Staff of the Flame Magus

Artifact

Whenever you cast a red spell or a Mountain enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life.

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
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (27)

Regulus_Rising on Come On Baby Light My Fire

2 years ago

dnthymamai Thank you for the support and feedback! I will add those suggestions to the sideboard promptly. Kari Zev's Expertise is big worth it! What a fun card!

I usually leave Staff of the Flame Magus on the side unless I'm playing multi-player and will likely need the health for those longer games, but I can see what you mean about Dragon's Claw being the better alternative for sure.

dnthymamai on Come On Baby Light My Fire

2 years ago

Powerful deck!

I would suggest you would consider Dragon's Claw instead of Staff of the Flame Magus. It may heal you less when fighting a Green or White deck, but it will come out a turn earlier, and you have greater chances of winning a mirrormatch.

Another similar suggestion would be swapping Act of Treason with another spell (since you are in mono-red, you can do it) that does a little bit more. e.g. Harness by Force or Hijack. But the best in your case would definitely be Kari Zev's Expertise ! :-)

triproberts12 on Is there any card that …

4 years ago

Aetherflux Reservoir , Aethersphere Harvester , Prism Ring , Umezawa's Jitte , Dragon's Claw , Tablet of the Guilds , Staff of the Flame Magus , Batterskull , Loxodon Warhammer , Wurmcoil Engine , Delif's Cone , Soul Net , Sylvok Lifestaff , Basilisk Collar , Bubbling Cauldron , and Profane Memento are probably about as close as you'll get.

In other words, it doesn't seem like a great plan, but I would go with Umezawa's Jitte , Wurmcoil Engine , Loxodon Warhammer , Aethersphere Harvester , Batterskull in that order of priority.

jmeadors24 on Torbran, Pain of Red Burn

4 years ago

Good deck, similar to mine. I included Dragon's Claw and Staff of the Flame Magus in mine for a little lifegain. Isochron Scepter is nice too for those 2 cost burns, but it's a little pricey.

Tyrant-Thanatos on Why Has WotC Changed How …

4 years ago

DemonDragonJ I agree and disagree at the same time tbh. The game needs introductory points for new players. I get that it feels dumbed down, especially if this was a broad thing that affected everything WotC ever prints, but we do still get symmetrical effects on new cards. WotC just seems more open to using both options, which is a good thing imo. Slivers, for instance, always should have been "you control" imo, along with almost all Lord-type effects.

The design choice between affecting all boards, or just your own, can also play a part in power levels. Take the Soul Warden vs Ajani's Welcome comparison I made above. The Warden's effect is clearly more powerful because it takes your opponents creatures into account, but Ajani's Welcome is harder to remove, because it is an enchantment.

With cards like Dragon's Claw vs Staff of the Flame Magus , I don't feel like the power of these cards is enough to be concerned about it, but it's worth noting that the Staff affects land drops as well. And Prism Ring is of course lower casting cost, so it's on a similar level to something like Dragon's Claw imo.

Sarkhan420X on Why Has WotC Changed How …

4 years ago

its probably because Staff of the Flame Magus also triggers off of land drops, and Diamond Mare is a creature. so its probably just a balancing issue. if Diamond Mare gained life off both players, it would be strictly better than stuff like Dragon's Claw

legendofa on Why Has WotC Changed How …

4 years ago

My guess is "let new players have fun doing stuff." With Dragon's Claw , a new player might not immediately realize that the black spell they're casting is worth more than the 1 life their opponent gets. What they see is, "If I cast this Volcanic Hammer , my opponent will have more life and be harder to beat." So they don't cast the Volcanic Hammer , and get beaten down by that Ogre Taskmaster . Sooner or later, they'll notice that 1 life isn't a big deal at all, if they stay with the game. But who knows how many would-be players felt stuck, with a choice between helping their opponent and doing nothing, so they lost interest and never picked up another deck.

This logic seems obviously wrong to enfranchised players, but anybody who has a full understanding of tactical costs and benefits in this game the first time they shuffle and draw will probably hit the top of the world rankings within a month.

Staff of the Flame Magus is more obviously build-around: use Mountain s and red spells. It doesn't direct affect your opponent's ability or desire to act, at any level. The new player can Lightning Strike every Thundering Giant that looks their way and feel rewarded. And let's face it, these aren't really top 8 all-star cards. They're going to be used in Limited and by people without a lot of cards. Let the new players feel rewarded without jumping through hoops.

McToters on Mayael Budget(?) (UPDATED)

5 years ago

I actually think Staff of the Flame Magus or Blinding Beam are the weak links you could take out first before taking out another ramp card, but if you want to keep both of those and trade ramp for ramp I’d say to drop Grow from the Ashes .