The 27 Best Second Spell Payoffs in Magic Ranked

Ledger Shredder | Illustration by Mila Pesic

If you want to win a game of Magic, spend all your mana each turn. Preferably, more mana than your opponents spend. It sounds simple, right? Well, it is. The player who casts two spells in a turn and uses all their mana has a huge advantage over the player that limps along, casting one 3-mana spell with four lands.

But what if you took it further? What if you built around casting two spells in a turn to extract more value from an already excellent play pattern? That's where second spell payoffs come into play.

What Are Second Spell Payoffs in MTG?

Cosmogrand Zenith | Illustration by Anna Steinbauer

Second spell payoffs, also called double spell payoffs, are cards with a triggered ability that rewards you for casting your second spell in a turn. Currently, all second spell payoffs in Magic are permanents, and they mostly appear within the Jeskai () wedge. Common second spell payoffs include drawing cards and creating tokens, though there are many niche effects.

I only considered cards that trigger when you cast two spells rather than when your opponents cast two spells like Trouble in Pairs. Some cards split the difference by triggering whenever any player casts two spells; those made the cut.

#27. Pyromancer's Assault

Pyromancer's Assault costs too much for high-powered, competitive formats, but it's a great spellslinger payoff for casual Commander or low-powered Cubes.

#26. Cori Mountain Stalwart

Cori Mountain Stalwart proves that simplicity doesn't mean weakness; burning your opponents gives aggressive decks the reach they need to finish close games.

#25. Firja, Judge of Valor

Firja, Judge of Valor offers incredible card advantage. Drawing the best card of three is exceptional, and a deck with graveyard synergies is just as happy to see the other two go to the graveyard to fuel mechanics like delve. It's rather costly, but quite strong.

#24. Tomb of Horrors Adventurer

Tomb of Horrors Adventurer is honestly more appealing for the initiative than its double spell ability, but both are great! As one of the more expensive double spell payoffs, it could be good top end for Shiko and Narset, Unified or another double spell deck.

#23. Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield

Tokens and card draw on one card makes Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield quite the potent engine. It works best in defender decks, but it could go well with token doublers to ramp up the exalted triggers.

#22. Breeches, the Blastmaker

Breeches, the Blastmaker needs an artifact theme, which makes it more restrictive than other payoffs. But it's quite potent if you meet the requirements. You can't lose the die roll since both options are good, and cards like Ichor Wellspring and Experimental Synthesizer reward you for sacrificing them to help you to get plenty of impact from every trigger.

#21. Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist

Foretelling cards with Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist helps you to double spell since your spells become cheaper—potentially even free, if they cost or less—and it enables red's many cast-from-exile synergies. Goading creatures keeps the pressure off your back as you assemble these value engines.

#20. Max, the Daredevil

Elmar, Ulvenwald Informant/Max, the Daredevil is only worth playing in decks that do something with its untap ability. Bjorna, Nightfall Alchemist is a natural pairing, but any deck with strong tap abilities can use Elmar to further their strategy and sneak some extra card advantage into the 99.

#19. Malcolm, the Eyes

Malcolm, the Eyes is a frequent flier in Duel Commander command zones as a cheap source of Clues that creates card advantage or enables Galvanic Blast and other artifact synergies. Whether it's the star of the show or a support piece, this siren is a great, cheap source of artifact tokens.

#18. Oji, the Exquisite Blade

Oji, the Exquisite Blade only works with flicker decks, but it's a fantastic enabler for that archetype. It pairs nicely with Candlekeep Sage as a draw engine. Since you can trigger Oji on any players' turn, you can even use it as a protection spell of sorts.

#17. Saruman of Many Colors

Saruman of Many Colors has a textbook of an ability that basically lets you steal opposing spells when you cast your second spell. Since it rewards big spells, look to free cards like Snuff Out and Solitude to maximize the triggers.

#16. Dreamtide Whale

Dreamtide Whale has one of my favorite card designs: It’s a massive threat that dies quickly if you can't support it. But if you can, it becomes an incredible proliferate engine that scales nicely in Commander since your opponents can trigger it, too.

#15. Eris, Roar of the Storm

Eris, Roar of the Storm‘s cost reduction ability makes it easy to cast it and a second spell in a single turn. It’s an excellent commander because it basically ignores the command tax.

#14. Shiko and Narset, Unified

Shiko and Narset, Unified has the floor of drawing a card when you cast your second spell, which is fairly high—card draw is one of the best payoffs you could ask for.

But you really want to copy your second spell, because it has so much flexibility. You could use Quasiduplicate to copy your best creature twice, or copy Swords to Plowshares to control the board, and so on. The ceiling makes this an excellent flurry commander.

#13. Alphinaud Leveilleur

Alphinaud Leveilleur offers the simple yet compelling payoff of card draw for casting your second spell, and it cantrips thanks to “partner with“. It's a very tidy draw engine.

#12. Lavinia, Foil to Conspiracy

Artifacts and tokens are in demand in blue-white, so Lavinia, Foil to Conspiracy works wonders in multiple strategies. It even has a powerful mana generation ability to crack the case. This is one of the most consistent sources of Clues in these colors, and well worth keeping your eye on.

