r/magicTCG 2h ago

Scheduled Thread Daily Questions Thread - Ask All Your Magic Related Questions Here!

3 Upvotes

This is a place for asking simple questions that might not deserve their own thread. For example, if you have a question about a rules interaction, want sleeve and accessory recommendations, or suggestions for your new deck, then this is the place for you.

We encourage that you post any questions that you may have concerning Magic the Gathering here rather than make a separate thread for each question, though for now we won't require that you do so.

Rules Questions

Rules questions and interactions are allowed to be posted here, but if you need an answer quickly it may be best to use a dedicated resource like the 24/7 Magic the Gathering Rules Chat.

Deckbuilding Questions

If you're trying to get help with a deck, it is recommended that you post your decklist to a deckbuilding website so that it is easier to view. Some popular sites are Aetherhub, Archidekt, Deckbox, Deckstats, Moxfield, MTGGoldfish, and TappedOut.

Additionally, please include some description of what you are trying to accomplish. Don't just give us a decklist with no explanation, and don't ask extremely vague questions such as "what cards should I add to my deck to make it better?", because it's hard to give good advice in those cases. Let us know details, the more the better. Are you building with a particular strategy or theme in mind? Are there any non-obvious combo lines or synergies that people should be aware of? Are you struggling with a particular matchup, or are you finding yourself missing consistency in an important area, and need some help specifically for it? Let us know.

Commonly Asked Questions

I opened a card from a different set in my booster pack, is this unusual?

Don't worry, this is completely normal. If you opened a set booster, you have a small chance of obtaining a bonus card from a previous set. This is an extra card that does not replace any of the other cards in your pack, and is from a curated set of past hits that Wizards of the Coast has selected, which they call "The List".

You can view the contents of The List on Wizards of the Coast's official website. For example, the contents of The List for Streets of New Capenna boosters can be found here.

My foil card has a shooting start symbol over the bottom left. I can't find anything about it online.

All old-bordered foils have the shooting star symbol. Most sites that display card images just overlay a generic foil graphic over all foil cards, which doesn't include the shooting star. Your card is normal.


r/magicTCG 13h ago

Scheduled Thread Unofficial Universes Beyond Speculation Megathread

0 Upvotes

Post your rampant speculation/requests about upcoming, unreleased, unannounced, or entirely unconfirmed Universes Beyond products here and only here. Any speculation/theory posts about UB should go here. Any posted not in this thread will be removed.

Be civil. We don't care if you disagree with each other. Being a dick is a Bootable Offence.


r/magicTCG 8h ago

Official Spoiler [FRA] Solitary Cell (Magic Story Episode 2) Spoiler

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1.1k Upvotes

r/magicTCG 2h ago

General Discussion Jace after Reality Fracture Spoiler

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267 Upvotes

So does this confirm Jace will die in reality fracture? It's not terribly surprising considering his new love for lobotomizing himself but Jace seems like a character that wouldn't really be killed off considering how central he is.


r/magicTCG 8h ago

Official Story/Lore [FRA] Reality Fracture | Episode 2: Purge Yourself of Doubt

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449 Upvotes

r/magicTCG 9h ago

General Discussion The meaning of the Zeta set is that you shouldn't buy it

405 Upvotes

And that idea feels like the only reason you reasonably would.

I was unfamiliar with MSCHF before this Secret Lair was announced, and after looking into their work I came away with an interpretation of the drop that I haven't seen discussed. Specifically after coming across their "Boosted Packs" series, which stands as a direct commentary to exactly what they've collaborated with Wizards on with this Secret Lair.

Upon browsing their previous works, it seems to me that MSCHFs artistic work is often very directly about the structures of capitalism and consumerism, and more specifically how the internet has driven these systems to evolve into something quite bizarre. Their collaboration with Wizards is an opportunity to communicate those ideas through one of the very companies their work tends to critique.

