Magus of the Chains

For many playtest cards, you’ll need to make a generous assumption that basic game rules would be updated to allow them to work. The Mystery Booster 2 Playtest Card Notes section (reproduced here in individual Gatherer rulings) provides guidance for fitting these cards into the existing rules structure.

Here’s what happens when Magus of the Chains replaces a player’s draw: — If that player has at least one card in their hand, they discard a card and then draw a card. — If that player’s hand is empty, they mill a card. The player doesn’t draw a card at all.

If an effect instructs you to draw multiple cards, you draw those cards one at a time. Apply the effect of Magus of the Chains to each one.

Playtest cards aren’t legal for play in any tournament format other than Mystery Booster Limited formats. On the other hand, we expect they will spice up a wide variety of non-tournament games (as long as everyone’s on the same page about using them!).

Playtest cards use a modified version of game symbols, such as {T} and {W}. These modified symbols should be treated as the standard symbols during play.

The effects of more than one Magus of the Chains are cumulative. If there are two of these on the battlefield, each of them will modify each draw (after the first one if during the draw step) and will cause the player to discard or to mill a card. As they resolve in order, the player must discard if possible. Once the player fails to discard and instead mills a card, all further effects of each additional Magus of the Chains will not do anything. This is because the mill also replaces the draw effect and the player is no longer drawing a card. You handle them in order. Each one makes you discard first and then continue or else mill a card and lose the draw.