Snapcaster Mage

Born from High Expectations

From 1997 to 2007, Wizards of the Coast invited pro players to the Magic Invitational Tournament. The winner of the tournament could submit a design for a card and the printed card – with or without changes from Wizards R&D – would bear a likeness to the player in its art. These Invitational cards ended up being very powerful, as was the case with Meddling Mage, Dark Confidant, and Ranger of Eos. So, when Tiago Chan won the very last Invitational in 2007, the Magic world waited with bated breath for the printing of his card. It wasn't until four years later, when Innistrad was released on September 2011, when the world was finally introduced to Snapcaster Mage. It was worth the wait, however, as Snapcaster Mage would become one of the most powerful creatures ever printed in the history of Magic: The Gathering.

Snapcaster Mage Is a Magic All-Star

Here's a good rule of thumb about Snapcaster Mage's place in a format: If Snapcaster Mage is a legal card, then it's one of the best in that format.

Snapcaster Mage sees heavy play in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and in any blue deck that relies on Instants or Sorceries. The reason why the card fits so seamlessly in a wide range of decks and formats is due to its ability to give flashback to Instants and Sorceries in your graveyard. A tempo deck in Modern can close out a game by casting Lightning Bolt, playing Snapcaster Mage at the end of the opponent's turn, flashing back the Bolt, then dealing the last two points of damage via combat. In Grixis Control in Legacy, chain Kolaghan's Commands and Snapcaster Mages to make your opponent discard, return Snapcaster, then flashback the Command. In Blue-White Mentor lists in Vintage, Snapcaster Mage double-dips some of Magic's most powerful spells, Ancestral Recall and Treasure Cruise. Whatever the Instant or Sorcery, having the blue Human Wizard in your deck makes spells twice as good as they would be without.

Waiting for an Eager Return

Although Snapcaster Mage debuted with a price tag of around 20,00 €, the card has seen a sharp rise in value in the seven years since then. It now hovers around 50,00 € (Near Mint) even with a reprint as a RPTQ promo and a Mythic Rare in Modern Masters 2017 and Ultimate Masters (December 2018).

Due to its popularity, Snapcaster Mage has been the center of speculation whenever a reprint set is announced. But there's no guess as to when – or if – Tiago Chan's card will see another reprint that will bring down its price anytime soon. In any case, one thing is for sure: It's unlikely that a strict upgrade of Snapcaster Mage will ever be printed.

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ConstructedBy Kumagoro (2018-04-11)

Modal spells - everyone's favorite way to pack a bigger bang for your buck while dealing with the inherent available slot restrictions in 60-card decks. The best of such cards were frequently chase rares in the past and Collective Brutality is no exception; let’s choose to see why.

Bloodbraid Elf: Proving Its Weight in Modern

ConstructedBy HansD (2018-04-06)

It’s been almost two months since Bloodbraid Elf came off the ban list, and we’ve seen a wide variety of lists running the four-drop. In this week’s article, Hans ponders the effect Bloodbraid Elf has had on Modern and compiles a compendium of recent deck lists playing the elf!

GP Madrid Aftermath: A Weekend Full of Magic

Event CoverageBy Rone (2018-03-19)

The Magic Grand Prix is the perfect excuse to spend a whole weekend enjoying our favorite hobby. Normally, the main event is what attracts most players’ attention – its coverage, Top 8 decklists, and of course, the GP winners. But there are many other things that one can have a go at aside from the competition.

Zero Thrill: The Pact of Negation Story

ConstructedBy Kumagoro (2018-03-14)

Were Force of Will available in Modern, the format would be dramatically altered. And yet, Modern does already contain a piece of non-conditional zero-cost countermagic, and while it's not played as much as Vintage and Legacy's signature counterspell, it's been tentatively around since Modern's early days.

One More Thing! A Second Look at Legacy Miracles

ConstructedBy Alakazimdk (2018-03-13)

I ran the Mentor build in the MTGO Legacy Challenge this week and I feel that is a good opportunity to showcase a slightly different way to build Miracles than we saw last time. I'll go through the list and then my rounds.

The Mage-Ring Bully Pulpit: The Egregious Price of Modern

FinanceBy HansD (2018-03-13)

Modern prices have been spiraling out of control, and I dive right in to ask what exactly has led us to this point of fifty-euro Snapcaster Mages. What solutions do I suggest to make Modern MTG a more accessible format? Continue reading to find out!

