Magus of the Future MTG Card
2007-05-04 - Number 40
2021-03-19 - Number 75
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Wizard |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Magus of the Future offers card advantage by allowing the casting of spells from the library top.
- Resource acceleration is significant, bypassing mana costs for top-decked spells, enhancing efficiency.
- Strategic instant-speed play potential can be unlocked, depending on the top library card.
Text of card
Play with the top card of your library revealed. You may play the top card of your library.
Those gifted with the sight have one eye in the present and the other in the future.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Magus of the Future enables you to play with the top card of your library revealed, offering you additional card access and potential to cast multiple spells in a single turn. This translates into a significant advantage, particularly in formats where card selection is crucial.
Resource Acceleration: This card’s ability to cast the top card of your library without paying its mana cost can considerably accelerate your resource utilization. By bypassing mana costs, you effectively increase your available resources each turn, allowing for a more efficient progression of your game plan.
Instant Speed: While Magus of the Future itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it permits you to cast the top card of your deck as though it were in your hand. This opens up strategic plays by enabling instant-speed actions during your opponent’s turn if the top card of your library permits, potentially disrupting their strategy with a well-timed play from your library.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Though Magus of the Future allows you to play with the top card of your library revealed and play it if it’s a land card, it doesn’t help when you’re in need of holding on to key cards in your hand. Any strategy that requires a robust hand size may find Magus of the Future’s benefit countered by situations forcing you to discard valuable cards.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost includes two blue mana, which makes it less flexible for decks not heavily invested in blue mana sources. Those running multi-color decks may struggle to consistently meet this requirement, limiting the card’s broad usability and potentially leaving you mana-locked at a crucial moment.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, one generic and two blue, Magus of the Future comes with a higher investment than some alternatives. While its ability offers a glimpse into the future plays, players should weigh if the cost is worth the potential advantage, especially when competing cards might offer similar benefits for less or provide additional utility.
Reasons to Include Magus of the Future in Your Collection
Versatility: Magus of the Future offers a unique advantage by allowing you to play with the top card of your library revealed, and you may play lands and cast spells from the top of your library. This can seamlessly slot into decks that prioritize card advantage or seek to manipulate the top of the library.
Combo Potential: This card can synergize with library manipulation strategies, setting up powerful plays by arranging the cards you’ll draw and cast. It pairs well with shuffle effects, scrying, or any effects that allow you to control your upcoming draws for consistent combo execution.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where foresight and card flow dictate the pace of the game, Magus of the Future can keep you one step ahead. It’s especially potent in formats where knowledge of upcoming threats and opportunities can shape the outcome of each match.
How to Defeat Magus of the Future
Magus of the Future is a card that allows its controller to look at the top card of their library any time and play it if they wish. To effectively counter this advantage, interrupting the flow of the player’s library becomes key. Employing tactics such as hand disruption to remove the Magus before it hits the battlefield or using removal spells promptly once it is played can stifle its impact. Cards like Thoughtseize can extract it from your opponent’s grip before they even get a chance to cast it.
Another strategy is to manipulate the top card of your opponent’s library, rendering the Magus’s ability less effective. Tuck effects, which put specific cards deeper into the opponent’s library, can also work wonders. Moreover, cards that grant you access to exile effects, such as Path to Exile, can permanently deal with the Magus and negate the ongoing value it provides. It’s crucial to manage your removal resources wisely and anticipate the right moment to act to ensure the continuous stream of cards Magus provides doesn’t overwhelm you.
Ultimately, understanding the dynamics of card advantage and having a game plan for countering creatures like Magus of the Future is essential for maintaining control of the match and securing victory.
Cards like Magus of the Future
Magus of the Future is an intriguing card within the universe of Magic: The Gathering, offering a unique twist on the future-sight mechanic. This feature, which allows players to play with the top card of their library revealed and play those cards as if they were in their hand, harkens to the well-known Future Sight card. Both offer the ability to access more cards but still differ slightly. Future Sight is an enchantment that provides a continual effect without the reliance on the board presence of a creature like Magus of the Future.
Delving into other related cards, we find Melek, Izzet Paragon, which shares a similar penchant for manipulating the top of the library. However, Melek’s focus is more on instant and sorcery spells, providing the opportunity to copy those spells for a double impact. This differs from Magus of the Future’s broader approach, applying to all card types. Additionally, another counterpart is Mystic Forge, an artifact which also allows playing the top card of your deck, but this is limited to colorless nonland cards and offers an option to exile the top card to potentially dig for more useful tools.
When considering card flexibility and the potential for immediate board impact, Magus of the Future stands out as a versatile choice in the MTG arsenal for players looking to optimize their gameplay with top-deck manipulation strategies.
Cards similar to Magus of the Future by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Magus of the Future MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Magus of the Future and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Magus of the Future Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2007-05-04 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Anthony Francisco.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-05-04 | Future Sight | FUT | 40 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Anthony Francisco | |
| 2 | 2021-03-19 | Time Spiral Remastered | TSR | 75 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Anthony Francisco |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Magus of the Future 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 Magus of the Future card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-03-19 | If the top card of your library changes while you’re casting a spell, playing a land, or activating an ability, you don’t reveal the new top card until you finish doing so. This means that if you cast the top card of your library, you can’t look at the next one until you’re done paying for that spell; and if you play a land from the top of your library, you can’t look at the next card until you’re done handling any replacement effects that modify how that land enters the battlefield (such as that of Vesuva). |
| 2021-03-19 | Magus of the Future doesn’t change when you can play lands. You can do so only during your main phase when you have priority and the stack is empty. |
| 2021-03-19 | Playing a land from the top of your library counts as your land play for the turn. Once you play a land during your turn, you won’t be able to play an additional land from the top of your library unless another effect (such as that of Azusa, Lost but Seeking) allows you to. |
| 2021-03-19 | The top card of your library is still in your library and not in your hand. You can’t discard or suspend cards from the top of your library, for example. |
| 2021-03-19 | You must follow the normal timing permissions and restrictions of the spells you cast from your library. |
| 2021-03-19 | You still pay all costs for a spell you cast from your library, including additional costs. You may also pay alternative costs. |
