Professor Onyx MTG Card


Gain card advantage and outpace opponents with Professor Onyx’s Magecraft ability. Reshape gameplay with her loyalty abilities, amplifying spellcasting and mana flow. Unleash the element of surprise by utilizing instant speed spells to your advantage.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Planeswalker — Liliana
Abilities Magecraft
Loyalty 5

Text of card

Magecraft — Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, each opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
+1: You lose 1 life. Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
-3: Each opponent sacrifices a creature with the greatest power among creatures that player controls.
-8: Each opponent may discard a card. If they don't, they lose 3 life. Repeat this process six more times.


Cards like Professor Onyx

Professor Onyx is a formidable planeswalker card in MTG that casts a long shadow over its peers. With an uncanny resemblance to Liliana of the Veil, Professor Onyx commands the game in a unique way. Their +1 loyalty ability both creatures share allows the player to force their opponent to discard a card, which can disrupt even the most calculated of strategies. However, Professor Onyx goes a step further with magecraft, enabling the player to drain life from their opponent whenever a spell is cast.

Liliana, the Last Hope is another comparable card, offering a different approach to controlling the game. While Professor Onyx excels in grinding down an opponent, Liliana, the Last Hope is adept at controlling the battlefield by shrinking creatures. But it’s the ultimate abilities where these two especially diverge. Professor Onyx’s ability to take full control of an opponent’s hand is truly ambitious, eclipsing Liliana’s more conservative game-end potential through a zombie army.

When scrutinizing these powerful planeswalkers, Professor Onyx showcases a versatility that can sway the tides of play in distinctly different ways than other similar cards. Her capacity to directly affect both player’s life totals and hands gives her an impressive standing in the realm of planeswalker cards within MTG.

Liliana of the Veil - MTG Card versions
Liliana, the Last Hope - MTG Card versions
Liliana of the Veil - MTG Card versions
Liliana, the Last Hope - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Professor Onyx. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Mono-Black DiscardMono-Black Discard PioneerMono-Black DiscardPioneer Challenge 32 2024-04-07
Orzhov PlaneswalkersOrzhov Planeswalkers GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 08 2024
Mono-Black MidrangeMono-Black Midrange GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League
Dimir ControlDimir Control GladiatorGladiator Team Unified League

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Professor Onyx, you harness the power to gain significant card advantage through her Magecraft ability. Each time you or your apprentice casts an instant, sorcery, or a spell that isn’t a creature spell, you’re rewarded with a draw, which keeps your hand full and your options open.

Resource Acceleration: Her loyalty abilities offer more than just control; they can accelerate your resources immensely. Professor Onyx’s minus-three ability can filter the top three cards of your library, potentially revealing further spells to cast or lands to ensure your mana base keeps up with your ambitions.

Instant Speed: While Professor Onyx herself might not be cast at instant speed, she significantly rewards playing at instant speed. Since many powerful spells can be cast during your opponent’s turn, her Magecraft ability can surprise foes by drawing you cards when they least expect it, turning their turn into your advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Professor Onyx, you may find yourself needing to toss a valuable card from your hand to activate its Magecraft ability. This is especially taxing in game situations where your hand size is already diminished.

Specific Mana Cost: This planeswalker comes with a restrictive casting cost that includes two black mana symbols. This requirement can limit deck-building options and makes it challenging to splash Professor Onyx into non-black centric decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Six mana to cast is quite a commitment on your mana resources. For such an investment, players might expect a more immediate and potentially game-changing impact, whereas there are alternatives that can be played earlier or have a lower overall mana commitment.


Reasons to Include Professor Onyx in Your Collection

Versatility: Professor Onyx is a powerful planeswalker that can slide into various black-centric or multicolor decks. Her abilities lend themselves to both controlling the board and gaining incremental advantage over your opponents.

Combo Potential: With the ability to draw and discard cards, Professor Onyx synergizes well with graveyard strategies or setups that benefit from cycling through a deck. She can serve as a potent piece in combos, particularly involving life-loss mechanisms.

Meta-Relevance: Given how Professor Onyx can disrupt opponents’ hands and provide a steady stream of card advantage, she remains particularly relevant in environments where longer, grindy games are commonplace. Her ultimate can be a game-ender in the right deck, particularly in formats where players carefully manage their life totals.


