Price$4.42 – $7.96
Buy on TCGplayerDualcaster Mage
Creature — Human Wizard
LegalRank #635
When this creature enters, copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
2/2
KeywordsFlash
Why is this card good?
Dualcaster Mage is a combo piece masquerading as a value creature. On its own, flashing it in to copy a spell on the stack is fine — you can steal someone's removal, copy a Wrath, or double up a draw spell. But that's not why you run it.
The real reason is the Twinflame/Heat Shimmer combo: those spells make a copy of a creature, and Dualcaster's ETB copies the spell, copying Dualcaster again, which copies the spell again... with a free sacrifice outlet you get infinite tokens, and with Dualcaster's value triggers (or an aristocrats payoff like Blood Artist / Goblin Bombardment) you win on the spot. Ghostly Flicker variants also enable infinite loops.
Want it in: combo-leaning red decks, especially Krark/Sakashima-style spellslinger or any deck running cheap copy spells. Aristocrats decks love it as a finisher.
Don't bother in: pure goodstuff or token decks with no copy-spell package — without the combo enablers, a 2/2 that needs a spell on the stack underperforms.
Related cards
Twinflame
Copies Dualcaster Mage, which then copies Twinflame, enabling infinite combo loops.
Heat Shimmer
Same copy-creature combo enabler producing infinite Dualcaster tokens.
Naru Meha, Master Wizard
Wizard that copies spells on ETB; pairs with Dualcaster for infinite spell loops.
Spark Double
Copies Dualcaster as a flexible clone piece in copy-combo builds.
Pyromancer's Goggles
Copies red instants/sorceries similarly, doubling spell value.
Increasing Vengeance
Copies an instant/sorcery, same spell-copy effect as Dualcaster's trigger.
Reverberate
Cheaper instant-speed copy of any instant or sorcery spell.
Fork
Classic red spell that copies a targeted instant or sorcery.
Printings (11)
Played by these commanders
Kalamax, the Stormsire100% of 1
Zaffai, Thunder Conductor100% of 1
Daretti, Scrap Savant100% of 2
Wyleth, Soul of Steel100% of 1
Rulings (7)
- 2016-06-08
Dualcaster Mage's triggered ability can target (and copy) any instant or sorcery spell, not just one with targets. It doesn't matter who controls it.
- 2016-06-08
As Dualcaster Mage's triggered ability resolves, it creates a copy of a spell on the stack. The copy isn't cast, so abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell won't trigger.
- 2016-06-08
The copy will have the same targets as the spell it's copying unless you choose new ones. You may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, you can't choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal).
- 2016-06-08
You can't choose to pay any additional costs for the copy. However, effects based on any additional or alternative costs paid for the targeted spell are copied as though those same costs were paid for the copy.
- 2016-06-08
If the spell is modal (that is, it says "Choose one —" or the like), the copy will have the same mode. You can't choose a different one.
- 2016-06-08
If the spell has an X whose value was determined as it was cast (like Earthquake does), the copy has the same value of X.
- 2016-06-08
If the copy says that it affects "you," it affects the controller of the copy, not the controller of the original spell. Similarly, if the copy says that it affects an "opponent," it affects an opponent of the copy's controller, not an opponent of the original spell's controller.