Last updated on September 9, 2026
Reiterating Bolt | Illustration by G-host Lee
Sometimes spell copying takes a Magic meta by storm, usually when thereโs an extra turn spell involved. But if copying a spell is something you want, the burden of having to pack cards like Galvanic Iteration in your deck to enable those synergies is sometimes too high for spells that donโt do anything on their own.
Enter replicate: What if you could copy a spell as you cast it without a second card? Sound good? If youโre an Izzet () mage who isn't familiar with replicate cards from all the way back in Guildpact, today Iโm going to explore this mechanic and its best cards.
But be warned: Tt doesnโt always work the way you think, and it doesnโt trigger the things you might expect.
How Does Replicate Work?
Stream of Thought | Illustration by Seb McKinnon
Replicate is an additional cost you may pay as many times as youโd like when casting a spell. You copy the spell for each time you paid the cost. The cost is very often extra mana, which means the more mana you spend on the spell, the more copies you get, though there are different costs like tapping creatures or paying energy.
The History of Replicate in MTG
Replicate was introduced as the original Izzet () mechanic in Guildpact, where it was associated with the experimental and somewhat reckless mages of the guild. It remained tied to the 10 cards in that set until it showed up as a one-off on Lose Focus in Modern Horizons. Since then, itโs been reused sparingly across various supplementary Commander products, often with just a single card or two released each year.
Replicate is far from evergreen, and it has more competition these days with similar abilities like squad and offspring, though replicate still has the advantage of creating copies on the stack instead of needing to resolve to make its copies.
Does Replicate Count as Casting?
No, replicate doesnโt count as casting. If you cast Gigadrowse, for example, that counts as casting the spell. Then if you pay the replicate cost twice, that makes two copies of the spell. Neither of those copies were cast.
Note that this means almost every spellslinger trigger you can think of, from Young Pyromancer to Niv-Mizzet, Parun, doesnโt work with replicated spell copies since almost all of them trigger off โcastingโ the spell.
Is Replicate an Activated Ability? An Additional Cost?
Replicate is a static ability that gives a spell an additional cost and creates a triggered ability when you cast a spell, but no part of the mechanic is an activated ability. The replicate ability is a trigger that goes on the stack when you cast the spell.
What if a Card Has Multiple Instances of Replicate?
Every instance of replicate on a card is paid for separately.
Although no replicate card currently has two different replicate costs as printed, there are ways to grant the replicate ability to other spells. If one of those cards is on the battlefield and you cast a card that inherently has replicate, you can pay for either or both replicate abilities as much as you'd like.
Do Replicate Copies Also Have Replicate?
Replicate copies sort of also have replicate. They have the replicate ability, but since replicated spells arenโt cast, it doesn't really matter that the copies have the ability, since those copies aren't being cast.
How Do Counterspells Interact with Replicate?
A single-target counterspell like Mana Drain can only target one replicate copy. That could be the original spell, either before or after its replicate copies are created, or you can counter one of the copies. Either way, youโre only countering one instance of the replicate spell, and the others will resolve like normal. Countering the original spell with the replicate trigger on the stack wonโt prevent replicate from making copies.
A mass counterspell like Counterflux or Summary Dismissal can essentially counter the entire stack of replicated copies (plus the original), though in the case of Counterflux youโll need to let replicate resolve to actually make those copies first, then counter the stack before they resolve.
Stifle effects can counter replicate directly. You can target the replicate trigger with a Trickbind and prevent the copies from ever being made, though this doesnโt counter the original copy of the spell.
Replicate vs. Squad
Replicate and squad more or less have the same end result: They both let you pay extra mana multiple times to make copies of a spell that youโre casting. Squad can only exist on permanents though, and you only create the copies when that permanent resolves and enters the battlefield.
Replicate can exist on any card type, permanent or not. Hatchery Sliver, for example, would be nearly the same exact card if it had squad instead of replicate. The only real difference is that replicate makes its copies as spells on the stack, so countering the extra copies becomes much more difficult.