How to beat

Professor Onyx is a powerful planeswalker card in Magic: The Gathering that players often find challenging to play against. With her ability to provide card advantage while simultaneously whittling down an opponent’s life total, overcoming her presence on the battlefield is crucial. To effectively counter this card, consider using instant-speed removal spells that can target planeswalkers. Direct damage spells are also effective, especially those that can be scaled to ensure enough damage is dealt to eliminate her loyalty counters swiftly.

Strategically, it’s important to prioritize threats effectively. This might mean holding back removal spells specifically for key planeswalkers like Professor Onyx. Another tactic is to apply aggressive pressure early in the game. Fast, creature-based strategies can force the Onyx player to use her defensively, thus limiting her potential impact. In some cases, playing cards that restrict the opponent from casting spells at a certain mana cost or cards that prevent abilities from triggering can neuter powerful planeswalkers, making Professor Onyx far less intimidating.

In summary, while the Professor can dominate games if left unchecked, a combination of precise removal, strategic pressure, and disruptive elements can ensure she doesn’t control the game. Understanding how to manage such threats is essential to mastering Magic: The Gathering gameplay dynamics.


BurnMana Recommendations

Embracing the complexities and subtleties of MTG gameplay enhances the experience substantially, and Professor Onyx stands as a perfect example of this depth. Her capabilities manifest not solely through raw power but strategic finesse, offering rewards for seasoned gameplay. As you evolve your strategy with every draw and spell cast, Professor Onyx could be the pivotal piece that propels your deck to new heights. We encourage you to dive deeper into strategies that maximize her potential, from mastering instant speed spells to effectively managing game tempo. Elevate your deck, refine your approach, and explore the full range of tactics at your disposal with Professor Onyx. For further insights and advanced strategies, join the BurnMana community where every game is a step towards mastery.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Professor Onyx MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Strixhaven: School of Mages, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Professor Onyx and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Professor Onyx Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-04-23 and 2021-04-24. Illustrated by Kieran Yanner.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 900882015NormalBlackKieran Yanner
22021-04-23Strixhaven: School of MagesSTX 2762015NormalBorderlessKieran Yanner
32021-04-23Strixhaven: School of MagesSTX 832015NormalBlackKieran Yanner
42021-04-24Strixhaven: School of Mages PromosPSTX 83p2015NormalBlackKieran Yanner
52021-04-24Strixhaven: School of Mages PromosPSTX 83s2015NormalBlackKieran Yanner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Professor Onyx has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Professor Onyx card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2021-04-16 Each magecraft ability has a different effect, although they all have the same trigger condition, whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell.
2021-04-16 For Professor Onyx’s last loyalty ability, “this process” is the following: First, the next opponent in turn order may choose a card in hand without revealing it, then each other opponent in turn order does the same. Then all the chosen cards are revealed and discarded at the same time and each opponent who didn’t discard a card (whether they chose not to or had an empty hand) loses 3 life. This all will happen seven times, for a maximum loss of 21 life per opponent.
2021-04-16 For Professor Onyx’s second loyalty ability, if an opponent has multiple creatures with the greatest power, that player choose which one to sacrifice. The next opponent in turn order chooses which creature they are sacrificing, then each other opponent in turn order does the same, knowing the choices made before them. Then all chosen creatures are sacrificed at the same time.
2021-04-16 For example, if you control Archmage Emeritus and cast an instant or sorcery spell, Archmage Emeritus’s magecraft ability will trigger and you will draw a card.
2021-04-16 If Professor Onyx seems familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen this type of planeswalker before.
2021-04-16 If an effect creates a copy of an instant or sorcery spell, this will also cause the magecraft ability to trigger.
2021-04-16 If an effect creates multiple copies of an instant or sorcery spell, magecraft abilities trigger once for each copy created by the effect.
2021-04-16 Some effects instruct you to copy an instant or sorcery card in a zone other than the stack. These copies do not cause magecraft abilities to trigger. However, most effects that do this also allow you to cast the copy, and casting the copy will cause magecraft abilities to trigger.