The drop itself is the work of art: a commentary on modern TCG culture and what it has become in 2026. It poses as a celebration of Magic's origins, (which cost the creators nothing aside from the paper used to print the test cards) while selling that experience back to the players at a premium price. It's no surprise that the product itself isn't sold as a self contained, playable set, but as micro-packs similar to Aftermath Boosters, an iteration of Magic that was universally rejected by the player base.

The contrast of the early design language (where the imagery was an afterthought or an inside joke) packaged in a modern distribution method (a limited drop at a premium price that is bound to sell out) makes these ideas even more pronounced. What Magic was and what it has become is on full display. The drop questions what makes cardboard worth the money we spend on it, and questions further if we even should, given the current economic landscape where everything seems to integrate some form of gambling.

I was planning on skipping the drop, due to the drama of randomized packs coming to Secret Lair. But the more I reflected on these ideas the more I wanted to participate in the experience MSCHF had created. Not for the cards themselves but to appreciate how they creatively explore the themes of modern cardboard consumerism.

I'm sure there won't be any left by the time I reach checkout tomorrow. Which, even that, seems to be part of experience. So at least I still get to "participate".


r/magicTCG 5h ago

Art Showcase - Official Artwork The Sackville-Bagginses full illustration

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188 Upvotes

The Sackville-Bagginses illustration for Magic the Gathering's The Hobbit set!

Art Director: Cassie Murphy.

This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast

© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC

Source: https://www.rucach.com/project/the-sackville-bagginses/


r/magicTCG 7h ago

Official Article Checking Back In with Secret Lair

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177 Upvotes

r/magicTCG 8h ago

Humour Guys I solved the deck-is-too-big-to-shuffle problem

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173 Upvotes

r/magicTCG 3h ago

Art Showcase - Official Artwork Dáin Ironfoot full illustration (Promo version)

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70 Upvotes

Dáin Ironfoot illustration for Magic the Gathering's The Hobbit set.

This one was an HMV promo so it seems to be hard to find a good image online.

Art Director: Cassie Murphy

This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast

© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC

Source: https://www.rucach.com/project/dain-ironfoot/


r/magicTCG 6h ago

Art Showcase - Official Artwork Quarrel illustration for The Hobbit

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114 Upvotes

Quarrel illustration for Magic the Gathering's The Hobbit set.

Bilbo and the dwarves quarrel over some much needed food at the house of Beorn.

Art Director: Cassie Murphy
This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC

Source: https://www.rucach.com/project/quarrel/


r/magicTCG 1d ago

General Discussion It’s back! 2345 card deck returns to the LGS.

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2.9k Upvotes

A full new pod of players agreed to join in, but the 2345 card [[Whtz]] deck has returned to the shop. No changes today in the deck, but the owner told me that he has played it at one more shop in Rochester and is currently building a second deck box with a built in card shuffler so it can be shuffled while it’s playing.

Boldo’s has a great group of players and they accepted the challenge again.


r/magicTCG 3h ago

Art Showcase - Official Artwork Bolg, Erebor's Reckoning full illustration

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31 Upvotes

Bolg, Erebor's Reckoning illustration for Magic the Gathering's The Hobbit set.

Art Director: Cassie Murphy
This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC

Source: https://www.rucach.com/project/bolg-erebors-reckoning/


r/magicTCG 1d ago

General Discussion My company is literally paying me to play magic

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7.6k Upvotes

PSA : check your company lifestyle spending account rules. My company allows physical games as “emotional wellbeing” support. I thought “well magic is a game and opening packs supports my emotional wellbeing” and they agreed.


r/magicTCG 8h ago

Rules/Rules Question Infinite Combat phases?

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54 Upvotes

I’m having trouble understanding how exactly it goes infinite. Doesn’t “Attacks for the first time each turn” stop her from triggering infinite combat phases? Even if she is coming back from the graveyard? I’m obviously missing something.

