Reflector Mage
Creature — Human Wizard
When this creature enters, return target creature an opponent controls to its owner's hand. That creature's owner can't cast spells with the same name as that creature until your next turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- UW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Explorer Anthology 2
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #4753
Reflector Mage bounces a creature and locks its owner out of recasting it until your next turn — that's a two-mana tempo swing that buys you a full rotation of the table. In blink shells like Brago, King Eternal, that effect stops being a one-time play and starts being a permanent lock.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Brago, King Eternal
Brago, King Eternal blinks Reflector Mage on every combat damage trigger, resetting the 'can't cast' clause each upkeep and effectively exiling a creature for as long as Brago stays alive.
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Roon of the Hidden Realm can flicker Reflector Mage at instant speed on each opponent's turn, stacking bounce triggers and keeping the most threatening creature on the board perpetually locked out.
Yorion, Sky Nomad
Yorion, Sky Nomad's enter-the-battlefield trigger resets Reflector Mage alongside every other ETB in the deck, turning a single bounce into a board-wide tempo reset every time Yorion blinks out.
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward // Candlekeep Sage
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward // Candlekeep Sage generates repeated flicker effects from combat, and Reflector Mage slots in as a tempo piece that buys the extra turn needed to assemble the next loop.
Kykar, Zephyr Awakener
Kykar, Zephyr Awakener cares about casting creatures repeatedly, and bouncing Reflector Mage back to hand to recast it generates both the ETB trigger and the spirit token payoff Kykar wants.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Reflector Mage is a staple in any blink deck — the bounce-plus-lockout clause is uniquely punishing in a multiplayer game where tempo swings echo for multiple turns. In Modern and Pioneer, it saw competitive play in Collected Company and blink midrange shells before those decks rotated or shifted; it remains legal and occasionally relevant in creature-heavy fair strategies. Legacy and Vintage have faster clocks and more powerful interaction, so Reflector Mage is too slow to see serious play there. Commander is unambiguously its best home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Reflector Mage at the moment — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate. It's seen multiple reprints, so copies are generally easy to find and unlikely to be expensive.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Brago, King Eternal
- Roon of the Hidden Realm
- Yorion, Sky Nomad
- Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward // Candlekeep Sage
- Kykar, Zephyr Awakener
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.