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  3. Magar of the Magic Strings

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Magar of the Magic Strings

Magar of the Magic Strings

Legendary Creature — Minotaur Performer

Magar of the Magic Strings wants a deck that casts extra spells for free off the top of its deck. It also suits a deck that brings big creatures back from the discard pile.

  • Mana cost1 genericblackred
  • Black, Red ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityMythic

1 genericblackred: Note the name of target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard and put it onto the battlefield face down. It's a 3/3 creature with "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may create a copy of the card with the noted name. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost" and "If this creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else."

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Cards That Fit Magar of the Magic Strings

Picked for what they do in Magar of the Magic Strings's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Magar of the Magic Strings's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Magar of the Magic Strings

explain how Magar of the Magic Strings works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

If a creature enters the battlefield as a copy of a face-down creature (or if a token is created that’s a copy of one), that copy has the same characteristics as the face-down creature (in this case, it’s a 3/3 creature with the two abilities and no other characteristics), even though the copy is face up. Importantly, the noted name is not part of the face-down creature’s copiable values, so copies of the face-down creature won’t know the noted name. If one deals combat damage to a player, its controller won’t create a copy of any card.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, or if the game ends or you leave the game while you control it, you must reveal it to all players (even though in this case, everyone saw it before it entered).

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

If an effect tries to “blink” a face-down instant or sorcery card—that is, exile it and then return it to the battlefield—the card is exiled and remains in exile.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

The face-down creature has no characteristics other than the ones given to it by Magar’s ability. It has no name, no mana cost, no creature types, and no abilities other than the two Magar gives it. The creature is colorless and has a mana value of 0.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

There are no cards in this set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

You may look at face-down permanents you control at any time.

Wizards of the Coast 7 Oct 2022

You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (Magar’s ability, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on).

7 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Magar of the Magic Strings, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBRPlayers write colors as letters: B for black, R for red.Cascade/Free CastCascade decks cast extra spells for free, straight from the top of their deck, every time they cast the right card. Cascade turns over cards from the top of your library until it hits a cheaper spell, which you may cast without paying for it.Open the Cascade/Free Cast pageFree CastCan be cast without paying its mana cost when a condition is met, often "if you control your commander". Because it costs nothing, you can still answer something after your mana is already spent. Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting SwatOpen the Free Cast pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink pageReanimatorReanimator decks put big creatures into their own graveyard early, then bring them back onto the battlefield without paying their cost. It gets a huge creature into play far sooner than you could afford to cast it.Open the Reanimator pageReanimationReturns a creature card from a graveyard straight to the battlefield, skipping its mana cost. That is why decks built around it put their biggest creatures into the graveyard on purpose. Named for Reanimate. Animate DeadOpen the Reanimation pageRecursionBrings cards back from the graveyard: to your hand, to the battlefield, or letting them be cast again from where they lie. Eternal Witness, Reanimate, VictimizeOpen the Recursion pageSaboteurTriggers when a creature deals combat damage to a player, so the reward comes from connecting rather than from the damage itself. Evasion makes these far more reliable. Ragavan, Nimble PilfererOpen the Saboteur page