(I have these cards and would love to use this combo but i need to understand how it works)


r/magicTCG 12h ago

General Discussion All Zeta Set (SLZ) artwork and artists that I could determine (65/121)

106 Upvotes

There's been a fair amount of discussion recently around the artists and sources for the various artwork used for the upcoming Zeta Set Secret Lair. Specifically, the cards all have an artist credit of "MSCHF", though many of them use public domain artwork, often by specific known artists.

Wanting to know more myself where all these images were from, I've gone through each of the cards and compiled a list of the art works and artists, to the extent I was able to determine them.

These findings are mostly the results of Google reverse image searches and Reddit posts of people who had already figured these out.

These are current my best understandings based on what I was able to find. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that I've gotten some wrong. I've also occasionally put something more generic in "Artist" (e.g. the publication company) if I could determine the source work but not the artist for the specific piece.

I was able to determine the original work for 65 of the cards; the other 56 are unknowns.

If anybody has any corrections or knows any of the missing information, I'd be happy to update this table accordingly.

Card Artist Work Subject
All That Glitters ? ? pyrite
An Offer You Can't Refuse Frank Crane Frank Crane books advertisement advertisement for four books by Frank Crane
ANGER ? ? hole in drywall
Animate Dead Jan Luyken Osteologia skeleton naming skeletal animals
Arcane Signet ? ? cygnet
Ashnod's Altar David Young Cameron The Chapel and Founder's Tomb, Charterhouse The Charterhouse in Smithfield, London
Baleful Strix ? ? platypus
BIRDS OF PARADISE Pearson Scott Foresman Dodo dodo
Brainstorm Thomas Edison light bulb designs light bulb designs
Cathartic Reunion Palmer Cox The Brownies two Brownies
CAULDRON FAMILIAR William Penhallow Henderson Alice's Adventures in Wonderland The Cheshire Cat
Chain of Vapor ? ? ?
Chatterstorm ? ? over two dozen squirrel figurines
CHROMATIC LANTERN ? ? lighthouse lamp
Chromatic Orrery Asa Smith Orrery, with a view of the Solar System in the back ground people around an orrery with a solar system map
Chrome Mox ? ? disco ball
Clone ? ? two sheep
CLOUD KEY ? ? key
CLOWN CAR ? ? car in a garage with three people
Colossal Dreadmaw ? ? tyrannosaurus rex
Command Tower Nedeljkovich, Brashich, & Kuharich Pyramid of Capitalist System pyramid of people demonstrating class and economic inequality
Copper Tablet CDLI staff Complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir complaint about a copper purchase
CRUEL REALITY ? ? person in a cubicle reading some papers in front of a computer
Cultivate ? ? wild flowers
Cut Down A. Fiedler Brehms Tierleben, vol. 1 anatomical cross section of a female frog
Dark Ritual ? ? flint dagger
DARKSTEEL MONOLITH Charles Sheeler Ford Plant, River Rouge, Blast Furnace and Dust Catcher Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan
Dig Through Time ? ? manipulated image of two chronograph watches
Disintegrate Jean de Bosschère Weird Islands Black Cavalier melting away like a snow man
Dispatch Will Goldston Stage Illusions Demonstration of the "Vanishing Lady" stage illusion
