Portal Mage
Creature — Human Wizard
Flash
When this creature enters during the declare attackers step, you may reselect which player or permanent target attacking creature is attacking. (It can't attack its controller or their permanents.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Commander 2020
- Price
- $0.30
- EDHREC rank
- #9991
Portal Mage redirects an attacking creature to a player of your choice the moment it enters the battlefield — flash lets you do it at the critical instant, mid-combat, when it actually matters. Three mana for a 2/2 that rewires combat math is a fine rate, and in Inalla, Archmage Ritualist decks the triggered copy doubles the effect, splitting a board-wide attack across two optimal targets.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist creates a hasty token copy of Portal Mage on ETB, meaning you get two redirection triggers from a single flash play — enough to gut a coordinated attack or save two separate players in one response window.
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Azami, Lady of Scrolls cares about Wizards, and Portal Mage is one — it slots into the wizard tribal package and contributes real combat disruption to a deck that otherwise wins through draw engines rather than blockers.
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 |
Portal Mage is a Commander card through and through — the political angle of redirecting attacks toward or away from specific players has no equivalent value in 1v1 formats, where Legacy and Vintage demand interaction that trades up in card quality, not sideways in board manipulation. In Commander it earns its slot as a flash Wizard that doubles as a political tool, either protecting yourself or threatening to redirect an opponent's swings at someone else as a deterrent. Wizard tribal commanders get the most out of it, but any blue deck that struggles to establish early blockers can use Portal Mage as emergency combat triage.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.30 bulk tier
At $0.30, Portal Mage is firmly bulk — you're picking this up as a throw-in, not a purchase. The price reflects casual supply rather than lack of utility; it's played in enough Wizard tribal lists to stay in print cycles without ever spiking.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.