Saruman of Many Colors (LTR)

Saruman of Many Colors
Casting Cost: {3}{W}{U}{B}
Card Type: Legendary Creature - Avatar Wizard
Power/Toughness: 5/4
Card Text:
Ward—Discard an enchantment, instant, or sorcery card.
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, each opponent mills two cards. When one or more cards are milled this way, exile target enchantment, instant, or sorcery card with equal or lesser mana value than that spell from an opponent's graveyard. Copy the exiled card. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
Artist: Alexander Mokhov

Card Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Strengths:
  • Offers a potent milling effect that can disrupt opponents' strategies.
  • Allows you to cast spells for free, potentially leading to significant tempo swings.
  • Ward ability makes it somewhat difficult to remove, especially for decks without enchantments, instants, or sorceries.
• Weaknesses:
  • High casting cost makes it a late-game play, which could be too slow against fast decks.
  • The Ward ability requires you to discard valuable card types, which could set you back.

Deck Utility:

• Esper Control: Can fit as a finisher that also disrupts the opponent and gains card advantage.

• Mill Strategies: Its mill effect synergizes well with other mill cards, potentially leading to a critical mass of milled cards.

• Commander: Given the higher mana curves and singleton nature of Commander, Saruman's effect can be particularly impactful.

Interactions and Combos:

• Narset, Parter of Veils: Narset can help you find more spells to trigger Saruman's ability while restricting opponents from drawing extra cards.

• Snapcaster Mage: Can enable casting more spells in a turn to trigger Saruman's mill and copy effects.

• Ashiok, Dream Render: Exiles opponents' graveyards, making it more challenging for them to interact with Saruman's mill and exile abilities.

Saruman of Many Colors is a potent late-game threat that can turn the tide of a game. Its unique mix of mill, copying spells, and protection makes it a versatile tool in the right deck. However, its high mana cost and specific trigger conditions mean that you'll need to build around it to maximize its impact.