#11. Taigam, Master Opportunist

I can't look at Taigam, Master Opportunist without thinking of extra turn spells, but that's far from its only use—one Stock Up keeps your hand full for days, and you can copy board wipes so your Supreme Verdict saves you now and again in four turns.

#10. Station Monitor

Station Monitor swarms the battlefield with Drone tokens—perfect to make use of Azorius () artifact creature payoffs like Losheel, Clockwork Scholar and Tempered Steel.

#9. Clarion Spirit

Clarion Spirit shines in Cube as an efficient threat that gives white weenie decks an awesome tool to overwhelm their opponents. It's great on its own or alongside token payoffs like Skullclamp and Staff of the Storyteller. It just edges out Station Monitor due to its less restrictive cost and better tokens.

#8. Cosmogrand Zenith

Cosmogrand Zenith is a prime example of power creep. It takes over the game as the token producer and token payoff. It's an incredible solo threat that asks very little of you to run away with the game.

#7. The Council of Four

The Council of Four has excellent flavor and a better ability. Commander players should love this card—its abilities scale nicely since four players can trigger them across four separate turns. Even if you just trigger it yourself each turn by casting two spells, you get a great deal.

#6. Jori En, Ruin Diver + Kraum, Violent Cacophony

You can't go wrong with card draw. Jori En, Ruin Diver and Kraum, Violent Cacophony are basically the same card, except Kraum's rarity gives it legs in Peasant Cube and Pauper Commander while Jori En's lower cost makes it better in stronger formats.

#5. Aligned Heart

Monastery Mentor has historically been a beast in competitive formats like Vintage where its deluge of tokens bury your opponents. Aligned Heart scales that template up for Commander and gives you a gradually growing army that overwhelms your opponents easily.

#4. Stella Lee, Wild Card

Stella Lee, Wild Card might be the perfect spellslinger commander. It's a cheap source of card advantage thanks to the impulse draw, and its tap ability often ends the game in a magnificent combo. Packaging your set-up and win condition into a single card does a lot of work.

#3. Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff

Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff shines in Commander as a ramp engine that profits from everybody at the table playing spells. Black has Treasure synergy to draw on, but you don't need any synergies for this. Lotho is an excellent commander in EDH or Brawl to use Lurrus of the Dream-Den as your companion.

#2. Ledger Shredder

Ledger Shredder pushes the envelope of 2-mana threats. Looting sculpts your hand while it enables graveyard synergies like delirium and delve, and the Shredder even grows into a formidable aerial threat. You can't ask for much more out of a 2-drop.

#1. Cori-Steel Cutter

Cori-Steel Cutter overwhelms your opponents with a flurry of tokens. It's incredibly aggressive because it gives the tokens haste, but sticking around after board wipes and dodging actual creature removal makes it annoyingly resilient as well. And when you have multiple copies in play… it's astonishing Wizards waited so long to ban it.

Best Second Spell Enablers

Second spell payoffs often require enablers, which come in many flavors. The most literal are cards that make your second spell cheaper, like Monk Class and Alisaie Leveilleur. More general cost reducers like Sapphire Medallion and Goblin Electromancer work here, too.

Free spells are also handy, both those that literally cost 0 like Mox Opal and Mishra's Bauble or have alternate costs like Snuff Out and Gush. Spells with alternate costs are especially useful for payoffs like Saruman of Many Colors or Breeches, the Blastmaker that care about the second spell's mana value.

Cantrips are critical to these decks. Cards like Consider, Ponder, and Brainstorm are super cheap and replace themselves; both effects make sure you have enough spells and mana to cast two spells a turn. They also dig towards your payoffs.

Mechanics that allow you to cast spells for a reduced cost or even for free can set up explosive turns here, too. Cards with rebound or suspend like Ephemerate and Ancestral Vision get a free spell cast in your upkeep. Plot and foretell set up these turns as well, and surge from Oath of the Gatewatch was designed specifically to work with the second spell cast each turn.

If You Cast a Second Spell Card as Your First Spell, Will Another Spell Trigger It?

Yes! Second spell payoffs only have to see the second spell you cast in a turn. They don't need to be in play when you cast the first one.

On the flipside, these cards can't see themselves as a second spell for a trigger. If you cast Cori-Steel Cutter as your second spell, it won't be in play to see you cast it, so you won't get a token.

Do Second Spell Cards Trigger for Every Two Spells You Cast?

No. Second spell cards very literally care about the second spell you cast in a turn, not every two spells. For example, if you cast Cori-Steel Cutter, that's your first card; you can cast Opt as your critical second spell; and any spells you cast afterward continue in sequence as your third spell, fourth spell, and so on.

Do Second Spell Effects Work on Your Opponent's Turns?

Yes! All second spell payoffs are currently templated such that they trigger when you cast your second spell on any player’s turn. You can cast two spells on your turn to trigger a card, then two spells on your opponents' to get a second trigger. In Commander, this gives you a potential four triggers per turn cycle—though that requires a lot of mana and cards.

Wrap Up

Dreamtide Whale | Illustration by Ron Spears

Second spells payoffs have great potential because they reward you for an already-powerful play pattern. They can be dicey if you end up empty handed, but since most of these effects are in Jeskai (), you'll have all the cantrips and card draw you could dream of.

What's your favorite second spell payoff? Do you want Wizards to keep fleshing out this archetype? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!