perhaps something equivalent to "support 2"? "Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures." That costs as an instant (Lead by Example), as a sorcery with random upside (Travel Preparations), or as a white sorcery with cantrip (Shoulder to Shoulder), so I think as a sorcery with decipher cost would be okay.