Strago and Relm wants a deck that steals its opponents' creatures and spells. It also suits a deck that wins by emptying its opponents' decks.
Mana cost
Red ()
Power / toughness1 / 3
RarityRare
Sketch and Lore — , : Target opponent exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile an instant, sorcery, or creature card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste and "At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this creature." Activate only as a sorcery.
Picked for what they do in Strago and Relm's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Strago and Relm'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 Strago and Relm 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 Coast6 Jun 2025
If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when playing it without paying its mana cost.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
If you cast a spell "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
You cast the card while Strago and Relm's ability is resolving and still on the stack. You can't wait to play it later in the turn. Timing restrictions based on its types are ignored.
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 glossaryRPlayers write colors as letters: R for red.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 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 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 pageMillPuts cards from the top of a player's library, the deck they draw from, straight into their graveyard. Aimed at opponents it can win the game, because a player who has to draw from an empty library loses.Open the Mill 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 pageSelf-SacrificeSacrifices itself as part of its own ability, trading the permanent away for what it does. Evolving Wilds, Mind StoneOpen the Self-Sacrifice pageMillMill decks win by emptying opponents' libraries, the decks they draw from: a player who has to draw from an empty library loses the game. Milling means putting cards from the top of a library straight into the graveyard.Open the Mill 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 pageLibrary ManipulationCards that let you look at, rearrange or play from the top of your deck, so you control what you draw next.Open the Library Manipulation page
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: Target opponent exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile an instant, sorcery, or creature card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste and "At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this creature." Activate only as a sorcery.
Open the full glossary
