Malcolm wants a deck that throws away its own cards on purpose for a reward. It also suits a deck that casts extra spells for free off the top of its deck.
Mana cost
Blue ()
Power / toughness2 / 1
RarityRare
Flash
Flying
Whenever Malcolm deals combat damage to a player, put a chorus counter on it. Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are four or more chorus counters on Malcolm, you may cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost.
Picked for what they do in Malcolm's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Malcolm'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.Open the full glossary
explain how Malcolm 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 Coast10 Nov 2023
If Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel isn't on the battlefield as its triggered ability resolves, you won't put a chorus counter on it, but you'll still draw a card and discard a card. You may still cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost if Malcolm had four or more chorus counters on it when it was last on the battlefield.
Wizards of the Coast10 Nov 2023
If the spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X.
Wizards of the Coast10 Nov 2023
If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost", you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
Wizards of the Coast10 Nov 2023
If you cast a spell using Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel's last ability, you do so as part of the resolution of the ability. You can't wait to cast the spell later in the turn. Timing permissions based on the card's type are ignored.
Wizards of the Coast10 Nov 2023
You may not play land cards discarded with Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel's last ability.
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 glossaryUPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.Madness/DiscardDiscard decks throw away their own cards on purpose and play cards that reward each discard. Cards with madness can even be cast for a different, usually cheaper, cost at the moment you discard them.Open the Madness/Discard pageLootingDraws and discards in the same breath. Faithless Looting, Frantic Search. It does not gain you cards. It improves the ones you have, and fills your graveyard on purpose, which is exactly what a reanimator card like Animate Dead wants.Open the Looting 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 pageSelf-DiscardDiscards your own cards as a cost or an effect. Filling your own graveyard on purpose is the point: it feeds cards that bring things back, madness and channel abilities, and some cards are worth more there than in hand. Faithless Looting, Boseiju, Who EnduresOpen the Self-Discard pageCascade/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 pageCounter ManipulationAdds, moves or multiplies counters already on permanents. It works on any kind (+1/+1, loyalty, charge), so the same card can serve very different decks. Karn's Bastion, Doubling SeasonOpen the Counter Manipulation page
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