The 5 Most Underrated ETB Midrange Creatures

EntertainmentBy Kumagoro (2018-03-06)

Enters the battlefield is a Magic trigger that immediately catches our attention when we peruse the creatures of a new set. What better way to infuse value into a higher CMC critter than to add a juicy ETB clause? Let's see which ETB creatures have flown under the radar thus far.

Jace Jam: Slam Dunk Deck Lists for Jace the Mind Sculptor

ConstructedBy HansD (2018-02-28)

Well, it happened: Jace, the Mind Sculptor got unbanned and the world lost its collective cool. Now that we have a solid grouping of 5-0 MTGO decklists behind us, let's look at where the now-legal planeswalker shows promise. See for yourself what Jace has brought to the Modern metagame!

The Seven Sins of Sideboards and Sideboarding in Modern

ConstructedBy HansD (2018-02-26)

In this article, I walk you through the pitfalls of sideboards and sideboarding, and there’s quite a few of them! Could you be committing any of these cardinal sins? Take a look and find out if you are and what you can do to stop making these easy-to-fix mistakes!

Team Cardmarket Member Pascal Vieren on his PTRIX Top 8

Event CoverageBy HansD (2018-02-12)

Pascal Vieren lit up the Pro Tour with his Top 8 finish at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan, and this week he shares his thoughts about the Pro Tour, his deck, Modern, and more in an interview. What does the Gold pro have to say about the format and the creation of Blue-Red Pyromancer? You’ll have to look inside to find out!

Highlights in Bilbao: Modern at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan

Event CoverageBy Rone (2018-02-06)

Last weekend, the best Magic players in the world gathered in Bilbao to fight for the crown at PTRIX. After two years without a Modern Pro Tour, everyone was excited to see if the Pros could shake up the format and bring new strategies and cards from recent sets. Here are the tournament highlights.

Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan: Just What the Doctor Ordered

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2018-02-06)

Following a Pro Tour most players buy the cards they need to play the hot new decks, but that isn't what you should be doing to be financially efficient. The day after the Pro Tour is in fact the day to sell all the cards which you correctly identified as the future hotness way before the Pro Tour.

What is Dead May Never Die: A Look at Legacy Miracles

ConstructedBy Alakazimdk (2018-02-02)

Miracles was supposed to die with the passing of Sensei’s Divining Top, but somehow Tundra lovers managed to resurrect the archetype and pilot it to many top 8 finishes in major tournaments. Read below to find out how Miracles works and how it performs in the current Legacy metagame.

Back to Basic Lands: Mono Color Decks in Modern

ConstructedBy Rone (2018-01-31)

Starting over in Magic is always difficult, especially Eternal formats where there is no rotation, and card staples tend to be expensive. Fortunately, there are some budget archetypes that allow you to start playing Modern and then evolve into a tier deck. Today, we are going to break down some mono color decks for Modern.

The 5 Most Timmy-Pleasing Mono-Blue Finishers

EntertainmentBy Kumagoro (2018-01-26)

Blue is definitely not the creature color nor is it the color that true Timmies like to play the most. Yet, all those draw-go decks must often rely on some kind of finisher to seal the deal, and some of those are big, flashy monsters perfectly capable to make any Timmy smile.

The Three Cards to Beat at Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan

ConstructedBy HansD (2018-01-24)

Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan is right around the corner and three cards are expected to dominate headlines and board states – can you guess which ones they are? Here are hints: A flashy Innistrad favorite, an enchantment control decks have been looking for, and a perfectly balanced planeswalker.

My Legacy Picks for Team Trios Constructed GPs

Event CoverageBy Alakazimdk (2018-01-23)

This article will try to give you and your team some options for the Legacy component of upcoming Team Constructed events. I’ll give each deck two scores, the first for experienced Legacy players and the second for players who are not as familiar with Legacy as a format. As with all Legacy lists, expect a high learning curve in a format with Wastelands, Brainstorms, and consistent turn 2-3 combo kills.

The 5 Most Successful Modern Decks of 2017

ConstructedBy Kumagoro (2018-01-19)

For better or for worse, the year that just ended consolidated the current Modern meta. But who were the kings of the season? Meet the five decks that placed more consistently in the Top 8 of Modern events during 2017, while scoring victories at the largest tournaments.

