Snapcaster Mage

Why collectors notice it

It is one of the best-known cards of the Innistrad block and a favorite among players who like blue decks.

It tied theme and rules together with transforming cards. Read more about Innistrad.

A closer look

Reading this card

Snapcaster Mage is a Blue creature, a Human Wizard, and the featured print is a Rare from Innistrad. Two ideas are packed into it, and they are easier to understand one at a time.

• Flash means you may cast the creature at times when creatures normally cannot be cast, such as during your opponent's turn.
• The graveyard link means that when it arrives, you can use an instant or sorcery you already cast, for that turn only.

The graveyard is the discard pile, where spent spells wait. Seeing it as a second hand is the easiest way to picture the card. Because it needs a spell to be waiting there, the card is more interesting later in a game than on the very first turn.

How it compares

Delver of Secrets is from the same set, the same color and the same subtypes, yet it plays another kind of game. Delver is a Common that transforms. Snapcaster is a Rare that borrows from the graveyard. Both are good reasons to look at the type line before assuming two blue wizards are alike.

For the keyword that gives the card its surprise, read Flash. The related Flashback page explains the graveyard idea the card is built around, although Snapcaster does not have flashback itself. It lends the effect to other spells.

Questions readers ask

Can it replay any card from the graveyard?

No. This page only covers the general idea: it works with spells, not with every card type. Check the printed card for the exact limits.

How much does it cost?

This site does not give prices.

Related cards