Pondering Mage
Creature — Human Wizard
When this creature enters, look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle. Draw a card.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Modern Horizons
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #19107
Pondering Mage gives you a Ponder stapled to a 3/3 body — the scry 3 and draw happens the moment it enters, no hoops required. Five mana is the honest cost of that convenience, and in Commander it's a fair rate for a card that replaces itself and leaves a blocker behind.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Pondering Mage actually belongs — the singleton format rewards any ETB that replaces itself, and a 3/3 body is relevant enough to matter on a board with 40 life totals. In Pauper it competes against cheaper cantrips and rarely makes the cut outside of creature-heavy synergy builds. Legacy, Vintage, and Modern have access to the actual Ponder at one mana, so Pondering Mage sees no play in those formats despite being legal. Oathbreaker is the one other format where it's worth a look, since slower games tolerate the five-mana ask better.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Pondering Mage is pure bulk — no financial risk picking up a playset. The price is unlikely to move without a tribal or ETB-matters reprint push, so buy it for the effect, not as a hold.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.