Gallery and List of Replicate Cards
Replicate Cards
- Consign to Memory
- Gigadrowse
- Lose Focus
- Mimeofacture
- Mists of Lรณrien
- Psionic Ritual
- Stream of Thought
- Thunderheads
- Train of Thought
- Vacuumelt
- Changing Loyalty
- Exterminate!
- Feed the Bog
- Pyromatics
- Reiterating Bolt
- Shattering Spree
- Siege of Towers
- Hatchery Sliver
- Super Combo
- Leap of Flame
Cards That Grant Replicate
Best Replicate Cards
#6. Lose Focus
Quench and effectively Cancel on the same card is neat, though this is strict Cube material at this point. Iโd want to be running magecraft cards before I ran this over stronger counterspells.
#5. Changing Loyalty
Changing Loyalty can be a massive board swing if you time it correctly, either right before a board wipe lands or in the midst of a particularly involved combat step. The dream is to cast two or three copies and reanimate a bunch of creatures dying at the same time.
#4. Super Combo
Itโs about as risky as any punch spell, but Super Combo has some super potential, ranging from a standard 1-for-1 removal spell all the way up to green board wipe territory with enough mana and the right chonker on board.
#3. Mists of Lรณrien
Mists of Lรณrien is a relatively obscure bounce spell, one that upgrades into a full board wipe with enough extra mana and a bunch of overlapping mana costs on board. If youโre especially clever, you might even be able to maneuver this to a place where it leaves most of your board intact while really messing with your opponents.
#2. Consign to Memory
Consign to Memory is a hyper-efficient counterspellโฆ in the right matchups. This is frequently used as a sideboard tool in formats where Eldrazi run rampant, since it can snag the creature spell and its cast trigger at the same time.
#1. Shattering Spree
While mass artifact destruction isnโt exactly a novelty these days (Meltdown and By Force exist in a similar space), Shattering Spree is an effective way of surgically extracting artifacts off the battlefield. Itโs the type of mass artifact hate you can play in an artifact deck that doesnโt want a general board wipe to backfire on itself.
Best Replicate Payoffs
Remember, replicate doesnโt cast the copies, so traditional spellslinger things donโt work here. But there are still some interesting payoffs.
Magecraft is the go-to payoff for anything that casts and copies. You can make a giant board with Leonin Lightscribe, draw a bunch of cards with Archmage Emeritus, make a lot of Treasures with Storm-Kiln Artist, or do whatever it is that you can do with Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios.
Aside from magecraft, there are several cards that reward you specifically for copying spells. That might be Parnesse, the Subtle Brush getting an opponent in on the replicate action, or Errant, Street Artist making one additional copy. Rapid Augmenter will receive a buff from each replicate copy of a creature that enters.
Most colors have at least a couple permanents that trigger when they โbecome the targetโ of a spell, whether thatโs Stormchaser Drake drawing a card, Willbreaker stealing creatures, or Goldspan Dragon creating Treasures. Most of these permanents are not limited to once per turn, so having a replicate spell target them multiple times can stack those triggers up.
Nivmagus Elemental is another unique payoff that can basically eat spells off the stack to pick up +1/+1 counters. If youโve got it in play and have spare mana to filter into your replicate spell, you might as well make a few extra copies so the elemental can convert them into counters.
Wrap Up
Consign to Memory | Illustration by Ben Hill
Confession time: Yes, I made drakes with Talrand, Sky Summoner and Gigadrowse before I knew what I was doing and no one stopped me. None of us, it seems, knew exactly what we were doing in those days.
I canโt say that replicate is the most mistakenly used keyword in Magic, but itโs gotta be in top five in casual circles. And now you know how to play fair with and get the most out of your replicate cards. Iโd like to see more of these cards, as well as more payoffs for spell copying in Magicโs future.
How about you? Are you a reformed replicate reprobate? Are you ready for more spell copy payoffs? Let me know in the comments down below or over in the Draftsim Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.
Thatโs all from me for now. Have a good one!
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