Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Legendary Creature — Avatar Wizard · {1}{U}{R}{W} · Red/Blue/White commander
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand during an opponent's turn, exile that card with three time counters on it instead of putting it into your graveyard as it resolves. Then if the exiled card doesn't have suspend, it gains suspend. (At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may play it without paying its mana cost.)
Build a Gandalf of the Secret Fire deck →
What Gandalf of the Secret Fire actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · cast_spellWhenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand during an opponent's turn, exile that card with three time counters on it instead of putting it into your graveyard as it resolves. Then if
What a Gandalf of the Secret Fire deck needs
Plays as spellslinger. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- instants to cast on opponents' turns (each one is suspended to be cast again free)
The Gandalf of the Secret Fire deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 28× Instants and sorceries — for a magecraft/prowess commander the spell COUNT is the engine
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
Best cards for Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Instants and sorceries — for a magecraft/prowess commander the spell COUNT is the engine
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Brainstorm1 mana
- Enlightened Tutor1 mana
- Faithless Looting1 mana
- Gamble1 mana
- Lightning Bolt1 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Wild Magic Surge2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Reshape2 mana
- Mask of the Mimic1 mana
- Long-Term Plans3 mana
- Open the Armory2 mana
- Whir of Invention3 mana
- Merchant Scroll2 mana
- Enlightened Tutor1 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Mindbreak Trap4 mana
- Fierce Guardianship3 mana
- Force of Negation3 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Flare of Denial3 mana
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Arcane Denial2 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Supreme Verdict4 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Blasphemous Act9 mana
- Chain Reaction4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Street Spasm1 mana
- Shatter the Sky4 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Professional Face-Breaker3 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Hexing Squelcher2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Gold-Forged Thopteryx2 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Lost in the Maze2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Azorius Signet2 mana
- Boros Signet2 mana
- Izzet Signet2 mana
- Palladium Myr3 mana
- Worn Powerstone3 mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana