In the pantheon of Final Fantasy icons, they don’t come much bigger than the humble Moogle. Introduced in the series’ third entry, these bizarrely cute creatures have returned again and again. Naturally, they also appear in the Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set. So far their sole representative in MTG is Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant, but it’s a clear case of quality over quantity.
Based on first impressions, this is a card with potential in multiple formats. We’ve seen Donate effects plenty in the past, but never quite as efficient as this. Stiltzkin is cheap and flexible enough to potentially break into Standard, and if not Commander play is definitely on the cards. For the millions of Moogle fans out there, this is a fantastic first step into the world of MTG.
Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant MTG
- Mana Value: W
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Legendary Creature – Moogle
- Stats: 1/2
- Card Text: Lifelink.
2, Tap: Target opponent gains control of another target permanent you control. If they do, you draw a card.
Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant is a very simple MTG card. First off it’s a 1/2 Lifelinking body for one mana, which is great pretty much anywhere as a roadblock against Aggro. In the current Standard environment, in particular, this should buy you some time in the early turns.
More interestingly, Stiltzkin also comes packed with a very spicy Donate effect. For two mana you give up a permanent you control in exchange for a card. This idea, of giving your opponents permanents you control, has been explored several times in older sets. The original Donate in Urza’s Destiny is the classic example, but we’ve also seen cards like Harmless Offering and Zedruu the Greathearted iterate on the concept.
What sets Stiltzkin apart from these other takes on Donate effects is its efficiency. It comes online for just one mana, and donates for just two. The fact that the effect is repeatable is also a big deal. Often these effects are one-time deals, which makes it difficult to build a consistent deck around the concept. Not so with Stiltzkin.
Of course, we have seen repeatable donation before, on cards comparable to Stiltzkin. Bazaar Trader and Zedruu are definitely playing in a similar ballpark, with their own upsides and restrictions. What sets Stiltzkin apart, however, is the card draw it offers alongside the Donate effect.
Giving a permanent to your opponent is generally a huge tempo loss if the action doesn’t win you the game right away. Stiltzkin addresses this problem by keeping the cards flowing, giving you the gas you need to stay in the game and see your Donate shenanigans bear fruit.
Mardu Donate In Standard
For the most part, strategies revolving around Donate effects have mainly been confined to Commander. We’ll certainly get to those later, but in the meantime, I believe Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant could also bring the idea to MTG Standard.
There’s a good number of cards to support such a deck in the format right now. Harmless Offering, one of the few Donate effects in the game, just got a reprint in Foundations. This gives you eight total ways to give away your permanents, provided you run four copies of each.
There are also some great Donate targets available right now, too. Demonic Pact is the clear standout, straight-up winning you the game if you can give it to your opponent after using its first three modes. Greed’s Gambit is very similar. While it doesn’t win you the game on the spot, it does put your opponent under some very difficult conditions once you give it to them. For a sneaky third option, you can give away an Archfiend of the Dross with only one oil counter left. With all of these cards, you get a ton of value from them before you give them away, which is crucial.
So far our Mardu Donate deck has four cards and three colors. What else can we use to fill it out? However you play it, this is a fairly grindy strategy. You’re looking at six mana minimum if you want to play and Donate one of your key pieces in the same turn, and a lot longer if you want to wait on Pact or Archfiend ticking down. For that reason, you’ll likely want to build this as a Mardu Midrange deck. Quality creatures like Fear of Missing Out and solid removal like Cut Down are the key here.
A Commander Classic?
In all honesty Standard play for Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant is a long shot, even if it is the best Donate effect MTG has ever seen. Offbeat strategies like this tend to be too “cute” to compete in the cutthroat world of Gruul Aggro and Domain. Where it will shine, however, is in Commander.
Ever since Zedruu showed up in the original 2011 Commander precons, there’s been a dedicated niche of players that love giving away permanents for value. Whether it’s saddling an opponent with a Steel Golem to shut off their creatures, dealing huge burst damage with Bronze Bombshell or Illusions of Grandeur, or straight-up winning the game with Nine Lives, there’s no shortage of options.
Stiltzkin seems like a great addition to this archetype, either in the 99 or as a Commander. While sticking to mono-white does limit your options, having access to a cheap Donate on tap is a big deal. Since Stiltzkin gives you extra draw up front, as opposed to Zedruu’s delayed draw later, it lends itself to more of a tempo playstyle. You can run Echo and evoke creatures, responding to their triggers by passing them over to your opponent where they’ll just die immediately.
Of course, Stiltzkin will also shine in the 99 of a Zedruu deck. Extra redundancy for your core game plan is always good, and Stiltzkin is so cheap that the opportunity cost of running it is near zero. With access to more powerful multicolor synergies, this may well be where our Moogle friend shines the brightest.
However it plays out, Stiltzkin is a fantastic ambassador for Moogles in Magic: The Gathering. I’d be very surprised if the type didn’t get more support in the full Final Fantasy set, too.
