Wizard Mentor MTG Card
1998-10-12 - Number 112
2022-12-02 - Number 116
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Human Wizard |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
oc T: Return Wizard Mentor and target creature you control to owner's hand.
Although some of the students quickly grasped the concept, the others could summon only blackboards.
Cards like Wizard Mentor
Wizard Mentor holds a unique position in the realm of creature spells in Magic: The Gathering. It stands in comparison to cards like Apprentice Wizard, a creature that brings utility in mana generation. Apprentice Wizard requires no tap-down to generate mana, whereas Wizard Mentor provides a different form of utility, allowing you to return a friendly creature to your hand.
Moreover, cards such as Archaeomancer come to mind when pondering alternatives. Featuring wizard synergy, Archaeomancer offers the ability to pull an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand upon its entry to the battlefield. While not identical, it pushes forward the theme of utility and resourcefulness characteristic of blue spellcasters. Then there’s the Sea Gate Oracle, which, much like the Wizard Mentor, can affect the flow of your game by allowing you to look at the top two cards of your deck and keeping one. However, it does not present the same protective versatility of Wizard Mentor’s bounce effect.
Assessing the value within a blue-based control or utility deck, Wizard Mentor can be a strategic choice especially when looking to guard key creatures against removal or reuse enter-the-battlefield effects.
Cards similar to Wizard Mentor by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wizard Mentor offers an unrivaled opportunity to reshuffle a wizard from the battlefield back into your hand, effectively safeguarding your value generators from removal and potentially reusing their enter-the-battlefield abilities for an extra edge in card utility.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly ramping up your mana resources, the strategic re-deployment capability of Wizard Mentor can serve as indirect acceleration by allowing you to repurpose your existing board state—providing repeated value that can tip the scales in a tightly contested match.
Instant Speed: The ability to return a wizard to your hand at instant speed with Wizard Mentor gives you tremendous flexibility. It lets you dodge removal spells, ruin combat math for your opponents, or simply generate value by reusing powerful wizard effects in response to your opponent’s actions—making it an unpredictable and valuable asset at any point during the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Wizard Mentor demands the players to discard a card to activate its ability, which can result in a setback particularly if your hand is already running thin on valuable play options.
Specific Mana Cost: The cast necessitates both blue and generic mana, potentially restraining its integration outside of dedicated blue or multicolored decks that can reliably meet this color condition.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Charging three mana for its ability to return Wizard creatures to your hand, Wizard Mentor may compete for a slot with other cards in your deck that provide more immediate impact or versatility on the battlefield relative to its mana investment.
Reasons to Include Wizard Mentor in Your Collection
Versatility: Wizard Mentor offers a range of possibilities for deck builders, fitting seamlessly into blue-based control or combo decks. Its ability to return a creature to its owner’s hand can be used to reuse enter-the-battlefield effects or save key creatures from removal.
Combo Potential: In the right deck, Wizard Mentor’s ability can be part of powerful synergies. It can work with creatures whose presence on the battlefield triggers game-changing abilities or with creatures that have beneficial effects when they are cast.
Meta-Relevance: Given the shift towards highly interactive games where creatures are key, the utility of Wizard Mentor can adapt to the ebb and flow of the MTG metagame, providing strategic advantages by disrupting opponent’s plans and preserving your board state.
How to beat
Wizard Mentor is a unique creature card in MTG that opens up a multitude of strategic possibilities for its controller. What stands out about this card, compared to others like it, is that it allows the player to return a creature they control to their hand. This ability can be particularly useful when looking to reuse enter-the-battlefield effects or to save a key creature from removal. However, this maneuver is not without its costs, requiring a tap and rendering the creature in question unable to attack or block that turn.
To counter Wizard Mentor effectively, timing is critical. Make use of instant speed removal to target the creature they plan to bounce before they get a chance to use the ability. Furthermore, leveraging spells that restrict the ability to activate abilities or that can tap a creature can neutralize the threat posed by Wizard Mentor. Suppressing the creature’s ability to tap, through cards that cause creatures to enter the battlefield tapped can limit the flexibility that Wizard Mentor provides. With such strategic measures, you can effectively neutralize the potential impact of Wizard Mentor in the game.
In essence, understanding the nuances of MTG card abilities and strategically planning countermeasures are key in handling threats like Wizard Mentor, ensuring that it doesn’t tilt the game in your opponent’s favor.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wizard Mentor MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Wizard Mentor 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
See MTG Products
Printings
The Wizard Mentor Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998-10-12 | Urza's Saga | USG | 112 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Jeff Miracola | |
| 2 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 116 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ernanda Souza |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Wizard Mentor has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wizard Mentor card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | Can target itself. |