DOOMSDAY George Chernilevsky Wikipedia Macrolepiota procera (parasol mushroom)
Dueling Grounds Thomas Rowlandson The Death Blow person boxing a skeleton, with another person lying on the ground
Duress ? ? ?
Eerie Interlude MSCHF Eerie Interlude Niek Dekker's hand, distorted during photocopy process
Eternity Vessel John Avon Eternity Vessel Graded Eternity Vessel card
Feed the Swarm ? ? line of ants approaching a drop of liquid
Fireball Adriaen Collaert Fire Helios
Foundry Inspector ? ? two robots
Garth One-Eye ? ? closeup of a human face
Generous Gift Louis Le Breton Dictionnaire Infernal Behemoth
Ghostly Flicker ? ? light switch
Giant Spider Oliver Herford The Yellow Peril spider version of William Randolph Hearst grabbing the Washington D.C. capitol dome, with a bug version of Arthur Brisbane whispering in his ear
GIGANTO-SAURUS ? ? t-rrex and pterodactyl in front of a giant clock face
Glimpse the Impossible ? ? impossible trident
GO FOR THE THROAT Artemisia Gentileschi Judith Slaying Holofernes beheading of Holofernes by Judith
Gray Merchant of Asphodel François Desprez Les Songes drolatiques de Pantagruel human-like creature dropping a book into a well
Grizzly Bears ? ? gummy bear
GUT SHOT ? ? boxer
Guttersnipe ? ? bowler
High Tide Katsushika Hokusai Ono no Takamura water scene with islands, boats, and people
Hornet Queen ? ? hornet
Hullbreaker Horror Carlo Chiostri The Adventures of Pinocchio The Terrible Dogfish, Pinocchio, and Geppetto
Hypnotic Specter Sascha Schneider Hypnosis person hypnotizing another with a beam of light from his eyes
IMP'S MSCHF Hans Tegner Aunty Toothache three imps sitting using various tools on three teeth they are sitting on
Imperial Recruiter ? ? toy figure
Imprisoned in the Moon Georges Méliès Le Voyage dans la Lune man in the moon with a rocket in his eye
INVIGORATE ? ? multiple overlapping images of a person
JESTER'S CAP Pearson Scott Foresman Fool's Cap jester
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs ? ? kazoo
LABORATORY MANIAC Charles Henry Bennett Beasts, Birds and Fishes: An Alphabet for Boys & Girls. bird wearing clothing; a rhyme about the letter X
LAND TAX ? ? coins of various denominations and currencies
Life from the Loam Julie de Graag Dripping Mushroom mushroom
Lightning Bolt Pearson Scott Foresman Bolt parents and children
LLANOWAR ELVES ? ? elf ear
Lord Skitter, Sewer King ? ? rat
MANA ECHOES Louis Breton Dictionnaire Infernal Ukobach, twice
MANIFOLD KEY Niek Dekker Manifold Key Niek Dekker's key ring
Mental Misstep Pelman Institute of America "Scientific Mind Training" advertisement person's head with caption about brain power usage
MERCHANT SCROLL MSCHF Magic: the Gathering sales receipt for Lorwyn Eclipse Commander Deck
Merfolk of the Pearl Trident Henry Lee Sea Fables Explained artificial taxidermied mermaid
Mortuary Richard V. Correll Herbert West–Reanimator Herbert West with a corpse
Mother of Runes James McNeill Whistler Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, Anna McNeill Whistler
Mox Tantalite ? ? tantalite
Mulldrifter Charles Bejeau or James Bell Pettigrew Animal locomotion or walking, swimming, and flying : with a dissertation on aëronautics flying fish
Mycosynth Golem Reynold Brown The Invisible Boy Robby the Robot
Narcomoeba Mayer, Alfred Goldsborough Medusae of the World Atlantic sea nettle jellyfish
