While we all love seeing bold new designs, the most exciting Magic: The Gathering cards in each set are often those that hearken back to old classics. It’s easier to predict a card’s power level when there’s past precedent to compare it to, after all. We’ve seen plenty of cards like this in Tarkir: Dragonstorm previews so far, including a Toxic Deluge variant and a one-time-use Skullclamp. Today, we got our first glimpse of Songcrafter Mage, which calls back to yet another MTG fan favorite.
As you may have guessed from the name, the fan favorite in question is Snapcaster Mage. This was one of the dominant cards in Modern during what many would consider the format’s golden age. As such, its name still carries a lot of weight. Whether Songcrafter Mage is worthy of its weighty mantle remains to be seen. Being in the same conversation as Snapcaster Mage at all, however, is a pretty great start.
Songcrafter Mage MTG
- Mana Value: GUR
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Human Bard
- Stats: 3/2
- Card Text: Flash.
When this creature enters, target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains Harmonize until end of turn. Its Harmonize cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its Harmonize cost. You may tap a creature you control to reduce that cost by X, where X is its power. Then exile the spell.)
In everything from its name to its typing to its stats, Songcrafter Mage feels like an official sequel to the MTG classic of Snapcaster Mage. It costs one more mana (and two more specific pips) but gets +1/+1 in stats in return. It also grants the chosen spell Harmonize instead of Flashback, which is actually a massive upside.
Essentially, Harmonize is Flashback, but you can tap a creature to discount the spell’s mana cost by the creature’s power. As with Convoke, you can do this even if the creature in question is summoning sick. What this means in practice is that Songcrafter Mage can tap itself the turn it enters to discount the spell you’re recasting by three generic mana. You can even do this on your opponent’s turn if you’re casting an instant.
This puts Songcrafter much closer to Snapcaster than you’d assume at first glance. There is still a difference in mana cost since you’ll need at least four mana to cast anything with Songcrafter while Snapcaster could operate on just three. On the other hand, Songcrafter opens up a whole world of more expensive instants and sorceries due to the built-in discount it offers. If the spell you’re casting has any generic mana in its cost at all, Songcrafter will recast it just as well or better than Snapcaster.
The biggest obstacle to this card’s potential success is undoubtedly that Temur mana cost. Snapcaster only asked one color pip of you, so upping that to three is a big ask for a lot of decks. While fixing is a lot better in older formats, mana efficiency is even more important there.
Snapcaster Mage In Standard?!
I still believe Songcrafter Mage has a serious shot in multiple MTG formats. Looking at Standard first, there are a ton of great targets for that ability. Most blue decks in the format are running Stock Up right now, and getting to recast it from the ‘yard for a single mana post-discount is a fantastic deal. The selection it offers is excellent for the kind of reactive, tempo-driven deck in which Songcrafter will shine, too.
Red and green have some solid targets as well. Pawpatch Formation is a nice catch-all for different scenarios, perfect to surprise your opponent with on their turn. If you’re feeling a little more aggressive, Songcrafter pairs perfectly with Burst Lightning. While it’s not obvious at first glance, you can pay for Kicker costs via Harmonize, which means this can be a two mana four damage spell from beyond the grave. Alternatively, you can just recast it as a Shock, which is often a fine tempo play in itself.
These are just a few examples. The likes of Glimmerburst, Aetherize, and even Fertilid’s Favor are all great picks. The problem with Songcrafter Mage right now isn’t a lack of good targets, however, but the lack of a deck to support them. Outside of Domain, there’s no real deck in Temur colors right now. That deck isn’t really well-suited to taking on Songcrafter, either, without a pretty major shift in focus.
Where the card will shine, if at all, is in some kind of new Temur Tempo list. Such a deck will probably rely on Overlord of the Hauntwoods for fixing, but beyond that will want to run a mix of reactive instants and sorceries for Songcrafter to recast.
A Real Song And Dance
Going further back, to the MTG eternal formats, Songcrafter Mage has some pretty spicy synergies it can take advantage of. The big one that many players have noticed so far is Collected Company. As a three-mana creature, Songcrafter is a valid target for CoCo when you cast it. Then, once it hits play, you can immediately recast it from your graveyard for just a single green mana, thanks to Harmonize. With enough creatures in your deck, this can result in four three drops for 3GG, which is a pretty sweet deal, all things considered.
Collected Company mainly sees play in Pioneer these days, in Selesnya Hate Bear-style decks. The shift needed to accommodate Songcrafter would be huge, but it could well be worth it. Your opponents are going to struggle to come back if you pull off the combo outlined above. The problem is that such a deck would be pulled in two directions. You’d want plenty of instants and sorceries for Songcrafter to recast, but also plenty of creatures for the main CoCo plan. The compromise required here would likely result in a deck too inconsistent to really compete, but I think the interaction here is spicy enough to pursue regardless.
CoCo aside, I really doubt Songcrafter Mage makes it into Modern or Legacy. The mana cost is too high and too restrictive for formats that fast. It will, however, be a fantastic Commander card. Players have already pointed out the insane synergy the card offers with Ignite the Future, and there are probably plenty more power plays where that came from. While it may not dominate the competitive scene like its namesake, Songcrafter Mage will be a Temur Commander staple for a very long time.