Top 5 Rivals of Ixalan Cards that Might See Modern Play

SpoilersBy Rone (2018-01-18)

Pirates, Vampires, Merfolk, and Treasures! Rivals of Ixalan brings a lot of new powerful cards for 2018. Which ones will see play in Modern? This is our list of the Top 5 cards to watch out for in the coming months.

The Two Sides of Legacy's Top 8

Event CoverageBy CabalTherapy (2018-01-16)

The dust has settled after the first stop of the MKM Series 2018 in Frankfurt. Among the over 1,800 registered participants who entered the four main events and various trials during the weekend, 380 players sleeved up their Brainstorms, Force of Wills, and Chalices of the Void to duke it out in the widely diverse Legacy format.

Three New Year's Resolutions for Modern in 2018

ConstructedBy HansD (2018-01-16)

After a tumultuous year shaped by bans and new archetypes, Modern has never looked better – but could there be improvements in the new year to make it even more interesting?

Modern lies in Ruins

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-11-26)

One card to rule them all.

Told You So

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-05-30)

The best part about predicting the future is getting to say "told you so" afterwards.

Switching colors

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-05-29)

How does Modern look with the addition of Amonkhet a few weeks after players started brewing?

Modern for the Masses

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-03-07)

Will MM17 be able to grow the already most popular format even further?

MM17 Spoilers Part1

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-02-27)

What a nice surprise!

Modern Masters 2017 packaging

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2017-02-21)

The Modern Masters 2017 packaging has been revealed.

Brave new worlds

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2016-08-31)

Magic seems to be evolving on lots of levels in recent years and these independent developments may push the game to another level.

EMA and Legacy decks

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2016-06-14)

Today we will continue to look at the effect of Eternal Masters on various Legacy decks.

GP Minneapolis and GP Manchester

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2016-06-01)

There were two Standard GPs on the last weekend, one in Minneapolis and one in Manchester.

Pre GP Charlotte and Los Angeles

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2016-05-20)

What is the state of Modern after three big events last weekend and what should you look out for this weekend?

Tales from the Crypt

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2016-04-20)

Graveyards are everybody's favourite resource.

Blessed Shadows

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2015-11-03)

There were a whole lot of news revealed regarding future products, but what does that mean for us?

Milwaukee and Prague

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2015-10-20)

Catching up after Pro Tour Milwaukee and MKM Series Prague

Modern prices after GP Vancouver

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-15)

Today we will look at the movement of some Modern single card prices and try to extrapolate general advice on how to generally choose the right investment targets from a large pool of potential candidates.

Twin Masters

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-16)

In the upcoming days I will be looking at the financial impact of MM15 on some of the most successful Modern archetypes.

Brandishing the red card

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-16)

Today we are focussing mostly on red cards while looking at some recent price developments in Modern and Standard.

Grand Prix Copenhagen

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-15)

Grand Prix Copenhagen is just around the corner and will be much more exciting than I imagined a few weeks ago, as we did not see the metagame get solved at GP Charlotte last week.

Tribal Flames

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-16)

There has been a resurgence of Tribal decks recently in Modern. First we saw a horde of Elves overrunning Grand Prix Charlotte, then something smelled fishy in Denmark when Merfolk swam out on top...

Modern Toulouse

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-20)

Not a single card from Magic Origins made it into the Modern Top8 lists in Toulouse! That is quite surprising...

Professional Aggression

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-20)

What should you keep and what should you sell into the Pro Tour hype?

Monk equals strong

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-20)

I have been experimenting with this card in various aggressive Modern home-brew lists and liked the results.

Something for everyone

FinanceBy DrHoeh (2020-01-27)

Today we will be looking at various interesting trends in a news summary style.

FAILED UPLOAD: A Look at the Top 16 Modern Decks from Cardmarket Series Barcelona

ConstructedBy TobiH (2019-10-08)

As usual, the Modern field at the most recent stop of the Cardmarket Series was the most diverse. The Top 16 featured no less than 15 different archetypes! Let's take a look at the best of what the format has to offer now, after the departure of Hogaak and Faithless Looting plus the addition of Stoneforge Mystic.

Cardmarket Decks