Echo Mage (Original Sketch)

Artist Matt Stewart used his friend and fellow Magic artist Eric Wilkerson as the model for this card. Eric is Echo Mage! Echo Mage is a three-mana blue 2/3 Human Wizard creature, originally printed in Rise of the Eldrazi (2010) – with the Level Up mechanic. Echo Mage is a “level up” wizard that rewards mana investment with powerful spell-copying abilities. At base level, it’s just a 2/3 for two mana – fine early defense. At levels 2-3, it’s a mini-fork engine: every instant or sorcery you cast can be copied. At level 4+, you get two copies, turning even basic spell effects into massive value engines. This makes Echo Mage a flexible, scaling creature that fits best in slower decks that play many instants / sorceries, and can protect a key creature – and have extra mana to sink into leveling. Echo Mage is almost exclusively an EDH card, where its slow leveling and high mana needs are actually a feature, not a bug. It’s typically played in spell-slinger, value, or combo-leaning blue decks. Popular commanders that use Echo Mage are Mizzix of the Izmagnus (cost reduction makes copying spells absurdly cheap), Talrand, Sky Summoner (turns every spell into an extra payoff), Niv-Mizzet (all versions, copied draw spells = tons of damage). Echo Mage’s niche is being the “mana-sink spell copier” that doesn’t require sacrificing spell slots in the deck. Echo Mage is not on the Reserved List.