Snapcaster Mage

Creature — Human Wizard

Flash

When Snapcaster Mage enters the battlefield, target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

Combos

• Lightning Bolt + Snapcaster Mage
• Lightning Bolt + Lightning Bolt + Snapcaster Mage
• Eternal Witness + Nature's Spiral + Snapcaster Mage
• Glimpse the Unthinkable + Snapcaster Mage
• Not Forgotten + Snapcaster Mage
• Mana Drain + Snapcaster Mage
• Cryptic Command + Snapcaster Mage
• Kolaghan's Command + Snapcaster Mage
• Deadeye Navigator + Snapcaster Mage
• Snapcaster Mage + Vapor Snag

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	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
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (46)

Coward_Token on March of the Machine

1 month ago

Minor wall of text for Katilda and Lier Show

So, this lets you basically play Snapcaster Mage for 1 mana, but without the flash*. Not bad, as you got e.g. Esper Sentinel, Noble Hierarch, and Mother of Runes to work with. Probably not worth it to go over mana value 2 unless it's also a good spellslinger card? I feel like the Human tribal part is less important. There's some pretty good Humans with actual flash too, e.g. Zulaport Duelist and Cathar Commando.

I wish the trigger was on ETB for other nontoken Humans rather than casting; I don't see much abuse from flickering. At least you can be a Johnny with Crib Swap I guess.

Flavor and card references aside, I feel like this should have been a jeskai card?

• Humans are primarily associated with white
• In order to afford flashbacking, the card incitivizes casting small creatures, which is more of a white thing; green likes them big.
• The creature side of things feels like it's subservient to the spellslinging, which makes it kinda weird when blue is the only color in the arc that's really into nonpermanents.

Because of the above reasons, I feel that green is largely superflous to white's role in the card's ability, and would be better served replaced by red, the other spellslinging-oriented color. Plus, only having until end of turn to flashback feels a lot like red impulsive draw. However, I can see the merit in filling the niche of a bant spellslinger commander, and flavoring could be though for jeskai too.

(Rethinking things, you could instead go for mana value 1-2 for spell cards and just treat the flashbacking as Human cantriping.)

wallisface on UR 101st Airburn

1 month ago

Some thoughts:

• I'd drop both Snapcaster Mage and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. With only 18 lands and almost-no card draw, getting the mana to use either of these cards effectively is going to be hard and clumsy.

• It really feels like you want to be running some number of Spell Pierce Mainboard. And Unholy Heat.

• Unsummon is a cute card, but not particularly useful.

• To make the most of Sprite Dragon and Pteramander you probably want stuff like Manamorphose and Expressive Iteration in here.

Dead_Blue_ on Murky Waters

2 months ago

I read your whole comment and appreciate the time you took for the write up. I really don’t want this to be a Dimir deck but I am planning to replace a few graves with Misty Rainforests

You’re not wrong in your assessments, having played Control as a secondary deck for years now I’m very familiar with almost all the cards you mentioned.

The thing you said about top decks, is why I used to have Think Twice in this deck over Consider… this deck pretty much never wants to go to top deck mode

Anyway instead of breaking down the pros and cons of the many viable cards you listed here’s where my head is at. I know Cryptic Command is too slow, I have barely ever cast it in any match up. I’ve been using it as a middle ground between the 4th copies of Dismember and Archmage's Charm I’m just not sure which I need the 4th copy of more since both have been all stars, what is your opinion?

Next on the table is Snapcaster Mage, it’s such a legacy card that it feels bad to want to cut it but I’ve seriously been thinking of dropping it in favor of 2x more Consider. What are your thoughts? Only thing that concerns me is cutting snap makes Unlicensed Hearse worst.

I think Unmoored Ego does need a sideboard slot, probably in place of Iymrith, Desert Doom which is only there for testing & flavor right now …do you think Surgical Extraction might be a better choice?

zapyourtumor on Murky Waters

2 months ago

Card Suggestions Show

I've listed all these below with explanations, I just have to put them at the top so I can check mark them as suggestions. Drown in the Loch, Fatal Push, Inquisition of Kozilek, Damnation, Unmoored Ego, Sunken Ruins, Ledger Shredder, Aether Gust, Mystical Dispute, Remand, Spreading Seas, Memory Deluge, Orvar, the All-Form

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I think the main decision you have to make with this deck is whether you want it to be a true control deck or a tempo deck. A true control deck would try to trade one for one and build card advantage before dropping a threat like Murktide or Jace or simply winning with Snappy beatdown. A tempo deck on the other hand would try to turbo out a quick Murktide and then protect that threat.

Mixing control and tempo is nothing new, and it sometimes works quite well. But because a lot of the cards from each type of deck don't necessarily go well together, you can sometimes end up in an awkward situation.

Here, you definitely have a mix of both types (which, I'd like to emphasize, is not necessarily bad). Archmage's Charm, Counterspell, Cryptic Command, Snapcaster Mage, Devastation Tide and Jace, the Mind Sculptor are all heavily control-flavored cards in your deck. They all either break even or generate card advantage, or massively stall out the game.

