Echo Mage MTG Card

Echo Mage offers leveraged card advantage by duplicating spells for strategic dominance in plays. Activation at instant speed gives players flexibility to respond to in-game changes effectively. Despite mana and level-up costs, its potential for spell amplification justifies the investment.

Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
2010-04-23 - Number 64

Commander 2013 (C13)
2013-11-01 - Number 43

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number C13-43

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities	Level Up
Power	2
Toughness	3

Text of card

Level up (: Put a level counter on this. Level up only as a sorcery.) LEVEL 2-3 2/4 , : Copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. LEVEL 4+ 2/5 , : Copy target instant or sorcery spell twice. You may choose new targets for the copies.

Cards like Echo Mage

Echo Mage is a unique figure in the realm of spell copiers in Magic: The Gathering. It shares a family resemblance with the likes of Twincast, which also allows players to copy instant and sorcery spells. However, Echo Mage is a creature, offering a recurring effect compared to Twincast’s one-off opportunity. Where Twincast is a sudden surprise, Echo Mage requires strategic setup and mana investment to level up and unlock its full potential.

Comparing it further, Reverberate mirrors the Twincast effect as well, but all without requiring a creature on the battlefield. It fits into faster-paced strategies where holding up mana for instant-speed interaction is crucial. Yet, Echo Mage provides a particular advantage with its ability to grow and replicate spells multiple times, if the situation allows.

In analyzing Magic’s library of duplicators, Echo Mage stands out for its capability to become a repeatable engine of value. It may require patience and protection, yet in the right deck, its escalating power can outshine spells with only a transient impact.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Echo Mage offers strategic depth in accruing card advantage by copying your own spells, potentially leading to a significant edge over the opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly impacting mana resources, the capacity to duplicate mana-intense spells can dramatically amplify your board state or disrupt your opponent’s, simulating a form of acceleration.

Instant Speed: The Echo Mage’s ability activates at instant speed, granting the flexibility to adapt to the evolving battlefield and leaving opponents guessing about your next move.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Echo Mage, the skilled spell duplicator, falls short when it comes to its level up mechanic, which indirectly serves as a discard requirement. To boost its abilities, players must invest mana that they might otherwise use to maintain card advantage, putting them at risk of depleting their hand.

Specific Mana Cost: This mage’s thirst for blue mana can be a stumbling block in multi-colored decks. Its double blue mana cost at its base level can hinder its early appearance on the battlefield, potentially disrupting your mana curve and strategic plays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To truly unlock Echo Mage’s potential, a significant mana investment is required. The initial cast combined with the level up costs can sum up to a hefty price, diverting precious mana from other spells or creatures that could offer immediate impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include Echo Mage in Your Collection

Versatility: Echo Mage offers unparalleled flexibility for spell-based decks, allowing you to copy instant and sorcery spells you cast, adjusting its power level by simply leveling it up.

Combo Potential: This card opens up a plethora of combinations with spells that have beneficial effects when copied, potentially turning a single game-changing spell into a winning play with multiple copies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where control decks reign, Echo Mage can turn the tide by providing additional copies of key counter or removal spells, keeping you ahead of the competition.

How to beat

Echo Mage is a versatile blue creature card known for its capacity to copy instant or sorcery spells. Understanding the tactical advantage Echo Mage can grant is crucial. With enough mana and the proper level up, a seemingly harmless spell can quickly escalate into a formidable barrage. Therefore, stifling its progression early in the game is paramount.

To effectively counter Echo Mage, target it with removal spells before it accrues sufficient levels to duplicate spells. This can be achieved through spells like Doom Blade or Path to Exile, which can eliminate creatures regardless of their power or abilities. Another strategy is to employ counterspell tactics. Deny the spells Echo Mage aims to copy, which makes it less of a threat. Cards like Cancel or Essence Scatter can prevent Echo Mage from capitalizing on its spell-copying prowess by nipping the problem in the bud.

Moreover, deploying a card like Pithing Needle to name Echo Mage can hinder it from using its abilities, thereby neutralizing its effectiveness. Be proactive and swift, and Echo Mage will falter, minimizing the potential for your opponent to overwhelm you with duplicated spells.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Echo Mage MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Commander 2013, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Echo Mage and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Echo Mage Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2013-11-01. Illustrated by Matt Stewart.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2010-04-23	Rise of the Eldrazi	ROE	64	2003	Leveler	Black	Matt Stewart
2	2013-11-01	Commander 2013	C13	43	2003	Leveler	Black	Matt Stewart
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	C13-43	2003	Leveler	Black	Matt Stewart

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Echo Mage has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Echo Mage card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2010-06-15	A creature’s level is based on how many level counters it has on it, not how many times its level up ability has been activated or has resolved. If a leveler gets level counters due to some other effect (such as Clockspinning) or loses level counters for some reason (such as Vampire Hexmage), its level is changed accordingly.
2010-06-15	Each copy will have the same targets as the spell it’s copying unless you choose new ones. You may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, you can’t choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal).
2010-06-15	Echo Mage’s last two activated abilities can target (and copy) any instant or sorcery spell, not just one with targets. It doesn’t matter who controls it.
2010-06-15	Effects that modify a leveler’s power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Glorious Anthem, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness.
2010-06-15	Effects that set a leveler’s power or toughness to a specific value, including the effects from a level symbol’s ability, apply in timestamp order. The timestamp of each level symbol’s ability is the same as the timestamp of the leveler itself, regardless of when the most recent level counter was put on it.
2010-06-15	If a copy says that it affects “you,” it affects the controller of that copy, not the controller of the original spell. Similarly, if a copy says that it affects an “opponent,” it affects an opponent of that copy’s controller, not an opponent of the original spell’s controller.
2010-06-15	If another creature becomes a copy of a leveler, all of the leveler’s printed abilities — including those represented by level symbols — are copied. The current characteristics of the leveler, and the number of level counters on it, are not. The abilities, power, and toughness of the copy will be determined based on how many level counters are on the copy.
2010-06-15	If the spell the ability copies has an X whose value was determined as it was cast (like Earthquake does), each copy has the same value of X as the original spell.
2010-06-15	If the spell the ability copies is modal (that is, it says “Choose one —” or the like), each copy will have the same mode as the original spell. You can’t choose a different one.
2010-06-15	If you activate Echo Mage’s last ability to copy a spell twice, you may choose new targets for each copy independently. They don’t have to have the same targets as one another. Be sure to specify which of the copies will resolve first.
2010-06-15	The abilities a leveler grants to itself don’t overwrite any other abilities it may have. In particular, they don’t overwrite the creature’s level up ability; it always has that.
2010-06-15	When either ability resolves, it creates a copy (or two) of a spell. The copies are created on the stack, so they’re not “cast.” Abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell won’t trigger. Each copy will then resolve like a normal spell, after players get a chance to cast spells and activate abilities. Each copy resolves before the original spell does.
2010-06-15	You can’t choose to pay any additional costs for a copy. However, effects based on any additional costs that were paid for the original spell are copied as though those same costs were paid for each copy too.