Staff of the Wild Magus MTG Card
2013-07-19 - Number 223
2014-07-18 - Number 236
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Artifact |
Text of card
Whenever you cast a green spell or a Forest enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life.
A symbol of ferocity in oppressive times.
Cards like Staff of the Wild Magus
The Staff of the Wild Magus stands as a niche option for life gain in Magic: The Gathering, tailored primarily for green spell users. When assessing tools for incremental life gain, Pristine Talisman is an interesting counterpart. It not only grants you life with each activation but also produces colorless mana, offering flexibility beyond the life gain. In contrast, Staff of the Wild Magus focuses exclusively on green spell casts for its benefits.
Another related artifact is Dragon’s Claw, which provides a comparable effect for red spells. It’s more narrowly focused, like the Staff of the Wild Magus, catering to mono-red decks. Consequently, in multi-colored decks leaning towards green, Staff of the Wild Magus could be especially valuable for its life-gaining consistency tied to playing green spells.
Examining these alternatives underscores the Staff of the Wild Magus as a specialized tool. It shines in mono-green decks where the frequency of green spells triggers its life-gaining ability, making it a compelling choice for players looking to capitalize on green’s robustness while bolstering their life total.
Cards similar to Staff of the Wild Magus by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While not directly allowing you to draw additional cards, Staff of the Wild Magus can still be considered to grant a form of card advantage in longer games. By having a source of consistent life gain every time you cast a green spell, you effectively reduce the pressure to find answers to enemy threats, potentially saving cards in your hand.
Resource Acceleration: Though it does not directly ramp your mana, Staff of the Wild Magus can be an enabler in decks that thrive on life as a resource. This synergizes well with cards and strategies that convert life points into other forms of capital like card draw or creature growth.
Instant Speed: The life gain from Staff of the Wild Magus occurs at the same speed at which green spells are played, providing an immediate impact on your life total. This allows proactive plays with other spells during your turn, while still passively bolstering your defenses and helping you stabilize.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While not directly obliging you to discard, the Staff of the Wild Magus hinges on your actions tied to a particular color. If you’re not casting green spells or a Forest isn’t coming into play, the staff remains inert and effectively a dead card in your hand, demanding more strategic deck building.
Specific Mana Cost: The Staff of the Wild Magus requires a specific kind of mana investment—green—which may not synergize well with multicolored or colorless heavy decks. This specific mana cost restricts it to green or green-heavy decks, decreasing its versatility and weakening its impact in a diverse MTG meta.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three generic mana and an activation that is dependent on other spells or land plays, the rod offers a gradual life gain that might be overshadowed by other cards that provide instant or more versatile benefits. In a fast-paced game, the mana spent on the staff might be too costly for the incremental advantage it provides, especially when there are cards with lower mana costs that can immediately affect the board state or your life total.
Reasons to Include Staff of the Wild Magus in Your Collection
Versatility: Staff of the Wild Magus isn’t restricted to a single deck archetype. Its life-gaining ability is a universal advantage, fitting well in decks that aim for longer game play or those looking to offset life payment costs from other spells.
Combo Potential: This artifact shines when paired with cards that have effects triggering from life gain or spell casting, bolstering your strategic plays and synergizing with your deck’s engine.
Meta-Relevance: Given that many decks focus on spell slinging, Staff of the Wild Magus has its place in the current meta as a countermeasure to constant spell play, providing you with a steady stream of life points throughout the match.
How to beat
The Staff of the Wild Magus is a subtle yet impactful lifegain tool for players wielding green spells in their decks. Drawing strength from the casting of green spells, it can gradually tip the scales in a prolonged game. The key to overcoming this artifact’s resilience lies in direct and decisive action, targeting your opponent’s lifeline before the lifegain from the Staff becomes insurmountable.
Artifact removal spells like Naturalize, Disenchants, or even Universal Solvent offer straightforward solutions to dismantle the Staff’s influence on the game. Timing is critical – by preemptively managing your resources and readying artifact removal when the Staff of the Wild Magus makes an appearance, you prevent the incremental advantage it provides. Another strategy includes applying pressure with aggressive creatures, redirecting your opponent’s focus away from their lifegain strategy and onto their own survival.
Ultimately, while the Staff of the Wild Magus provides a steady stream of life, its static nature also makes it vulnerable. A strategic player can anticipate and prepare for such contingencies, ensuring that the Staff’s presence does not dictate the outcome of the match.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Staff of the Wild Magus MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2014 and Magic 2015, 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 Staff of the Wild Magus and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Staff of the Wild Magus Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2013-07-19 and 2014-07-18. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2013-07-19 | Magic 2014 | M14 | 223 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | |
| 2 | 2014-07-18 | Magic 2015 | M15 | 236 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Staff of the Wild Magus has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Staff of the Wild Magus card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-07-18 | Each of these artifacts cares about any land with the appropriate basic land type. For example, Staff of the Sun Magus’s ability triggers when any land with the subtype Plains enters the battlefield under your control, not just lands named Plains. |
| 2014-07-18 | If you cast a copy of a card that’s a certain color, the appropriate Staff’s ability will trigger. However, if you copy a spell on the stack without casting that copy, it will not. |
| 2014-07-18 | Most nonbasic lands don’t have basic land types, even if they produce colored mana. For example, Caves of Koilos is neither a Plains nor a Swamp. Having one enter the battlefield under your control won’t cause Staff of the Sun Magus’s ability to trigger. |