Printings
Wandering Mage
Card Information
Type: Creature — Human Cleric Wizard
Mana Cost: 
CMC: 3
Part of the Reserved List: Yes
Color Identity:
Set: Alliances (ALL)
Rarity: Rare
Collector Number: 111
Oracle Text
{W}, Pay 1 life: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn. {U}: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target Cleric or Wizard creature this turn. {B}, Put a -1/-1 counter on a creature you control: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target player or planeswalker this turn.
Format Legalities
Card Rulings
- October 1, 2009
The second ability checks that the targeted creature is a Cleric or Wizard only at the time the ability is activated and at the time it resolves. It doesn’t check at the time the damage is actually prevented.
Source: wotc - October 1, 2009
If you activate Wandering Mage’s third ability, you put the -1/-1 counter on a creature you control as a cost. That means it happens when you activate the ability, not when it resolves. If paying the cost causes the only creature you control to have 0 toughness, it’s put into the graveyard before you can pay the cost again.
Source: wotc
Price History
To study a single card is to glimpse the heart of a spell - a frozen moment of ambition, artistry, and arcane intent. Within each glyph lies a spark: a story untold, a duel turned, a destiny altered. Treat it not as mere parchment, dear seeker, but as a shard of the Multiverse itself.