What it does
Manifest lets you put the top card of your library onto the battlefield face-down as a 2/2 creature with no name, types, or abilities. At any time you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost—but only if it's a creature card. (Cards that aren't creatures, like instants or sorceries, stay stuck face-down.)
The big nuance: manifesting and turning face up aren't casting, so they don't trigger cast-related effects, and turning a creature face up isn't a special action that uses the stack—it can be done anytime you have priority, even in response to removal. Importantly, a manifested creature card can be turned up; that's different from morph, which only works on cards with the morph ability.
In Commander, manifest is solid value and trickery—dodging counterspells, ambushing attackers, and even manifesting cards your opponents mill or exile for you. Note: if a face-down manifest dies, it's revealed and goes to the graveyard as whatever it actually was.
Iconic cards with Manifest
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