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Commander Nexus
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  3. Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

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Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

Legendary Creature — Human Artificer

Tawnos wants a deck that answers everything its opponents play, then wins late. It also works in a deck built around Artificers or Humans.

  • Mana costbluered
  • Blue, Red ()
  • Power / toughness1 / 3
  • RarityMythic

Haste

bluered, tap: Copy target activated or triggered ability you control from an artifact source. You may choose new targets for the copy. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.)

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

Picked for what they do in Tawnos's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Tawnos'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

Does what Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

explain how Tawnos 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 13 Jul 2018

Activated abilities contain a colon. They're generally written "[Cost]: [Effect]." Some keyword abilities (such as equip) are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text. An activated mana ability is one that produces mana as it resolves, not one that costs mana to activate.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

An "artifact source" is a permanent, spell, or card in any zone with the card type "artifact." For example, Tawnos's ability can target a cycling ability you've activated if the discarded card is an artifact card.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Any choices made when the ability resolves won't have been made yet when it's copied. Any such choices will be made separately when the copy resolves. If a triggered ability asks you to pay a cost (such as that of Mirrorworks), you pay that cost for the copy separately.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If an ability is linked to a second ability, copies of that ability are also linked to that second ability. If the second ability refers to "the exiled card," it refers to all cards exiled by the ability and the copy. For example, if Tidehollow Sculler's enters-the-battlefield ability is copied and two cards are exiled, they both return when Tidehollow Sculler leaves the battlefield.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If the ability divides damage or distributes counters among a number of targets (for example, the ability of Verdurous Gearhulk), the division and number of targets can't be changed. If you choose new targets, you must choose the same number of targets.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If the ability is modal (that is, if it says, "Choose one —" or similar), the mode is copied and can't be changed.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If the activated ability's cost contains a choice, such as a creature to sacrifice or a number of counters to remove, the copy uses that same information. You can't pay the cost again, even if you want to.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

In some cases involving linked abilities, an ability requires information about "the exiled card." When this happens, the ability gets multiple answers. If these answers are being used to determine the value of a variable, the sum is used. For example, if Soul Foundry's enters-the-battlefield ability is copied, two cards are exiled. The value of X in the activation cost of Soul Foundry's other ability is the sum of the two cards' mana values. As the ability resolves, you create a token copy of each card.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Tawnos's ability targets an ability that is on the stack and creates another instance of that ability on the stack. It doesn't cause any object to gain an ability.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

The source of the copy is the same as the source of the original ability.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Triggered abilities use the word "when," "whenever," or "at." They're often written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]." Some keyword abilities are triggered abilities and will have "when," "whenever," or "at the beginning of" in their reminder text.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Tawnos, 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 glossaryURPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue, R for red. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.ControlControl decks answer what everyone else plays, stopping spells and removing dangerous cards, then win slowly once they are in charge. Expect lots of removal, spells that cancel other spells, and extra card draw.Open the Control pageStack InteractionActs while a spell is waiting to take effect: countering it, changing what it targets, or copying it. When someone casts a spell it waits on the stack, and every player gets priority, a chance to respond, before it happens. Counterspell, NegateOpen the Stack Interaction 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 pageAikido / RedirectionTurns an opponent's own spell, ability or damage back on them. It changes the spell's target, copies it, or sends the damage somewhere else. Aikido is the community's name for it, borrowed from the martial art. Deflecting Swat, Narset's ReversalOpen the Aikido / Redirection page