Marvin, Murderous Mimic 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
Marvin has all activated abilities of creatures you control that don't have the same name as this creature.
Complete guide
Marvin, Murderous Mimic is a versatile Legendary Artifact Creature that serves as the ultimate utility tool for your battlefield. By inheriting the activated abilities of your other creatures, this Toy can transform into a mana dork, a combo piece, or a protective engine.
Understanding the Mimicry
Marvin, Murderous Mimic grants itself every activated ability of creatures you control, provided they have a different name. An activated ability is always formatted as '[Cost]: [Effect].' It is important to note that Marvin does not copy triggered abilities (which start with 'when,' 'whenever,' or 'at') or static abilities (which are continuous effects).
Resolving Copied Abilities
When Marvin copies an ability that refers to the original card's name, you treat that name as 'Marvin, Murderous Mimic' instead. Once you activate an ability on Marvin, that ability remains on the stack and will resolve normally even if the original creature providing the ability leaves the battlefield or if Marvin loses its abilities before resolution.
Common Mistakes
Players often mistake static cost-reduction or keyword keywords for activated abilities. For example, Marvin will not gain cost reduction effects from other creatures. Additionally, Marvin only checks for abilities of creatures currently on your battlefield; if a creature is in your graveyard or hand, Marvin cannot use its abilities.
When to Play Marvin
Marvin is best played in decks featuring creatures with powerful 'Tap' abilities or mana-intensive activated effects. Because Marvin is a colorless artifact creature, it fits into many shells, allowing you to double up on specific utility effects or bypass summoning sickness if Marvin was already on the board when a new creature arrived.
Interaction examples
Ornithopter of ParadiseStep 1: You have Marvin, Murderous Mimic and Ornithopter of Paradise on the battlefield. Step 2: Marvin detects the activated ability '{T}: Add one mana of any color' on the Thopter. Step 3: You may now tap Marvin to add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Foundry InspectorStep 1: You control both Marvin and Foundry Inspector. Step 2: Check Foundry Inspector for activated abilities (look for a colon). Step 3: Because Foundry Inspector only has a static ability that reduces costs, Marvin gains no abilities from it.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Marvin, Murderous Mimic
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Marvin gains only activated abilities. It doesn't gain triggered abilities or static abilities. Activated abilities contain a colon. They're generally written "[Cost]: [Effect]." Some keywords are activated abilities and may have colons in their reminder text.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If an activated ability of a creature you control that doesn't have the same name as Marvin references the card it's printed on by name, treat Marvin's version of that ability as though it referenced Marvin instead. For example, say you control Marvin as well as Floodpits Drowner (which has the ability "
, 
: Shuffle Floodpits Drowner and target creature with a stun counter on it into their owners' libraries."). You would treat Marvin's version of the ability as though it said ", : Shuffle Marvin, Murderous Mimic and target creature with a stun counter on it into their owners' libraries."No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Once one of Marvin's abilities has been activated, it doesn't matter if the other creature you control with that ability leaves the battlefield; the ability still resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Ioreth of the Healing House
- 1Activate Marvin using Ioreth's second ability by tapping it, untapping Ioreth and another legendary creature.
- 2Activate Ioreth's second ability by tapping it, untapping Marvin and another legendary creature.
- 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Pili-Pala + Palladium Myr
- 1Activate Marvin using Palladium Myr's ability by tapping it, adding
. - 2Activate Marvin using Pili-Pala's ability by paying
and untapping it, adding one mana of any color. - 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Farmstead Gleaner + Palladium Myr
- 1Activate Marvin using Palladium Myr's ability by tapping it, adding .
- 2Activate Marvin using Farmstead Gleaner's ability by paying and untapping it, putting a +1/+1 counter on Marvin.
- 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Pili-Pala + Metalworker
- 1Activate Marvin using Metalworker's ability by tapping it, revealing an artifact card from your hand and adding .
- 2Activate Marvin using Pili-Pala's ability by paying and untapping it, adding one mana of any color.
- 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Pili-Pala + Bloom Tender
- 1Activate Marvin using Bloom Tender's ability by tapping it, adding at least
. - 2Activate Marvin using Pili-Pala's ability by paying and untapping it, adding one mana of any color.
- 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Cryptic Trilobite + Farmstead Gleaner
- 1Activate Marvin using Cryptic Trilobite's second ability by paying and tapping it, putting a +1/+1 counter on Marvin.
- 2Activate Marvin using Cryptic Trilobite's first ability by removing a +1/+1 counter from it, adding that can only be spent to activate abilities.
- 3Activate Marvin using Farmstead Gleaner's ability by paying and untapping Marvin, putting a +1/+1 counter on Marvin.
- 4Activate Marvin using Cryptic Trilobite's first ability by removing a +1/+1 counter from it, adding that can only be spent to activate abilities.
- 5Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Pili-Pala + Incubation Druid
- 1Activate Marvin using Incubation Druid's ability by tapping it, adding three mana of any type a land you control can produce.
- 2Activate Marvin using Pili-Pala's ability by paying and untapping it, adding one mana of any color.
- 3Repeat.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Pili-Pala + Priest of Titania
- 1Activate Marvin using Priest of Titania's ability by tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate Marvin using Pili-Pala's ability by paying and untapping it, adding one mana of any color.
- 3Repeat.
Legal formats
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