Nature's Claim W. W. Denslow The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Scarecrow being held by a Fighting Tree
Night's Whisper Katsukawa Shunshō Ichikawa Danjūrō V as a Skeleton, Spirit of the Renegade Monk Seigen, and Iwai Hanshirō IV as the Cherry Princess Spirit of Seigen and Cherry Princess Sakura-hime
OBEKA, BRUTE CHRONOLOGIST George Brenner The Clock The Clock
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds ? ? castle in a snow globe
Ornithopter Leonardo da Vinci sketches for an ornithopter ornithopter designs
Panoptic Mirror Willey Reveley panopticon prison panopticon prison
Path to Exile Wizards of the Coast Magic: the Gathering "YOU ARE EXILED" text
Power Sink MSCHF Met’s Sink of Theseus Sink from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art
Price of Progress Henrique Alvim Corrêa The War of the Worlds Martian fighting machine
Pyroblast ? ? ?
Pyrokinesis Georg Merckel Northern lights phenomenon over Eggolsheim near Forchheim on December 28, 1560 northern lights over Eggolsheim, Germany
Quicksilver Elemental ? ? face cutout from foil
RAFFINE, SCHEMING SEER Edward Topsell The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents manticore
RELIQUARY TOWER Les nouvelles conquêtes de la science, vol. 1 San Jose electric light tower San Jose electric light tower
Return to Dust anonymous Design for an Urn with a Pointed Lid urn
ROGUE'S GLOVES ? ? gloves
Ruxa, Patient Professor ? ? teddy bear
Savannah Lions ? ? two lions
Scute Swarm J. J. Grandville Le Misocampe anthropomorphic insect with a sword
Scythecat Cub ? ? cat
Sengir Vampire F. W. Murnau Nosferatu Count Orlok
Sensei's Divining Top ? ? top
SERRA ANGEL Gustave Doré The Fall of the Rebel Angels Archangel Michael
Simian Spirit Guide ? ? monkey
Skullclamp C.E.H. teeth painlessly extracted by steam power man in a dental chair
Sol Ring MSCHF MSCHF Rock Candy diamond on a candy ring base
Soul-Guide Lantern ? ? jack-o'-lantern
SPELL PIERCE ? ? ornate letters spelling "PIERCE"
SPLIT UP ? ? sandwiches
The Jolly Balloon Man ? ? balloon with a face drawn on it
Thought Scour ? ? person reading a book
Thought Vessel Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren Roman dodecahedron Roman dodecahedron
Thrummingbird Henry Louis Stephens Humming Bird (Thomas B. Florence) Thomas B. Florence as a hummingbird
Tragic Slip Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff Nuremberg Chronicle monopod
Unearth Albert A. Hopkins Albert A. Hopkins, Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography skeleton in a coffin
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Delahaye Primitive man three skeletons in a tomb
VANDALBLAST ? ? three burnt matchsticks
Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose Henry Louis Stephens The Comic Natural History of the Human Race vampyre
Ward of Bones ? ? three shriveled hands
WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE MSCHF Hot Wheels x MSCHF Not Wheels Not Wheels car
White Sun's Zenith Hanns Glaser Celestial phenomenon over Nuremberg, 14 April 1561 celestial phenomena above Nuremberg
Wild Growth ? ? Petri dish
Wild Nacatl ? ? cat
Windfall ? ? ?
YARGLE, GLUTTON OF URBORG François Desprez Recueil de la diversité des Habits qui sont des present en usaige tant es Pays D'Europe, Asie, Afrique, et isles sauvages The Cyclops