On the other hand, Force of Negation, Otherworldly Gaze, Thought Scour, Spell Pierce, and Subtlety are all tempo-flavored cards.

The problem with this combination in this deck is that half of your cards aim to turbo out a Murktide Regent as fast as possible with Otherworldly Gaze and Thought Scour and then protect it in the short term with cheap spells like Dismember, Force of Negation, Subtlety, and Spell Pierce. The main problems with these cards is that they are pretty terrible topdecks late game. Scour isn't too bad because it cantrips, but topdecking a Gaze when you really needed a counterspell or card advantage engine or a Murktide would probably feel terrible. And all the control-type cards aim to reach that stage of the game.

One example of a problem that arises when you try and combine these two archetypes is in the manabase. Tempo decks typically don't need many lands; depending on the deck's mana curve, we are generally looking at 19-20 lands, and occasionally even 18 or less. On the other hand, control decks almost always want at least 22-23 lands, sometimes up to 24-26 lands in order to reliably play their more expensive spells on curve like Archmage's Charm, Cryptic Command and Snapcaster Mage, and to also always have mana held up during their opponents turn for a reactive spell.

Of course, many cards fit very flexibly into both tempo and control decks, for example Counterspell is just so strong it works in both, while Consider being a cheap cantrip also fits into both types. So in my opinion one of the most important decisions you should make, if you want to make the deck more cohesive and just function smoother as a whole, is whether you want to lean more towards tempo or control.

Quick disclaimer: I think it is definitely possible to make the deck more competitive while keeping both tempo and control aspects; however you should probably then trim both the very slow control-leaning cards (Cryptic Command, Devastation Tide, Jace, the Mind Sculptor), and the cheap tempo-leaning cards (Otherworldly Gaze, Thought Scour, Force of Negation) and replace them with cards more towards the middle ground. The rest of the cards, like Archmage's Charm, Subtlety, Force of Negation, Spell Pierce, Dismember, and of course Murktide Regent are all flexible enough that they can slot into both types of decks.

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The second important decision to make is what secondary color, if any, you want for your deck in order to complement the primary color (blue). The main issue with mono blue control is that you have very few ways to deal with resolved permanents, which is why most players typically splash white or black (or occasionally red). Blue only has access to bounce spells, which are decent in tempo decks but generally bad in control decks because they are card disadvantage (and also terrible late).

Here, I see you kind of "splashed" black, but your only maindeck spell with black pips uses phyrexian mana anyways, while the only black spell in your sideboard can be casted with only blue mana. In my opinion, since you already have black lands, I would commit fully to a UB manabase by including a few more fetches (U fetches since that's your main color) because it gives you access to a lot of strong options:

Drown in the Loch is a really good spell doubling as both removal and countermagic at only 2 cmc, and only gets stronger as the game goes on. Fatal Push is another great removal spell which is generally stronger than Dismember, although it needs at least around 7 fetches to show its full potential. You can also run discard like Inquisition of Kozilek, although that is more tempo/midrange-esque so it may not be a great fit for this deck. Black also gives you an actual boardwipe in the form of Damnation, which is definitely a lot stronger than something like Devastation Tide since it gets rid of the creatures permanently and indirectly generates CA by trading with multiple enemy creature cards. It also doesn't hit Jace. If you don't think you need it in the mainboard, it can be a great sideboard inclusion. Lastly you have access to some sideboard options like Unmoored Ego.

If all of the blue pip spells like Counterspell and Archmage's Charm have you worried about mana fixing issues, you can run the filter land Sunken Ruins which is great in these types of decks to ensure you can cast both BB and UUU spells.

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Those two main points aside, I have a few other card suggestions I think could work well here, some of which lean more control and some which lean more tempo.

Ledger Shredder is a great card which leans a bit more towards tempo but unlike Gaze/Thought Scour it helps turbo out a Murktide while also growing into a significant threat itself.

Aether Gust and Mystical Dispute are decent color-specific sideboard cards.

Remand is a tempo-leaning card that is generally not great in pure control lists, but could be good here if you decide to stick to the turbo murktide strategy.

Spreading Seas is probably the best sideboard option mono-blue has against Urza's Saga.

Memory Deluge has a bit of antisynergy with Murktide, but a very good digging spell if you decide to go towards control.

Orvar, the All-Form is another great sideboard card which instantly turns the tables on any Creativity player thinking they auto won the game after cheating out an early Archon of Cruelty.

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If you made it this far, thanks for reading all of my comments. I like the deck and I'm excited to see where you can take it in the future. Happy brewing!

wallisface on Grixis wincons viability

3 months ago

I think you're going about this a bit wrong. Grixis decks typcically don't want to be winning by any kind of big flashy-combos, or high-mana-cards. Their gameplan is typically to grind away any kind of proactive play from the opponent, and then quickly edge-out a win before the opponent can recoup from all that early-game disruption.

To that end, iconic Grixis spells include Lightning Bolt, Fatal Push, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Stubborn Denial, as well as occasionally some stuff like Drown in the Loch, Expressive Iteration, and Unholy Heat. Their creatures are often cards that can hit hard fast, or come with free value - things like Death's Shadow, Snapcaster Mage, Dragon's Rage Channeler, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Gurmag Angler, Ledger Shredder, and occasionally things like Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Murktide Regent.

