Maralen wants a deck that steals its opponents' creatures and spells. It also suits a deck that casts extra spells for free off the top of its deck.
Mana cost
Blue, Black, Green ()
Power / toughness4 / 5
RarityRare
Flying
Whenever Maralen or another Elf or Faerie you control enters, exile the top two cards of target opponent's library.
Once each turn, you may cast a spell with mana value less than or equal to the number of Elves and Faeries you control from among cards exiled with Maralen this turn without paying its mana cost.
Picked for what they do in Maralen's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Maralen'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 Maralen 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 Coast17 Nov 2025
If an exiled card has {X} in its mana cost, X is 0 for the purpose of determining its mana value.
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
If Maralen enters at the same time as one or more other Elves or Faeries you control, its first ability will trigger for each of those other Elves and Faeries as well as itself.
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
If the spell you cast has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
Wizards of the Coast17 Nov 2025
Since you are using an alternative cost to cast the spell, you can't pay any other alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those.
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 glossaryUBGPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue, B for black, G for green. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.TheftTheft decks take control of opponents' creatures and other cards, or cast spells from their decks, and use them against them. Some steals last one turn so you can attack with the borrowed creature; others are permanent.Open the Theft pageImpulse DrawExiles cards from the top of your library and lets you play them for a short time, usually only that turn. You have to use them or lose them. Act on Impulse Prosper, Tome-BoundOpen the Impulse Draw pageTheftTakes something that belongs to an opponent: a creature, another permanent, or even a spell cast straight off the top of their deck. Act of Treason, Hellkite TyrantOpen the Theft pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion 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 pageCard SelectionImproves what you draw rather than how much: you look at the top few cards of your library and decide what stays on top. Ponder lets you rearrange the top three, Serum Visions lets you scry, and Consider lets you surveil. It makes your draws more reliable without giving you extra cards.Open the Card Selection 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 pageTypal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff pageElvesElves are mostly green creatures, and many make extra mana, so Elf decks can play lots of creatures very quickly.Open the Elves page
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