Edits:

  • Additional context in description regarding the artist credits on the actual cards
  • Change the artist for MERCHANT SCROLL from "Wizards of the Coast" to "MSCHF"
  • Information for Eerie Interlude
  • Information for Mental Misstep
  • Information for Narcomoeba
  • Use "Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren" as the artist for Thought Vessel
  • Use "Georg Merckel" as the artist for Pyrokinesis

r/magicTCG 7h ago

General Discussion Flavor wise, what is "happening" in a game of Magic?

34 Upvotes

I understand that as a mature game Magic inevitably sacrifices flavor consistency for gameplay, but I want to be indulged today.

  • Players: powerful planeswalkers/wizards engaged in a duel (apparently no longer accurate?)
  • Deck/library: collection of spells in our mind palace that we bring to battle (what about lands?)
  • Drawing a card: gaining knowledge? accessing our mind palace?
  • Playing a land: ?
  • Tapping a land for mana: drawing power from said place?

I'd love to be directed to resources out there that help to answer the potentially endless list of questions. Preliminary digging yielded stuff like this but I was told that older stuff are no longer accurate or have become wishy washy.


r/magicTCG 1d ago

Rules/Rules Question I made a more detailed version of the Turn Structure Guide

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870 Upvotes

Suggestions or Feedback welcome.
Link to PDF in my bio.


r/magicTCG 10h ago

Deck Discussion Commander deck with older cards

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60 Upvotes

I am returning to magic after 25 years away and I want to put together a commander deck to play with a group I found. I have a couple thousand cards from antiquities through exodus time period. Without any of the newer cards I am having trouble using edh sites and deck building tips to pull something decent together. I attached a photo of the commander cards I could pull out in a quick scan of my sets. I made a deck using sol kanar the swamp king because he seems decent and gave me good access to colour combinations. I loaded my deck into an app and tried drawing hands and layout out cards and it seems like I can’t really get anything going until around turn five to ten.

Here is a link to my deck: https://moxfield.com/decks/ISQd5p6En0KHw8BHYkk4Fw

Without knowing more about what I have, but knowing it’s all older, are there any broad changes I should make?


r/magicTCG 1d ago

General Discussion Bring Back the Gathering: How to Save Competitive Magic

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768 Upvotes

Andrea Mengucci shares his thoughts on how to save competitive MTG.


r/magicTCG 6h ago

General Discussion Store Confusion Around 2HG Pre-Release Reality Fracture

21 Upvotes

Prior to The Hobbit Pre-Release, Wizards of the Coast put out a press release stating that moving forward, 2HG pre-release events would only include ONE Pre-release kit per team, with 2 additional booster packs. Their explanation was that it creates more "balanced" pools of cards and aligns closer to tournament rules for sealed 2HG.

Regardless of my opinion on this being a bummer, and enjoying both myself and a friend opening a pre-release together and getting 12 packs to build from, it seems the local game stores have not at all been informed directly about this information.

With Pre-Release now going on sale, I am seeing stores still charge $35-40 per Pre-release sign-up, and requiring 2HG teams to spend $70-80 total to sign up their team for the Pre-Release event.

After speaking to one store owner, he mentioned they had no idea of these changes and intended to still give every 2HG team who signed up 2 full pre-release kits. I spoke to another store employee and they said they'd probably just go with whatever Wizards of the Coasts says, but likely they haven't updated their prices and weren't sure when/if they would.

I'm not sure what will happen with allocation of pre-release kits, and if stores are going to find themselves severely short on kits and have to resort to just using 1 per team, but this seeems like a disaster waiting to happen and I personally would be incredibly frustrated in paying $70-80 for one pre release kit.

What is everyone else hearing from their local stores? Are they still sticking to 2 pre-release kits? Have they discounted the price, assuming just 1 kit moving forward?

https://wpn.wizards.com/en/news/two-prerelease-changes-coming-with-reality-fracture


r/magicTCG 12h ago

General Discussion Movies that feel like Duskmourn?

55 Upvotes

Hello everyone. I know Duskmourn is a little bit of an artistically controversial plane, but since it’s release I’ve gotten a bit obsessed. I couldn’t think of a better place to ask this, but I’m just looking for any movie, TV show, or other visual media that captures the specific vibe of Duskmourn?
And I don’t mean the movies that inspired Duskmourn, obviously. I know about the classic slashers and Saw and stuff, and those movies don’t feel like the plane.
Anyways, thanks in advance! :3


r/magicTCG 1h ago

Content Creator Post Y’shtola - Commander Critic | Quips&Guac

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Upvotes

r/magicTCG 1d ago

Official Spoiler FRA Preview - Perfected Theory

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1.8k Upvotes

r/magicTCG 4h ago

Rules/Rules Question Does mishra’s warform keep the mana value of the artifact it’s copying?

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11 Upvotes

I’m mainly asking if I copy the synthesizer with mishra, (or any other artifact with mana value 3+) will the original synthesizer give me a construct?