Onyx Mage
Creature — Human Wizard
: Target creature you control gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Magic 2012
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #22564
Onyx Mage turns every creature you control into a deathtouch threat for a single black mana, making any combat trade lethal and forcing opponents to block with their best creatures at their own peril. The two-mana body is irrelevant — you're paying for the activated ability, and it delivers.
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 Onyx Mage earns its keep, specifically in go-wide or aristocrats strategies that want to turn chip damage into credible combat threats — anything from Teysa Karlov to Krenko, Mob Boss can exploit the effect. In Legacy, Modern, and Vintage, it simply doesn't make the cut: those formats demand immediate board impact, and a two-mana 1/1 with an activated ability is too slow and too fragile to compete. Onyx Mage is a casual Commander card through and through, and there's no shame in that — it does exactly what those tables need.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Onyx Mage is pure bulk, and that price reflects its narrow home in casual Commander rather than any widespread demand. It holds stable at that floor — don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.