So, their gameplan is typically a very straightforward one - every one of their cards provides value on its own, everything is fairly low-mana-curve, and the overall goal is to quickly disrupt your opponents ability to play, and then kill them before they recover.

In terms of the cards you've suggested, I would say they don't really fit into any kind of typical Grixis shell, for the following reasons:

• Cormela, Glamour Thief is a very high-costing card with very low relative value for that mana-investment. Same goes for Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God.

• Grapeshot is a combo card and something better having a deck dedicated towards making it work. Instead of trying to do value-plays, you try and combo off asap. This archetype already exists in Modern as Storm, so has no real home/reason-to-exist outside of that. Similarly, as Grixis isn't trying to do any flashy combos, Manamorphose & Dramatic Reversal have super-limited/non-existant use.

• Lazav, the Multifarious doesn't really do anything or add anything important to be worth building around, imo. Grixis decks especially often have a super-low creature count, which makes its ability pretty niche. Maybe it's a "pet card" that could fit as a 1-of in a death's shadow brew?

• Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger is a fine card to include in Grixis decks, as many decks already run this (though often as only a 1-of or 2-of at most) - it definately requires some deckbuilding considerations to include it though. I think Ob Nixilis, the Adversary could potentially fit within a Grixis shell, though Grixis decks do often run a very small quantity of creatures, and this may pose a problem.

Now, most of these cards you can still easily build decks around, though I would say you generally don't want to be trying to fit them into typical "Grixis" builds. Some of these cards fit a lot better in UR combo decks (Grapeshot, Manamorphose) for example. I would say that all the cards you've mentioned will have some home within modern, baring only Cormela, Glamour Thief (the card is trash) and Dramatic Reversal (there's just better ways to achieve anything this card is trying to achieve).

MrGuizee666 on Grixis wincons viability

3 months ago

Evening!

I've been thinking about brewing different archetypes in UBR and came up with some ideas. Most if not all grixis control decks will use Snapcaster Mage and manlands to achieve a win whilst running lots of disruption. I thought about using cards like Manamorphose with Cormela, Glamour Thief + Dramatic Reversal in order to cast big spells earlier or storm off with Grapeshot. I also thought about using Lazav, the Multifarious + Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger for the disruption followed by a Ob Nixilis, the Adversary or a turn 5 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God to punish my opponents. Since I don't have some of these cards it'll be an investment to make. I'd like to use them in Leagues (MTGO)

What do you guys think? Any ideas? What about infinite combos?

Joker4242 on Day's Recasting

3 months ago

Does anyone have any suggestions for a "four of" to put in the deck. Right now I have Mishra's Bauble. Although I am considering whether I want them or having Subtlety in the main deck. I am weighing the pros and cons of each.

Mishra's Bauble
Pros:
- Free cast
- Gain information on opponents deck
- Can be found with Narset, Parter of Veils
- Lowers overall mana curve of the deck
Cons:
- Cannot be exiled with Force of Negation
- Draws a card on the next turn
- One time use artifact and cannot be recast with Snapcaster Mage

Subtlety
Pros:
- Can be free cast at instant speed
- Acts as a sudo-counterspell for creatures/planeswalkers
- Is a creature (can remain on the field and attack/defend)
- Remains on the board if hardcasted
- Can be exiled with Force of Negation
Cons:
- Expensive on its own
- Evoke is a two for one
- Ability only has a temporary effect (not a hard counter)
- Cannot be found with Narset, Parter of Veils

Both spells have their uses and I plan on playtesting both options in local tournaments.

I am also looking for instants that cost two or less that would replace both of these options. Neither card can be cast from the graveyard with Snapcaster Mage. The spell should either be an early interact with opponent or card advantage (or both).

Joker4242 on Day's Recasting

3 months ago

Does anyone have any suggestions for a "four of" to put in the deck. Right now I have Mishra's Bauble. Although I am considering whether I want them or having Subtlety in the main deck. I am weighing the pros and cons of each.

Mishra's Bauble
Pros:
- free cast
- gain information on opponents deck
- can be found with Narset, Parter of Veils
- Lowers overall mana curve of the deck
Cons:
- cannot be exiled with Force of Negation
- Draws a card on the next turn
- One time use artifact and cannot be recast with Snapcaster Mage

Subtlety
Pros:
- Can be free cast at instant speed
- Acts as a sudo-counterspell for creatures/planeswalkers
- Is a creature (can remain on the field and attack/defend)
- Remains on the board if hardcasted
- Can be exiled with Force of Negation
Cons:
- Expensive on its own
- Evoke is a two for one
- Ability only has a temporary effect (not a hard counter)
- Cannot be found with Narset, Parter of Veils

Both spells have their uses and I plan on playtesting both options in local tournaments.

I am also looking for instants that cost two or less that would replace both of these options. Neither card can be cast from the graveyard with Snapcaster Mage which feels pretty lackluster. The spell should either be an early interact with opponent or card advantage (or both).