Ral, Monsoon Mage // Ral, Leyline Prodigy 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
Instant and sorcery spells you cast costless to cast. Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell during your turn, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, Ral deals 1 damage to you. If you win the flip, you may exile Ral. If you do, return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control. Ral enters with an additional loyalty counter on him for each instant and sorcery spell you've cast this turn. +1: Until your next turn, instant and sorcery spells you cast cost
Complete guide
Ral, Monsoon Mage // Ral, Leyline Prodigy is a high-risk, high-reward card that turns your sequence of spells into a powerful Planeswalker. This double-faced card rewards aggressive spellcasting by discounting your costs and potentially transforming into a game-ending threat. Master the art of the coin flip to unleash the full potential of this Izzet prodigy.
What it Does
On his front face, Ral is a 2/2 creature that reduces the cost of your instant and sorcery spells by {1}. Every time you cast one of these spells during your turn, you must flip a coin. A loss deals 1 damage to you, but a win allows you to exile Ral and return him to the battlefield transformed as Ral, Leyline Prodigy. His Planeswalker side scales in power based on how many spells you cast the turn he arrives, offering further cost reduction, targeted damage, and a massive card-advantage ultimate.
How it Resolves Step by Step
When you cast an instant or sorcery, Ral's triggered ability goes on the stack on top of that spell. First, you resolve the trigger by flipping a coin. If you win, you choose whether to exile him. If you do, he immediately returns as a Planeswalker. Upon entering, his replacement effect counts every instant and sorcery spell you cast earlier that turn—including the one that just triggered the flip and any that were countered—to determine his starting loyalty counters.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is forgetting that Ral's flip trigger only happens during your turn. If you cast spells on an opponent's turn, he will provide the cost reduction but won't transform. Additionally, remember that if you win the flip but Ral is no longer on the battlefield (perhaps due to a removal spell in response to the trigger), he cannot be exiled and transformed. Lastly, his -2 ability requires you to control a blue permanent other than Ral himself to draw a card; since his back face has a blue and red color indicator, he is blue, but the ability specifically checks for a different permanent.
When to Play It
Ral is most effective in decks with a high density of cheap spells. You want to cast at least two or three spells before he transforms so he enters with enough loyalty to survive or immediately use his -2 ability. He is a primary target for removal, so try to play him on a turn where you have enough mana left over to cast a spell and trigger the transformation immediately before your opponent can react.
Interaction examples
Ornithopter of ParadiseWith Ral, Monsoon Mage on the battlefield, you can use Ornithopter of Paradise to add mana of any color to help pay for the discounted costs of your spells. If you use this mana to cast a spell and win the coin flip, Ral transforms. The Ornithopter then counts as a blue permanent if you chose blue mana that turn, but remember the -2 ability checks for a blue permanent, not just blue mana, so the Ornithopter itself won't help you draw unless it somehow becomes blue.
Professional Face-BreakerIf you control Professional Face-Breaker, you can sacrifice Treasures to exile the top card of your library. If those cards are instants or sorceries, Ral, Monsoon Mage makes them cheaper to cast from exile. Each of these spells triggers a coin flip. If you win and transform Ral, all those spells cast from exile earlier in the turn will count toward the additional loyalty counters Ral, Leyline Prodigy receives upon entry.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Ral, Monsoon Mage // Ral, Leyline Prodigy
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Each face of a transforming double-faced card has its own set of characteristics: name, types, subtypes, abilities, and so on. While a transforming double-faced permanent is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's currently up. The other set of characteristics is ignored.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Each transforming double-faced card in this set is cast with its front face up. In every zone other than the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of its front face. If it is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's up; the other face's characteristics are ignored.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a transforming double-faced card is the mana value of its front face, no matter which face is up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
The back face of a transforming double-faced card usually has a color indicator that defines its color. Colorless back faces, such as lands, do not.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
In some rare cases, a spell or ability may cause Ral, Monsoon Mage to transform while he's a creature (front face up) on the battlefield. If this happens, Ral, Leyline Prodigy won't have any loyalty counters on him and will subsequently be put into his owner's graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
You can activate one of Ral, Leyline Prodigy's loyalty abilities the turn he enters the battlefield. However, you may do so only during one of your main phases when the stack is empty. For example, if Ral, Leyline Prodigy enters the battlefield during combat, there will be an opportunity for your opponent to remove him before you can activate one of his abilities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
You flip a coin as Ral, Monsoon Mage's triggered ability resolves. No player may take actions between seeing the result of the flip and the effects that occur based on the result of the flip.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
If Ral, Monsoon Mage is exiled and returns transformed while one or more instances of his triggered ability are still on the stack, those abilities will still resolve. However, if the controller of one of those abilities wins the flip, nothing will happen since the object that ability refers to is no longer on the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
The first ability of Ral, Leyline Prodigy will count any instant and sorcery spells you've cast that turn, including ones that were countered, didn't resolve for other reasons, or are still on the stack.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
You choose how many targets Ral, Leyline Prodigy's second loyalty ability has and how the damage is divided as you activate the ability. Each target must receive at least 1 damage.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
If some of the targets are illegal as Ral, Leyline Prodigy's second loyalty ability tries to resolve, the original division of damage still applies and the damage that would have been dealt to the illegal targets is lost. It won't be dealt instead to a legal target. If all of the targets are illegal, the ability won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won't draw a card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
You follow all normal timing rules for spells cast with the permission granted by Ral, Leyline Prodigy's last ability. For example, if one of the exiled cards is a sorcery, you can cast it only during your main phase while the stack is empty.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #13· Wizards of the Coast
If one of the exiled cards has
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #14· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a spell "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #15· Wizards of the Coast
In the Commander variant, a double-faced card's color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered. For example, Ral, Monsoon Mage's color identity is blue and red, since its front face is red and its back face has a blue and red color indicator.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #16· Wizards of the Coast
A transforming double-faced card enters the battlefield with its front face up by default, unless a spell or ability instructs you to put it onto the battlefield transformed or allows you to cast it transformed, in which case it enters with its back face up.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #17· Wizards of the Coast
If you are instructed to put a card that isn't a double-faced card onto the battlefield transformed, it will not enter the battlefield at all. In that case, it stays in the zone it was previously in. For example, if a single-faced card is a copy of Ral, Monsoon Mage, choosing to exile that permanent during the resolution of its triggered ability will cause it to remain in exile.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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