Brimstone Mage
Creature — Human Shaman
Level up 
(: Put a level counter on this. Level up only as a sorcery.)
LEVEL 1-2
2/3
: This creature deals 1 damage to any target.
LEVEL 3+
2/4: This creature deals 3 damage to any target.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #23636
Brimstone Mage turns every level-up investment into a repeatable ping engine — three counters and you're dealing 3 damage at instant speed for a single red mana, which adds up fast in a long game. The cost is the setup: you need to sink mana into leveling before it does anything, which makes it a liability against fast opponents.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Brimstone Mage actually has room to breathe — games go long enough that the leveling cost becomes manageable, and the repeatable 3-damage ability scales well in a format full of x/1s and x/2s that need picking off. Outside Commander, Brimstone Mage competes in formats where three mana per activation is simply too slow against efficient threats, and the leveling investment compounds the problem. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant; no competitive shell there wants a three-turn setup creature when faster answers exist at every point on the curve. Oathbreaker follows Commander's logic but in a more compressed game, which cuts against the leveling gameplan more than it helps.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Brimstone Mage is pure bulk — you're not paying a premium for anything here. It's a safe pickup for a level-up or Wizard tribal build with zero financial risk, but don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.