Ana Battlemage is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Kickerand/or
(You may pay an additional
Complete guide
Ana Battlemage is a versatile Human Wizard from the Apocalypse set that offers a modular approach to mid-game strategy. By utilizing its unique kicker costs, you can transform a simple creature into a devastating tool for hand disruption or board control. Whether you need to strip resources or turn an opponent's strength against them, this Battlemage adapts to the flow of mana.
Dual Kicker Mechanics
Ana Battlemage features two optional kicker costs: one blue ({2}{U}) and one black ({1}{B}). You can choose to pay neither, one, or both as you cast the spell. These are additional costs, meaning the total mana spent does not change the mana value of the spell, which remains 3. However, paying these costs unlocks powerful 'enters-the-battlefield' triggers that only fire if the specific kicker was paid during casting.
Resolution Step-by-Step
First, you cast Ana Battlemage and announce which kicker costs you are paying. Once it resolves and enters the battlefield, the relevant triggered abilities are put onto the stack. If you paid the blue kicker, you choose a target player to discard three cards. If you paid the black kicker, you target an untapped creature. Note that these abilities resolve separately; if the creature is no longer a legal target (for example, if it becomes tapped before resolution), the black kicker's effect will not resolve.
Strategic Considerations
A common mistake is assuming you can kick the Battlemage when putting it onto the battlefield via an effect that doesn't involve casting. Kicker can only be paid when the spell is being cast. Additionally, if the only untapped creature on the board is Ana Battlemage itself when the black kicker trigger occurs, you must target Ana Battlemage. Ensure your opponents have valid targets before committing your mana to the black kicker.
When to Deploy
This card shines when you have stabilized your mana base. It is best used when an opponent is holding a full hand of cards or has a high-power creature that is currently untapped. Because the black kicker makes the creature deal damage to its own controller, it serves as both a removal spell and a burn effect against aggressive decks.
Interaction examples
Sakura-Tribe ElderYou sacrifice Sakura-Tribe Elder early in the game to search for a basic Island or Swamp. This ensures that by the time you draw Ana Battlemage, you have the necessary colors to pay for both the blue and black kicker costs, allowing you to maximize the card's value in a single turn.
Solemn SimulacrumYour opponent has a Solemn Simulacrum that remained untapped after their turn. You cast Ana Battlemage and pay the black kicker cost ({1}{B}). When the Battlemage enters, its ability targets the Solemn Simulacrum. The Golem becomes tapped, and then it deals 2 damage (its power) to its controller. This neutralizes a blocker while chipping away at your opponent's life total.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Ana Battlemage
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can't kick it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell's kicker cost was paid, the spell is "kicked."
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The kicker ability doesn't let you pay a kicker cost more than once.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
To determine a spell's total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card's effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The spell's mana value remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you copy a kicked spell on the stack, the copy is also kicked. If the copied spell is a permanent spell, the token the copy of that spell becomes when it enters is also kicked.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a card or token enters as a copy of a permanent, the new permanent isn't kicked, even if the original was.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
The second triggered ability targets an untapped creature. If there are no other untapped creatures when Ana Battlemage enters, it must target Ana Battlemage. If the target becomes tapped by the time the ability tries to resolve, the ability won't resolve.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Ana Battlemage
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