Elminster

Legendary Planeswalker — Elminster

Whenever you scry, the next instant or sorcery spell you cast this turn costs {X} less to cast, where X is the number of cards looked at while scrying this way.

+2: Draw a card, then scry 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, you may put any number of them on the top or bottom of your library.)

-3: Exile the top card of your library. Create a number of 1/1 blue Faerie Dragon creature token with flying equal to that card's converted mana cost/mana value.

Elminster can be your commander.

Tokens

• Faerie Dragon 1/1 U

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Freeform	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (8)

Elnxida on Cost Reduction Cards

9 months ago

I've noticed a few* omissions, namely effects that let you pay an alternate cost - which can be less than the regular cost (Zombie creaturess: Rooftop Storm) or reduced by other effects (Samurai: Kentaro, the Smiling Cat).

*Yeah, so I decided to do a proper search and it bloated into more than a "few"... Sorry for the wall of text, but here you go!

You've already got Fist of Suns and Jodah, but here are some less ubiquitous ones:

Echo: Thick-Skinned Goblin

Slowly Increasing 1/turn: As Foretold

Runes: Runeforge Champion

Fist of Suns and Jodah-like: Leyline of Mutation

Alchemy, Dragons: Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv

Pay life instead as Activated Ability: Marshland Bloodcaster

Alchemy, cards you don't own 1/turn: Grenzo, Crooked Jailer

From Exile 1/turn: Charred Foyer / Warped Space

Colorless 1/turn: Darksteel Monolith

Creature from exile 1/turn: Tlincalli Hunter

Conditional, Cycling: New Perspectives

Pay life instead 1/turn: Cramped Vents / Access Maze

Additionally, other regular omissions:

Flash: Cunning Nightbonder

Instants and Sorceries: Voracious Reader  ^Flip

Creature spells: Krallenhorde Howler  ^Flip, Honest Rutstein

One Giant: Invasion of the Giants

Target me! (auras, buffs, mutate): Spellwild Ouphe, Elderwood Scion

First Kicked: Vine Gecko

Historic: Ballad of the Black Flag

Not your turn: Geyser Drake

Aura and Equipment: Golden-Tail Trainer

Next Spell (honorable mention?): Hardened Berserker, Saheeli, the Gifted

Pay counters instead: Mutated Cultist

Dragons: Nogi, Draco-Zealot

Alchemy, Dinosaurs: Scalespeaker Shepherd (Not sure why is isn't linking, but I promise it exists)

Alchemy, from graveyard: Shellfish Scholar

Instants and Sorceries MV5+: Spectacle Mage

Prepared: Uvilda, Dean of Perfection  ^Flip

Undaunted keyword: Durnan of the Yawning Portal

First instant/sorcery, conditional: Eluge, the Shoreless Sea, God-Eternal Kefnet

Alchemy, Goblin: Goblin Influx Array

Next instant/sorcery (honorable mention?): Maelstrom Muse

Face-down: Panoptic Projektor

Doctors: The Eleventh Hour

Cards from exile: Commander Liara Portyr

Next instant/sorcery, conditional: Elminster

Spells you don't own: Gonti, Canny Acquisitor

DeinoStinkus on Card creation challenge

2 years ago

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Create a card that interacts with scry in a way mechanically separate from Elminster or Eligeth, Crossroads Augur.

Gidgetimer on Is the scry CMC decrease …

2 years ago

I don't think there are any rulings on it, but each instance of the trigger resolving creates a cost reduction that is independent of each other and independent of Elminster. So yes, I guess not technically cumulative since you will have multiple separate cost reductions applying to the same spell, not one large cost reduction. I think that the people pointing out that it isn't actually cumulative are just being pedants. You can treat it as if it is. Each will apply to the same spell. Any extra will not be able to be used on further spells later in the turn.

I can understand what was being assumed to happen with the overwriting, I can't understand the underlying logic enough to provide a rule that would dispel the notion. I would like to provide a parallel that might make how it works in reality more clear. You can think of the Elminster cost reductions like the tokens from Alela, Artful Provocateur. Each one is distinct and creating a new one does not get rid of the old one. The only thing that gets rid of the old one is when you do something to get rid of it (cast a spell).

Gidgetimer on Is the scry CMC decrease …

2 years ago

It is cumulative. Each cost reduction created by the triggered ability on Elminster creates an effect that waits for the next instant or sorcery to be cast and then reduces the cost of that spell. Each reduction is independent and will apply to spell with the effect of reducing the cost by an amount that is the sum of all reduction effects.

I am a bit curious how the logic would go for them to not be cumulative.

Eareph on Is the scry CMC decrease …

2 years ago

The way the static reads on Elminster could go either way and I'm just thinking myself in circles at this point. This will absolutely dictate the direction of deck building and if it isn't cumulative then I have to make some changes.

Stardragon on Scry With Demonfire

3 years ago

TypicalTimmy +1 upvote from me love the design and can see this popping off with Doomsday for with second part of the effects last effect and if you could make a scry deck in 4 colors Elminster would be able to utilize the Scry X very well

Also how did you add the art here from MTG.Design? I can't seem to do it myself

ENZU on griffstick

3 years ago

I uploaded all of the "finished" ones here: https://tappedout.net/mtg-deck-folders/a10-decks-4-pips/

obviously haven't had time to make their pages pretty etc.

I'm also still working on a Elminster Mass Polymorph deck and a kraum and tymna anthem zombie tribal deck, and a vhal + haunted one wizard tribal deck

AggroWithAShield on The new brew

3 years ago

Hey guys,

I wanna make a new deck (got tired of slivers) and I'm looking for feedbacks on three commanders.

The first one is Elminster obsiously a scry theme and one of the win con was Approach of the Second Sun but other than that I don't see much.

Second one is Taigam, Ojutai Master Spellslinger (with extra turn spells) or cantrips.

and my last one is Volo, Itinerant Scholar with the Far Traveler Background to maximise on Volo's value.

Basically I'd like feedback on which one is the strongest of the three, at what power level do they cap and are any of them able to compete in a more cEDH environnement.

If you guys need some background as to why:

I tested {W}{U} with Brago, King Eternal and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV recently and I just loved the colors but I was told to avoid putting that much money (I'm gonna bling out my {W}{U} deck as much as I possibly can since I have like 2k I can put on it) in two of the most hated strategy/commanders since I probably wouldn't end up playing them much and it would be a waste so I picked the 3 others (apparently people hate blinks and stax so...).