Arc Mage
Creature — Human Spellshaper
, 
, Discard a card: This creature deals 2 damage divided as you choose among one or two targets.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Nemesis
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #29488
Arc Mage puts repeatable, instant-speed ping damage on a body — two damage to any target for discarding a card, as many times as you can pay the cost. The discard requirement makes it a losing trade in most games unless you're engineering ways to profit from your graveyard or hand size.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Arc Mage is fringe at best — three mana for a 2/3 that trades cards for pings rarely keeps pace with a 40-life table, and the damage ceiling is too low to threaten most threats. Legacy and Vintage have access to Arc Mage but have zero incentive to run it over faster, more efficient burn. Oathbreaker is the one place it could earn a slot, specifically in a Chandra-style shell that rewards discard or wants incremental reach, but even there it's competing with cleaner options.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Arc Mage is deep bulk — the kind of card that fills a commons box and rarely leaves it. That price is stable because demand is low, not because supply is scarce, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.