Methods and devices are described for encoding and decoding control information that has been modulated based on one or more identifiers of the transmitter and/or receiver. Some embodiments describe scrambling sequence design for multi-mode block discrimination on downlink control information (DCI) blind detection. Separate scrambling masks may be applied to disparate bit fields within a coded DCI message, wherein each of the scrambling masks is derived from a unique identifier associated with either the transmitter or the intended receiver. The scrambling masks may be used by the receiver to perform early termination of the decoding process, to mitigate intercell interference, and to verify that the receiver is the intended receiver.