While it’s nice to have plenty of options, Wizards of the Coast is making far too many Commanders. Wizards even know this, in fact, as sets like Edge of Eternities seriously toned down the number of legendary creatures. Sadly, thanks to Universes Beyond, we’re still getting almost 500 new legendary creatures each year.
With so many Commanders coming out, it’s no wonder that a fair few of them can slip through the cracks. This was an especially big problem for Unfinity back in 2022. Not only were nine major products released that year, but one was released on the exact same day as Unfinity.
As if this didn’t dampen the set’s impact enough, it was also mired by controversy. For the first time, Unfinity gave us black-bordered Un-set cards, which are totally legal in eternal formats. While some of these cards ended up causing huge problems in competitive formats, most of the Commanders fell through the cracks. Considering some of them have serious potential, this is a crying shame.
MTG Magar of the Magic Strings
Like the vast majority of Un-set MTG cards, Magar of the Magic Strings is a bit weird. Thankfully, this is just semantics this time around, as, essentially, Magar simply animates spells from the graveyard into face-down creatures.
Weird wording aside, Magar of the Magic Strings is an incredible value engine in MTG Commander. So long as you can find a semi-reliable way to sneak the animated spells through, you can get insane and consistent value. Even without going all in on making creatures unblockable, with multiple opponents in Commander, getting strong value is surprisingly simple.
Since you already get to cast spells once to put them into the graveyard, Magar always offers additional value. At three mana, it’s not a massive blow if your animated creature gets destroyed first, as well. Should you land with it, however, then the possibilities are practically endless.
If you animate Vampiric Tutor, for instance, you could have a free tutor effect every single turn cycle. Alternatively, Deadly Rollick lets you remove creatures from the board, making your next swing even easier. Outside of cards like One with Nothing, it’s really hard to go wrong with Magar of the Magic Strings in MTG.
Infinite Potential
If you want to go infinite with Magar of the Magic Strings, then additional combats are the easiest option. Unfortunately, there aren’t actually a lot of options for this, since cards like Full Throttle only work when cast during a main phase. Thankfully, one card, Savage Beating, gets around this by caring about being cast during combat.
Essentially, if you manage to sneak through with an animated Savage Beating, you can get another combat and do the same thing. In theory, this will allow you to kill all of your opponents and end the game, provided the animated creature is unblockable. Admittedly, there’s a good chance removal will thwart your plans here, but that is a solvable problem.
Technically, it’s also possible to get infinite combat steps when using Aggravated Assault, provided you’ve got a strong enough mana generator. Magar can even help to provide this by using Brass’s Bounty, provided you’ve got five lands. If you have more lands than this, then this spicy combo also gets you infinite mana.
Should infinite turns be more your cup of tea, Magar of the Magic Strings can do that too. If you can put Rise of the Eldrazi into the graveyard, animating it can easily get you infinite turns. On top of this, you’ll also get to destroy permanents and draw cards, basically guaranteeing you the win.
Technically, you can also get infinite turns by using Last Chance, but you’ve got to be careful with it. Since the end step will still happen, you’d need a card like Sundial of the Infinite to keep you alive. With this artifact on the table, similar cards like Final Fortune and Warrior’s Oath also become viable infinite options.
Getting Damage Done
The only thing holding Magar of the Magic Strings back in MTG is having to deal damage with the animated spells. While there are a few ways to fix this problem, nothing provides a blanket unblockable effect for your entire board. As such, you’ll have to go in on specific spells, loading them up with utility equipment.
Cards like Silver Shrowd Costume, Prowler’s Helm, and other similar effects should allow your spells to sneak through. On top of this, a Swiftfoot Boots will keep your animated spells safe from most removal. If you do want a blanket effect for your board, War Cadence can get the job done, but it is admittedly a mana sink.
While needing cards like these to make Magar work isn’t ideal, there’s undeniably a lot of potential. Despite this potential, Magar of the Magic Strings is barely played in Commander. Only around 5,300 decks have Magar at the helm, according to EDHREC, and he’s only in the 99 of 2,800.
Thanks to the low demand, copies of Magar of the Magic Strings are incredibly cheap at the moment. Often selling for less than a dollar, you shouldn’t have any trouble picking up this unloved Performer. If you’re looking for a cheap Commander option over the holidays, Magar of the Magic Strings might just be the MTG card for you.
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